Plans to publish a ‘’God Bless the USA’’ Bible by Zondervan has been halted. This was because some critics said that it supported Christian nationalism and it placed a distortion between the secular and the sacred.
Lee Greenwood’s hit song inspired the special edition Bible. According to Christian Headlines, the Bible contains the text of the Scripture, the Bill of Rights, copies of the U.S. Constitution, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence, and the text of Greenwood’s song.
The promotional website of the Bible which is a product of Elite Source Pro states that it is the ultimate American Bible and perfect to take to church, to work, travel, etc.
As at two weeks ago, Religion Unplugged reported that Elite Source Pro and Zondervan were having discussions on printing the Bible. However, this week, the plans were halted due to the petitions made against it.
So far, more than 900 signatures have been appended against the planned printing by Zondervan. Besides, Zondervan informed Religion Unplugged that the website and marketing of the NIV project were premature.
The petition labeled the “God Bless the USA” Bible as a toxic mix that will escalate issues to American evangelicalism. In addition, it was assumed that it would increase the Christian nationalism and anti-Muslim sentiments noticed in various segments of the evangelical church.
The president of Elite Source Pro, Hugh Kirkpatrick, recalled that the idea for the Bible was gotten by him and his friends last year when there was an attack on America’s history.
“In past civilizations, libraries have been burned. Documents torn down. We started seeing statues coming down, and we started seeing history for good or bad trying to be erased,” Kirkpatrick said.
“That’s when we started thinking, okay, how far does this erasing of history go? Love it or hate it, it’s history. But how far does it go…? Part of having these statues … is so that we don’t repeat those same mistakes.”
He added that with the Holy Scripture embedded in the Bible and with the other documents, it would be a one-stop-shop for individuals to ‘’learn the basics of why the founders built into those documents divine providence.”
Other authors such as Soong-Chan Rah, Shane Claiborne, Lisa Sharon Harper, Doug Pagitt, and Jemar Tisby who publish under Zondervan were not in support of the company printing the unique Bible.
The authors wrote to the Religion Unplugged saying, “American nationalism is its own civil religion, where America rather than Jesus is the center of attention. Instead of Jesus and the Church being the light of the world and the hope for humanity, America becomes the Messianic force in the world.’’
Furthermore, they said that ‘’God bless America’’ is not in the Bible. Rather, it says, ‘God so loved the world.’ Also, they stated that the church hymnal should not contain the national anthem. Likewise, the Bible should not have the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States in it.
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