O Theophilus 3

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If a clerk had been taken For stealing bacon,
For burglary, murder rape, If he could but rehearse Well prompt his neck-verse He never could fail to escape.⁵

Criticism not withstanding, it is hoped that this decree might be a significant piece of legislation coming from William Rufus' hand.⁶It seems to this reporter that in these times, it would definitely pay to learn to read -- particularly, the Christian scriptures. At the very least one ought to memorize Psalm 51.

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The above "news" article is fictional, but it might interest you to know that all of the facts are correct! This Civil Literacy decree was one of William II's lasting legal legacies. Nominally, it was in force as late as 1700.
This judicial use of the Bible may have been the precursor of "swearing to the truth" in our court system. I was reminded of this while watching the Rev. Rosie Grier place his hand on the Bible and swear to the truth of his testimony he was about to give in the O.J. Simpson trial.
If this decree was in effect today, I wonder how many could "save their necks," as it were, by reading aloud with intelligence and passion from the Christian scriptures? How many professing Christians may know even one "neck-verse"?
William II's reign was not stellar, but he may have been on the right track with his plan of literacy. Memorizing the scripture has become a lost devotional discipline in America. With anti-Christian forces ever trying to eradicate the Holy Scriptures from our culture, perhaps its time to learn to read Psalm 51 or memorize a few verses?
FOOTNOTES
1. Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church(New York: Charles Scribner's Son, 1926) Vol. V. Pt. I. 2. By this time the Vulgate would have been the "Bible of choice" for over half a millennium. Translated by Jerome in 405 AD.
3. Neck-Verse [ME neke verse; fr. the possibility of its saving the accused person's neck]: a verse usually consisting of the first lines of a Latin version of the 51st Psalm formerly set before an accused person claiming benefit of clergy so that the person might vindicate his claim by an intelligent reading aloud of the verse before examiners. Webster's Third New International Dictionary, 1966.
4. Webb Garrison, Strange Facts About the Bible(Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1969) 56-57. 5. Ibid., 57.
6. Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. 10, pp. 222-223; Vol. 28, pp. 776-777. International Edition, 1993.

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	If a clerk had been taken For stealing bacon, For burglary, murder rape, If he could but rehearse Well prompt his neck-verse He never could fail to escape.⁵
Criticism not withstanding, it is hoped that this decree might be a significant piece of legislation coming from William Rufus' hand.⁶It seems to this reporter that in these times, it would definitely pay to learn to read -- particularly, the Christian scriptures. At the very least one ought to memorize Psalm 51.
		------------------------------
The above "news" article is fictional, but it might interest you to know that all of the facts are correct! This Civil Literacy decree was one of William II's lasting legal legacies. Nominally, it was in force as late as 1700. This judicial use of the Bible may have been the precursor of "swearing to the truth" in our court system. I was reminded of this while watching the Rev. Rosie Grier place his hand on the Bible and swear to the truth of his testimony he was about to give in the O.J. Simpson trial. If this decree was in effect today, I wonder how many could "save their necks," as it were, by reading aloud with intelligence and passion from the Christian scriptures? How many professing Christians may know even one "neck-verse"? William II's reign was not stellar, but he may have been on the right track with his plan of literacy. Memorizing the scripture has become a lost devotional discipline in America. With anti-Christian forces ever trying to eradicate the Holy Scriptures from our culture, perhaps its time to learn to read Psalm 51 or memorize a few verses? FOOTNOTES 1. Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church(New York: Charles Scribner's Son, 1926) Vol. V. Pt. I. 2. By this time the Vulgate would have been the "Bible of choice" for over half a millennium. Translated by Jerome in 405 AD. 3. Neck-Verse [ME neke verse; fr. the possibility of its saving the accused person's neck]: a verse usually consisting of the first lines of a Latin version of the 51st Psalm formerly set before an accused person claiming benefit of clergy so that the person might vindicate his claim by an intelligent reading aloud of the verse before examiners. Webster's Third New International Dictionary, 1966. 4. Webb Garrison, Strange Facts About the Bible(Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1969) 56-57. 5. Ibid., 57. 6. Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. 10, pp. 222-223; Vol. 28, pp. 776-777. International Edition, 1993.
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