God Bless the Q and A

Jim goes rogue.

Here's a Cheyne Reaction to the "God Bless The USA Bible," removing outdated or offensive statues from the public square,  saying the Pledge of Allegiance, and the rise of Christian Nationalism.

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Transcript

MAKING OUR WAY - A McMahon/Cheyne Podcast
 God Bless The Q and A (Season 1; Episode 23) - 4/17/24

Today’s host:

Jim Cheyne

Our inbox receives some nice notices from listeners, and we like to answer them all, either by email or face to face.

And, we have a question today that started out as an eye roll, to be honest, but turned into something interesting, a touchstone we can use for our journey as we are Making Our Way.

Today, it’s time for the Bible and some Q & A.

[music]

Okay. Here we go. And here’s our question.

Have you seen the new Bible Trump is selling?

Yes, I’ve seen it, and I’m tempted to leave it right there, but let’s go on and see what we find.  

It turns out, this Bible isn’t what I thought it was. Well, it is what I thought it was, but it has more of a history than I first thought it did. I thought it was a Trump election year fundraiser just in time for the different bonds he has to post.

This is a theme Bible. In theme Bibles, the biblical text is bound with various other items that go along with the theme. There are men’s Bibles, women’s Bibles, teen Bibles, addiction recovery Bibles, military themed Bibles, Bibles for outdoor enthusiasts - just about any social group you could imagine in a church setting will have a theme Bible made with them in mind.

As the name suggests, this Bible is coupled with the lyrics to Lee Greenwood’s song, “God Bless the USA.”

So, the song was first released in 1984, along with a music video. Another video was released in 1991, which, memory serves, was at the time of the Gulf War. A 3rd video came out in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, and then a 4th video came out in June of 2020 - an election year.

And this might be the time to remind everyone that this a the song used at Trump rallies, or so I’ve read. Never been.

The Wikipedia page also has this paragraph, quote:

“In 2024, Greenwood and Donald Trump collaborated to release themed King James Bibles "inspired by" the song. Each Bible includes "the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and the Pledge of Allegiance, as well as a handwritten chorus of the famous Greenwood song.”

That part about Greenwood and Trump collaborating in 2024 to release the Bible is not quite accurate, I found out. The Bible has been around for a while.

This part took a bit of research. Here we go.

It started back during the election of 2020, when Greenwood produced his 4th video for the song. This is where we introduce a gentleman who started the whole project. 

That gentleman is Hugh Kirkpatrick. Hugh Kirkpatrick runs a marketing firm out of Franklin, Tennessee, called Elite Source Pro, which is the marketing firm promoting this Bible.

So, who is Elite Source Pro? I couldn’t come up with much on that. Their website is very slim. There’s a blurb about the company, a place for you to subscribe if  you like, and a Contact Us page. I contacted that company for this podcast, by the way, but I’ll get to that later.

Their website as no “About Us” page, no employees are listed, there are no reviews of their work, no client testimonials. In fact, Hugh Kirkpatrick is the only person I can confirm is connected to Elite Source Pro. From what I’ve learned, he might just be the company.

Elite Source Pro and Hugh Kirkpatrick wouldn’t have caught much attention except for an article in May of 2021 in a religious news website called Religion Unplugged. They’re important; let’s remember them. The article’s headline was “Exclusive: Zondervan, HarperCollins in talks to produce ‘God Bless The USA’ Bible that includes Constitution.”

That head line caught a lot of attention. Remember, this is 2021. Mainstream evangelical Christianity, in the wake of the Trump administration, was struggling to respond to a certain brand of patriotic Christianity. And I say, “a certain brand,” because - and this is important to remember - there are many ways to be a Christian and to be patriotic without also being authoritarian or nationalistic.

So, that certain brand of patriotic Christianity had simmered under the surface for years. It boiled up because of the mere existence of an Obama administration, and then it erupted through Trump’s validating rhetoric and his defeat in 2020.

Many evangelicals, you’ll remember, ran for cover from the sudden barrage of accusations of woke-ism, or liberalism, or socialism, or whatever other epithets, which, though ill-defined and mostly fraudulent, proved to be very effective propaganda.

It seemed as though the majority of evangelicals would rather shelter in the false safety of their homes and churches than face the firehose rhetoric of nationalistic authoritarianism.

