Ultimately, the biblical technicalities aren’t the only thing that’s important. The basic idea is this: if all compliant citizens promise to be compliant not just now, but forever, then anyone at any time in the future who doesn’t obey orders will be easy to identify, track and possibly exclude from society. In Starhawk’s book The Fifth Sacred Thing, for example, a futuristic totalitarian government releases genetically engineered diseases into the air supply. In order to survive, everyone must receive regular vaccinations. Anyone who questions orders is simply denied their next vaccination and is unable to survive.