Trump Bible

Trump is now hawking a bible. It is not specifically a "Trump Bible" as such because it has been around for a while:

The Bible is only available online and sells for $59.99 (considerably more expensive than the traditional Bibles sold at major retailers, or those available for free at many churches and hotels). It includes Greenwood's handwritten chorus of its titular song as well as copies of historical documents including the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Pledge of Allegiance.

My mom is a fan of the Greenwood song "God Bless the USA" though is not enthused (she is a loyal Fox News viewer) about Donald Trump himself. I have not paid much attention to the whole thing. If you find the song distasteful, you be you. The song itself is not my immediate concern. 

The God Bless America Bible has been controversial for a few years now. People argued that it was a wrong-minded example of Christian Nationalism, a linking of church and state. Amanda Tyler, who was invited to the State of the Union, is one strong opponent of Christian Nationalism. She comes at it from a Baptist perspective. For instance, she is uncomfortable with the presence of American flags in churches:

"This is an example of Christian nationalism because it is a visual representation of the merging of our national and religious identities, especially when it's put up there with a Christian flag," Tyler said. "It suggests to the people viewing, everyone here is Christian and everyone here is  an American and those two identities are synonymous."

The hyping by Trump of a Bible is seen by many as just another case of him being a grifter. It brings to mind his slipping up when attempting to talk about his religious faith, including biblical bits about "Two Corthinians."  Overall, it brings to mind his use of evangelical support.

A Trump-endorsed Bible is a sacrilegious act. The problems with combining church and state in various respects again is an old story. As the article linked above notes:

In 2009, Thomas Nelson published the American Patriot’s Bible, which uses the New King James Version and is marketed as “the one Bible that shows how ‘a light from above’ shaped our nation.” The Bible does not include U.S. founding documents but includes several articles arguing America’s founding was divinely inspired, commentary like “Seven Principles of the Judeo-Christian Ethic” and quotes about scripture from founding presidents.

People who believe the Bible is a sacred book might be uncomfortable about including such materials. I do not know if there is a clear line between it and some of the commentary found in various Bibles that covers a lot of ground. Religious publishers release Bibles geared for a range of people, including children, teen girls, men, and so on. 

The Bibles have commentary for their intended audience. I would not be surprised if some liberal-leaning group has a similar type of Bible. A peace church, for instance, might provide Bibles with pacifist commentary.  Others might be uncomfortable with this non-biblical content being present mixed in with the "Holy Word." At best, they would allow basic appendixes about the history of the times, maps, and related details. 

There is a special concern about the mixture of church and state. Some people are wary of how much religion is mixed with civic society. Religion, for instance, is often part of sports events. Multiple court cases dealt with the mixture of religion and public school sports, including the infamous coach prayer case. "Religion" here usually means "certain religions."

Sports are often a chance to be patriotic, including in particularly militaristic ways. The Mets regularly honor a member of the military during the game. This small-scale type of event is a lot less showy than military aircraft flying over stadiums and so on. 

Once sports are not just about playing games, it is particularly appropriate to use them to protest. The respectful use of kneeling to protest police violence resulted in much controversy. Years ago, Carlos Delgado (once a Mets player) protested the Iraq War by staying in the dugout during the playing of God Bless America.

Getting back to Trump, the national anthem is used to defend the January 6th insurrectionists.  The misuse of religion and patriotism in support of fascism is a tried and true tactic. There is also the infamous photo op of Trump holding a Bible as a prop during the George Floyd protests. Before doing so, protesters were forcibly removed. 

When these events occur, it is helpful to think of the big picture. Use them as "teaching moments" to discuss wider issues. We will usually find that the specific controversy is not totally novel. This blog, at least, is geared toward discussing the background with a lot of links.