why are presidents sworn in on the bible
Oath of office of the President of the United States By convention, incoming presidents raise their right hand and place the left on a Bible or other book while taking the oath of office. In 1789, George Washington took the oath of office with an altar Bible borrowed from the St. John's Lodge No. 1, Ancient York Masons lodge in New York, and he kissed the Bible afterward.[17][18] Subsequent presidents up to and including Harry Truman, followed suit.[19] Dwight Eisenhower broke that tradition in 1953 when he said a prayer instead of kissing the Bible.[20]
Right hand of God It is also a placement next to God in Heaven, in the traditional place of honor, mentioned in the New Testament as the place of Christ at Mark 16:19, Luke 22:69, Matthew 22:44 and 26:64, Acts 2:34 and 7:55, 1 Peter 3:22 and elsewhere. These uses reflect use of the phrase in the Old Testament, for example in Psalms 63:8 and 110:1.[2] The implications of this anthropomorphic phrasing have been discussed at length by theologians, including Saint Thomas Aquinas.[3]