Some, however, decided to strike back. But how? Let’s look at that Religion Unplugged article.

Quote: “Zondervan, a giant in Bible publishing, is in talks to produce a ‘God Bless the USA Bible’ that includes America’s founding documents and will ship to customers this September to mark 20 years after 9/11, according to the Bible’s Tennessee-based seller.

Now, further down the article continues, quoting: “Zondervan, a part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., is known for its New International Version…” And skipping ahead a little farther: “HarperCollins Christian Publishing sells its license to clients in North America who want to print custom NIV Bibles.”

And that was the target. The project relied on a license from HarperCollins for use of the New International Version of the Bible.

Now, Christian authors have a home with Zondervan publishing, and several of them lobbied against this project. Here, I’m quoting their letter. Quote: “This customized Bible is a reminder that the ‘Christian industry’ must do better to stand against the heretical and deadly ‘Christian’ nationalism that we saw on full display on Jan. 6. It is like a spiritual virus, infecting our churches, homes and social institutions. Just as we take intentional actions to stop the spread of COVID … we must take concrete steps to stop the spread of this theological virus.” Close quote.

At the same time, a petition began circulating online, calling the proposed coupling of national and religious documents, quote, “a toxic mix that will exacerbate the challenges to American evangelicalism, adding fuel to the Christian nationalism and anti-Muslim sentiments found in many segments of the evangelical church.” Close quote.

And with that pushback, HarperCollins demurred, and issued the following statement:

“Zondervan is not publishing, manufacturing or selling the ‘God Bless the USA Bible.’ While we were asked for a manufacturing quote, ultimately the project was not a fit for either party, and the website and marketing of the NIV project were premature.”

Obviously, though, the project did not end there.

Someone figured, “We have Lee Greenwood’s permission to use his song, and the other stuff is all public domain. Why not use a biblical text that is also public domain.”

And, with that new birth of freedom, the God Bless The USA Bible was resurrected, this time with the free, public domain text of the King James Version. That’s what we have today.

Now, it happens that the Catholic church also has a public domain version of the Bible, called the Duoay-Rheims. Why a patriotic, conservative, evangelical, Tennessee-based marketing firm didn’t go for the Catholic version is anyone’s guess.

So, I was curious about how the project got started in the first place. Cynically, we could suppose that it was all about Christian nationalism and leave it at that, but, I’ve learned that things are rarely as simple as the answers we prefer.

So, let’s revisit that Religion Unplugged article, quoting again:

“The idea began brewing in fall 2020 when Kirkpatrick and friends in the entertainment industry heard homeschool parents complain that the public schools were not teaching American history anymore - not having students read and understand the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.”

Now, let’s hit the pause button there. Public education is governed by each state, but Federal law requires any institutions, including universities, that receive Federal funding to teach the U.S. Constitution. And September 17th, the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, is now called Constitution Day, and in the schools where I taught, the curricula for all classes and all grade levels included lessons about the Constitution. Perhaps it wasn’t taught in the way homeschool parents liked.

The article continues, quoting Kirkpatrick, “We noticed the divide in the public where some people started seeing pro-American images like the flag, the bald eagle, the statue of liberty as weaponized tools of the Republican party, and we didn’t understand that.”

Let’s pause again. There is a difference in saying “American images” and “pro-American images.” To my ear, choosing “pro-American” sounds agenda-driven. I could be wrong.

The article continues. Quote, “Then in the height of Black Lives Matter protests, activists began tearing down or destroying statues and monuments they connected to racial injustice.” Quoting Kirkpatrick, “‘In past civilizations, libraries have been burned. Documents torn down. We started seeing statutes coming down and we started seeing history for good or bad trying to be erased…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.’”

Let’s pause again.

First, a point of agreement. I agree. Statues that offend common sensibilities should not be destroyed. They shouldn’t. They can, though, be relocated.

I’ve been to Budapest, for instance, where all Soviet-era statues were removed from the public square and placed in an open-air museum called Szoborpark.

Removing those statues has not in any way given people amnesia of when their neighbor betrayed neighbor.

Public spaces are where you live. Museums are where you put things that are no longer in use, so that they can be remembered. Museums are where you learn.

This argument that equates the removal of statues and erasing history initially struck me as rather fatuous.

