To be accurate, the former president is not selling Bibles - he's simply licensing his name & image through the same company (CIC Ventures LLC) that licensed Trump Trading Cards & his Never Surrender High-Top Sneaker to a company selling a King James Version of the Bible with an American flag embossed on the cover and the texts of foundational U.S. government documents included.
Because nothing says "God so loved the world" (John 3:16) like branding Scripture with American symbols and documents. Note: "CIC Ventures, though, is a conduit to Trump — personally, if not politically. In his financial disclosure released last year, he’s identified as the company’s “manager, president, secretary and treasurer” and the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust is identified as a 100 percent owner of the business. The same entity also receives royalties from his book “A MAGA Journey” and speaking engagements. A person familiar with the agreement confirmed to the New York Times that Trump earns royalties from purchases." (Source: Washington Post)
----- I've written about politicians and accurately handling the word of truth before:
- former vice-president Mike Pence - ""So let’s run the race marked out for us. Let’s fix our eyes on Old Glory and all she represents."
- President Joe Biden - "The American military has been answering for a long time. “Here I am, Lord. Send me. Here I am, send me.”"
- Governor Ron DeSantis - "Put on the full armor of God. Stand firm against the left’s schemes. You will face flaming arrows, but if you have the shield of faith, you will overcome them, and in Florida we walk the line here."
Suffice it to say that I get the need to use rhetorical flourish and echo classic passages of literature to evoke emotion. But we as followers of Christ are called to "be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15, NASB). The things Mike Pence & Joe Biden & Ron DeSantis said was not accurately handling Scripture.
What the former President has done and is doing makes them look like amateurs at the abuse of God's Word.
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Mr. Trump has a spotted history when it comes to both hucksterism and the use/abuse of the Bible as a prop. He's managed to brand and/or sell almost anything that isn't nailed down - some highlights include Trump Steaks, Trump University, Trump Vodka, and Trump: The Game. If you want to see more, the Wikipedia article on the Trump Organization has a very long list.
As for his use of Scripture...
- "Two Corinthians" (which he blamed Tony Perkins for... who in return noted that "It shows that he’s not familiar with Bible.")
- Signing Bibles... and other things (just read the article... which, even from Fox News, does manage to cover the outrage pretty well even as they indulge in a bit of whataboutism)
- posing with a Bible (thanks to a suggestion from his daughter) in front of St. John's Church - minutes after protestors had been forcibly cleared from the street with tear gas and pepper balls
- And, yes, I'm aware that there is conflicting reports about the orders to clear Lafayette Square that night of protestors responding to the death of George Floyd... but it was still a photo op with a Bible as a prop.
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The reaction to the release of Trump's endorsement during Holy Week provoked a - shall we say? - strong reaction.
The former president once claimed that "Nobody has done more for Christianity or for evangelicals or for religion itself than I have..." - but if memes like the ones shared above are any indicator, the main thing he's accomplished is to drive people away from faith.
The frustration isn't simply limited to The Daily Show and meme-happy Facebook friends... it extends to devoted followers of Christ as well.
I found it equally sobering to think about what a grift like this does to further erode the moral sense of those who've chosen to follow the former president.
...Clips like the one above make a certain sort of shrewd strategic sense.That seems counterintuitive since many Christians will recoil from it, and Trump can’t afford to alienate Christian voters seven months out from an election. But I suspect that any evangelical who’d hold a little light grifting involving the Holy Bible against him is already long gone, wandering in the Never Trump desert with the likes of David French and Russell Moore.And Trump is fine with that. His first political priority, even above maximizing his chances of reelection, is purging the Republican Party of anyone who would question his right to rule. He doesn’t want independent-minded Christians in the GOP any more than he wants the traditional conservatives who preferred Nikki Haley in the primary. He’ll win without them—and if he can’t, he’ll at least have consolidated his power over one-half of America’s political establishment in the process.In that context, whether by design or by happenstance, the “Trump Bible” operates as a sort of litmus test for evangelicals who have stuck with him this far through thick and thin. You won’t abandon me if I make a mockery of your faith, will you? No, of course you won’t.I see it as an analog to the point he made in 2016 when he boasted that he could shoot someone without losing votes. The reaction of Republican primary voters to the four indictments filed against him last year essentially vindicated that boast; go figure that if they’re willing to indulge him in crimes, he might reasonably assume that they’re willing to indulge him in brazen sacrilege aimed at lining his pockets amid a cash crunch.It’s a loyalty test, as practically everything in a cult of personality is. He’s testing their faith—in him, not in Christianity. And insofar as those two faiths conflict, he expects them to choose more wisely than the Frenches and Moores of the world have. Those who refuse will find the doorway to exile from the Republican Party that-a-way.Hawking Bibles emblazoned with an American flag during an election season suggests he’s very confident about how they’ll choose.I don’t blame him.
Nick Cattagio ("The True Faith" - sadly behind a paywall)
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Christians are under siege but must protect content that is pro-God. We love God, and we have to protect anything that is pro-God. We must defend God in the public square and not allow the media or the Left-wing groups to silence, censor, or discriminate against us.(quote from the Trump endorsement of the God Bless The USA Bible)
I need to push back just a little bit against this... I am a Christian and I don't feel particularly "under siege". The same week this video was released (yes, Holy Week), I actually managed to share Scripture multiple times on Facebook. In an online group of friends (both Christian and non-Christian) counting down our favorite albums, I posted music videos from Common Hymnal, Steve Taylor, and Adam Again (all Christian artists) without nary a peep of protest. I drove without being stopped or hassled to church twice - once on Good Friday and again on Easter Sunday. In both of those services, the truth of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection were clearly taught and sung about. Here in my office where I'm typing this, I count eight Bibles and multiple commentaries in my line of vision.
I have not been silenced, censored, or discriminated against for my faith - well, except when the things I believed were true to Scripture and the character of Christ were attacked and undercut by [checks notes] other Christians.
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I wanted to come up with something wise and convicting to close this post with... I wanted to turn on my "pastor mojo" and finish with marching orders to my fellow followers of Christ.
But I'm tired. So tired of watching Biblical truth (and physical Bibles themselves) being used as props... by both political parties.
So, I once again leave you with this.
Pray always. Pray in the Spirit. Pray about everything in every way you know how! And keeping all this in mind, pray on behalf of God’s people. Keep on praying feverishly, and be on the lookout until evil has been stayed.
Ephesians 6:18 (VOICE)
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