Talk about missing the point: the important thing to say about Donald Trump’s God Bless the USA Bible is not that it’s expensive or that it’s tacky, both points made on tonight’s Washington Week in Review. The important thing to say, and what no one said, is that this Bible is an exercise in Christian nationalism.
Is it the case that “all Americans need a Bible in their home,” as Trump says? No, not all, and not all those who need “a Bible” need one in two parts. And printing this two-part Bible with the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Pledge of Allegiance included is an unmistakable effort to brand the United States as a Christian nation.
Bad job, WWiR.
[Slightly puzzling: Trump is hawking is a King James Version, not the first choice of evangelicals. But: the KJV in the public domain.]
Friday, March 29, 2024
Washington Week in Review misses the point
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Re: KJV: Greenwood, the publisher, wanted to use the NRSV translationin the "GodBless America" Bible. But Zondervan, which owns the copyright to the NRSV, hadto back out after some of their Christian authors kicked up a fuss. As usual with religion news, the best coverage of this story can be found on Religion News Service -- this time in a article written by veteran religion reporter Bob Smietana:
https://religionnews.com/2024/03/26/in-a-paid-endorsement-donald-trump-promotes-lee-greenwoods-god-bless-the-usa-bible-for-every-american-home/
Smietana reports that Trump was paid to do this endorsement.
Smietana also quotes an expert on Christian nationalism saying Trump “can’t convincingly sell himself as an exemplar of Christian piety” but can “sell himself as the defender of Christians against the attacks of leftists, socialists, Muslims, and immigrants.” This, to me, is the most important point of this story.
Thanks for the background, Dan. The academics quoted in that article are telling it exactly as it is.
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