I mean, where is the statue without which we would know nothing of the horrors of 2 World Wars. Where is the statue that, if removed, would erase the memory of the Holocaust, or of the depravity of slavery? Where is the statue whose removal takes with it all memory or knowledge of women’s suffrage, or of the fight for civil rights, or of the slaughters of Stalin’s regime or Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge? or of those in Rwanda and Bosnia, or of the massacre of Jews and Romani in Hungary, or of the Osage Indians in Oklahoma?

Saying the removal of statues equates with the erasure of history is absurd. It does have political value, though. In a political climate that warns certain privileged segments of society that outsiders want to replace them, rhetoric about erasing history and culture is very effective.

The bulwark against ignorance is not a statue or memorial. It is education.

So, let’s visit the GodBlessTheUSABible.com website - that’s the official website.

Here we go.

On the website here, there’s a photo of President Trump and Lee Greenwood. Looks like an oval office photo. There are images of the God Bless The USA Bible, and an Order Now button.

And scrolling down, there’s an image of Trump holding the Bible. I notice he is not wearing a wedding ring, and I only mention that to point out that many world leaders who interact with the public set aside watches and wedding rings. It doesn’t mean that much. Biden doesn’t wear a wedding ring, either. I notice that Rishi Sunak does wear one, but most recent British Prime Ministers have not. Before Sunak, I read somewhere that the last Prime Minister to wear one was Margaret Thatcher.

Obama wore one, but he removed it before working the rope lines. Something about possible souvenir grabbers.

So let’s not worry about whether Trump wears a wedding ring or not, or whether Biden wears a wedding ring or not.

Instead, there are more details about the product. Quoting the site: “Easy-to-read, large print, and slim design, this Bible invites you to explore God’s Word anywhere, any time. This bible has been designed so that it delivers an easy reading experience in the trusted King James Version translation.  This large print Bible will be perfect to take to church, a bible study, work, travel, etc.” Close quote.

Now this is just me, again, but the word Bible is sometimes capitalized here, and sometimes it isn’t. I don’t know. What do you do? Do you capitalize the word “Bible” every time you use it? And what about the word “biblical”? Do you capitalize that? And what about the phrase “Bible study”? Do you capitalize that? I usually capitalize “Bible,” and in the phrase “Bible study,” and the word “biblical” is usually lower case. That’s just me.

Next, we have a couple of videos. One is Trump’s endorsement video that he posted on Truth Social, and the other is an ad for the Bible.

Next are a few photos of Greenwood with various people. There’s one with Trump, there’s one with Donald Trump Jr., there’s one with Mike Huckabee, there are some with other people I should probably know but don’t.

Then we get to the Frequently Asked Questions section. This’ll be good.

First question: IS THIS BIBLE OFFICIALLY ENDORSED BY PRESIDENT TRUMP?

Answer: Yes, this is the only Bible endorsed by President Trump!

Question: IS THIS BIBLE OFFICIALLY ENDORSED BY LEE GREENWOOD?

Yes, this is the only Bible endorsed by Lee Greenwood!

And, question: WHAT MAKES THIS BIBLE UNIQUE AND SPECIAL?

Answer: First and foremost, The God Bless The USA Bible is the ONLY Bible inspired by America’s most recognized patriotic anthem, God Bless The USA.

I’m going to pause there. I’m going to take issue with that phrase “America’s most recognized patriotic anthem.” Uh, wouldn’t “The Star Spangled Banner” be America’s most recognized patriotic anthem? Right? I’m thinkin’.

Question: IS THIS A GOOD GIFT?

Absolutely!  The God Bless The USA Bible is the perfect gift for family members, friends, special occassions, and much more!

“Occasions” is misspelled there.

Question: CAN I BUY THIS BIBLE IN A STORE?

No, you can only purchase this Bible at www.godblesstheusabible.com.

And though it says that, you can also get it at Lee Greenwood’s site.

And, some other questions you can ask. Um, the famous one that comedians love: WHAT IF MY BIBLE HAS STICKY PAGES?

Okay, you can have fun there, but it’s, you know, the gold.

Important one: IS ANY OF THE MONEY FROM THIS BIBLE GOING TO THE DONALD J. TRUMP CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT?

