the phrase just do it came from dan wieden.
where did the phrase just do it come from?
dan wieden
Na
Na
the phrase is likely to have originated in the kingdom of israel following the law of moses in beth din courts as a way of giving credence to the authority of god as the author of all law. it is likely to have come from deuteronomy 16:18 where it stated: "judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the lord thy god giveth thee, tribe by tribe; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment". this gave rise to the theory that judges had been given authority from god to exercise judgment on matters of the law and would use the phrase to attribute this fact to god. the phrase continued to be used in courts, passing from jewish to christian context as a way to continue to affirm god as the highest authority in law. clarence darrow, oliver o'donovan and the chicago law journal have stated that the phrase's continual usage may have come about as a result of judges feeling that while they could pass a sentence of death upon a person, they personally did not have the authority to destroy souls and that only god had the authority to do that. as a result, some judges would cross their fingers whenever they said the phrase as a result of concern for the criminal's soul as they said it as a prayer. while the phrase is intended to be said by judges with conviction, it is also said because of legal tradition and not necessarily due to belief in its meaning. during the 17th century in the massachusetts bay colony, the puritan majority of judges at the time did not believe that stating "may god have mercy on your soul" had any meaning unless the accused had made a confession of the crime in open court. they, and other puritan office holders, would also regularly press the condemned up until the point of execution to make a confession of the crime they had been convicted of to ensure that the phrase satisfactorily had meaning according to their views.
may god have mercy upon your soul