PERSPECTIVES Lee Greenwood Bible Bible peddler Trump offers lessons even with should read passages Trump as pitchman about immigrants
Admittedly, President Donald Trump awkwardly pushing the Bible and America’s founding documents for the low price of $59.99 caught me a little off guard.
Half the country is upset when Trump breathes. Slinging the “God Bless the USA Bible” is the political equivalent of kicking a fire ant mound on a hot summer day. Ignore the messenger. America needs the message.
“All Americans need a Bible in their home, and I have many,” Trump said in his pitch with country singer Lee Greenwood. “It’s my favorite book.”
Based on what I’ve seen over the last several years, I have some questions about Trump’s level of biblical interest. As a Christian, I wonder if people would say that about me.
How many Bibles sit on shelves in American homes collecting dust? Plenty of us will darken the door of a church on Sunday morning, but cracking the Bible during the rest of the week is a tall order.
Trump correctly noted, “It’s a lot of peoples’ favorite book.”
How many books are a favorite that you haven’t read cover to cover at least once? For too many Christians, that describes the Bible.
“We have to bring Christianity back into our lives and into what will be again a great nation,” Trump lamented. “Our Founding Fathers did a tremendous thing when they built America on Judeo-christian values. Now that foundation is under attack, perhaps as never before.”
I agree.
Americans should be better versed in the US Constitution
American Christians need a revival like never before. We’ve allowed our politics to shape our faith because some of us think God needs our electoral success to accomplish his purposes. We believe the attacks from our political opponents are the greatest threat to our faith.
What could possibly be more corrosive to Judeo-christian values than not knowing God’s word in the first place?
And since we’re talking about our Founding Fathers, I’m willing to bet most of us know the lyrics to Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” better than any section of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence.
I want to believe most of us can recite the Pledge of Allegiance from memory, but even it seems to have fallen out of vogue these days.
Trump’s advocacy for deeper faith and understanding the fundamentals of American liberty has some folks hearing the dog whistle of White Christian nationalism. At one point in our nation’s history, exploring the Bible was commonplace and knowing our nation’s history was just called civics class.
Even non-christians should hope that Christians read the Bible and model their lives after Christ. Following Jesus changes lives for the better. Sacrificial love, fidelity to the truth, and forgiveness are exactly what America needs.
Concerned about threats to democracy?
We must know where our rights come from, the purpose of the American government, and how our representative democracy functions. The Bill of Rights protects our individual liberties. We should know what all of them are rather than picking our favorites.
Any version of God’s word being the “only Bible endorsed by President Trump” is super weird. All Scripture is God-breathed. Who endorses it beyond that is…well…less relevant.
If you’re buying a copy of the “God Bless the U.S.A. Bible,” don’t let it sit on the shelf with the other Bibles. Study it carefully. Do what it says. Read America’s founding documents. Understand that our rights don’t come from the dispensations of hereditary kings. Realize it’s our responsibility to ensure that never changes.
Trump might not be the ideal pitch man for the Bible or the Constitution, but most of us aren’t either. The content of the “God Bless the USA Bible” would be a must read even if Satan himself offered it at a much higher price point.
Singing Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” from memory at karaoke night is an added bonus.
USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee columnist Cameron Smith is a Memphis-born, Brentwood-raised recovering political attorney who worked for conservative Republicans. He and his wife Justine are raising three boys in Nolensville, Tennessee. Direct outrage or agreement to smith.david.cameron@gmail.com or @Dcameronsmith on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Social media was buzzing this Holy Week with a video of former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, selling a “God Bless the USA Bible.” For $59.99, Americans can have what I believe, as an evangelical pastor, is the inspired Word of God – but also the texts of the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance and the chorus to a Lee Greenwood song.
I sincerely hope the former president is not just endorsing the Bible but also reading it – especially as it relates to how God calls us to treat immigrants, because there are important messages there for all of us.
Immigration is a significant theme throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word “ger,“best translated as “immigrant,” appears 92 times. And we’re not just to welcome immigrants but to also love and care for them, as well as seek justice on their behalf.
God calls us to emulate his love for people who are made in his image. The Israelites are repeatedly told to remember their history as mistreated foreigners in Egypt in a way that builds empathy for others. As a people descended almost entirely from immigrants, that is an important message for Americans as well.
Immigrants have important roles in the Bible
Many of the heroes in the Bible were immigrants. Abraham left his homeland on a divine promise then crossed borders again, fleeing famine.
Moses fled Egypt to live in Midian and named his first son Gershom, which means “a foreigner there.”
Ruth, a Moabite immigrant in Israel, became part of the lineage of King David and ultimately, Jesus.
Jesus, of course, was the most important immigrant in history. Carried by Joseph and Mary, he escaped violence in his homeland and found refuge in Egypt – an experience similar to that of more than 35 million refugees around the world today who have fled their homes because of persecution. As Jesus’ followers, we are called to see ourselves as strangers who’ve been welcomed in by God’s kindness.
God’s welcome of foreigners has inspired our congregation in Indiana to welcome refugees and immigrants in our community. But we’re not unique: More than one-third of evangelical Christians say they’ve been involved in immigrant ministry.
That doesn’t mean we all agree on the best public policy solutions.
The Bible never tells us what the ceiling on annual refugee admissions should be. It doesn’t prescribe how to both ensure order and safety and protect the vulnerable from injustice.
Evangelicals: Immigration policy should reflect biblical values
But more than 9 in 10 evangelicals agreed in a recent poll by Lifeway Research that U.S. immigration policy should reflect the biblical convictions that immigrants are made with dignity in the image of God (not “animals,” as the former president has labeled some).
Lifeway Research also finds that 78% would support legislation pairing improvements to border security with an earned pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who meet certain requirements. And 71% say the United States has a moral responsibility to welcome refugees, along with 91% who want immigration policies to protect family unity.
I have reservations about a president profiting from the Bible, especially when the Bible is bundled with foundational national documents in a way that suggests they are equally inspired by God. I’m thankful to live in this country, but if we really want God to bless the USA, we should read the Bible carefully, reflect God’s concern for immigrants and pursue policies consistent with its teachings.
Jeff Schultz is the co-lead pastor of Faith Church in Indianapolis.