Editing Promise (section)

==Religion==
{{Main|Oath|Vow}}
{{Further|Covenant (biblical)}}
[[File:William Holman Hunt - Rienzi vowing to obtain justice.jpg|thumb|A painting depicting [[Cola di Rienzo]] as vowing to obtain justice]]
Religions have similar attitudes towards promises. With regard to keeping promises, {{Bibleverse|Ecclesiastes|5:5-6|GNT}} in the [[Hebrew Bible]] states: "Better not to promise at all than to make a promise and not keep it. Don't let your own words lead you into sin".<ref name="Lovis2017">{{cite book |last1=Lovis |first1=Mark |title=Parenting from the Scriptures and Scriptures for the Parents |date=26 January 2017 |publisher=Christian Faith Publishing |isbn=978-1-63525-059-6 |language=en}}</ref> 

===Christianity===
[[Christian theology]] regards the gift of the [[Holy Spirit]] bestowed on believers as the fulfillment of a promise made by [[Jesus]].<ref>Section heading at {{bibleverse|John|7:37|NKJV}} in the [[New King James Version]] of the New Testament: "The Promise of the Holy Spirit", accessed 1 February 2024</ref> Jesus is seen as making "great promises" in favour of [[christian prayer|prayer]].<ref>[[John McEvilly|McEvilly, J.]] (1879), [https://www.ecatholic2000.com/macevilly2/untitled-103.shtml An Exposition Of The Gospels by The Most Rev. John Macevilly D.D.: John 14], accessed 1 February 2024</ref> 

In Christian ethics, a distinction is made between simple promises and oaths or vows. An oath is a promise invoking [[God]] as a witness.<ref name="bunson2010">{{cite book | title=Catholic Almanac 2010 | last=Bunson | first=Matthew | year=2010 | publisher=[[Our Sunday Visitor]] | isbn=978-1-59276-614-7 | page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781592766147/page/149 149] | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781592766147/page/149 }}</ref> A vow is a solemn form of a promise typically made to commit oneself to a moral good with God as witness, and binds oneself to its fulfillment over time.<ref>Bunson, op. cit. p. 160</ref>

Some groups of Christians, for example the [[Religious Society of Friends]] and the [[Anabaptism|Anabaptist Churches]] (such as the [[Mennonite]]s), object to the taking of both oaths and affirmations, basing their objections upon a commandment given in the [[Sermon on the Mount]], and regard all promises to be witnessed by God.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

===Islam===
In Surah [[An-Nahl]], God forbids [[Muslim]]s to break their promises after they have confirmed them. All promises are regarded as having Allah as their witness and guarantor. In the [[hadith]], Muhammad states that a Muslim who made a promise and then saw a better thing to do, should do the better thing and then make an act of [[atonement]] for breaking the promise.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} It is forbidden to break an oath in Islam. However, when someone does break an oath, they are required to ask for forgiveness and make up for the sin by feeding/clothing 10 poor people or freeing a slave (which is nearly impossible today), or, if unable to do these, to fast for three days. One of the four types of promises that are punished quickly is when you want to harm a relationship when the other person wants to keep it.<ref>"Greater Sins." Al-Islam.org by the Ahlul Bayt DILP – Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2011. http://www.al-islam.org/greater_sins_complete/26.ht{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>