The answer is: No, GodBlessTheUSABible.com is not political - I’m gonna do that again - GodBlessTheUSABible.com is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign. GodBlessTheUSABible.com is not owned, managed or controlled by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization, CIC Ventures LLC or any of their respective principals or affiliates.

GodBlessTheUSABible.com uses Donald J. Trump’s name, likeness and image under paid license from CIC Ventures LLC, which license may be terminated or revoked according to its terms.”

Something here that caught my attention, and that is, Who is this CIC Ventures LLC? It turns out, this is the same company that was selling those Trump-imaged NFTs - Non-fungible tokens. These were those trading cards that were showing cartoon images of Trump in various outfits: Here’s Trump as an astronaut, here’s Trump as a cowboy, here’s Trump as a superhero with lasers shooting out of his eyes. There really was. I don’t know who owns CIC Ventures. The address for CIC Ventures is 3505 Summit Boulevard in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Oh, and in unrelated news, the address for Trump’s West Palm Beach Country Club is also 3505 Summit Boulevard. That is CIC Ventures.

At the bottom of GodBlessTheUSABible.com is a contact page, which I used. Elite Source Pro is marketing this, so I contacted them about what this Bible has in it.

And I thought that if it says it has the U.S. Constitution, it would include all 27 Amendments, but the ads for this Bible mention that it contains the Constitution AND the Bill of Rights, which, you know, are already the 1st 10 Amendments. So, I wondered if there was some redundancy, or if they’re only including the Bill of Rights. So, I asked the company if the other 17 Amendments are included as well. It was a serious question. And, as of this recording, I have not received an answer.

Another issue with it is the Pledge of Allegiance. I keep hearing people talk about the Pledge of Allegiance as if it were one of our founding documents.

Remember, it was written in 1892 by Reverend Francis Bellamy - a name we might not know - and it was done for a periodical called “The Youth’s Companion.”

The original wording of the Pledge of Allegiance was this:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

And that phrase, “to my flag,” fit it with what Bellamy hoped would be the use of this pledge by any country.

But, in 1923, some on the right were uncomfortable with immigrants saying, “I pledge allegiance to my flag,” thinking they might mistake it for allegiance to their former country, so, following a push by the American Legion and Daughters of the American Revolution, the words, “the Flag of the United States of America” were put in instead. 

The original pledge also included a hand motion called the Bellamy Salute. If you’ve seen pictures of it, you’ll know what the problem was. That salute was officially dropped on December 22, 1942, because of its similarity to the Nazi Heil Hitler salute. Bad image.

Then, in the Cold War of the 1950s, when the United States wanted to define itself against atheistic communism of the Soviet Union, the words “under God” were added. And so it was, also in the 1950s - in 1956 to be exact - that Congress made the phrase “In God We Trust” the national motto, again putting God into our nation’s motto as against the atheism of the communist Soviet Union, and it replaced “E Pluribus Unum,” and paved the way for its use on money, which we see today.

I would like people, if they would to please stop posting about how public schools won’t allow students to say the pledge, or sing the national anthem, or pray, or read their Bibles, and that schools are indoctrinating students to hate our country. I’ve been there. I’ve seen what goes on. None of those things is true.

We would say the pledge every morning, except on the Fridays we sang the national anthem. Kids could bring Bibles. They could read them on their free time - not in the middle of class (same with their cell phones). And they could pray when they were coming and going from place - it just, it couldn’t interrupt the curriculum. It couldn’t interrupt the teaching, but it could be done on public school grounds.

So, please, make sure your posts are accurate if you want to represent a religious point of view.

To those on the right who are touting the Pledge of Allegiance as a founding document that says, “one nation under God” (that’s the Revised Standard Version from 1954), is now a good time to remind you that the Reverend Francis Bellamy, who wrote the Pledge, was a socialist?

Maybe not.

Look, everyone loves Lee Greenwood’s song. What’s not to like? It’s the song they played when my wife was sworn in as a U.S. citizen.

But suppose you think that including that song in an edition of the Bible is just not quite enough separation of church and state. Worry not. You’re in luck. Here are some options.

Thomas Nelson publishing is offering the American Patriot’s Bible: The Word of God and the Shaping of America, and it’s filled with articles about the Word of God and the shaping of America. It’s in the New King James Version. It’s hard cover. Available at Amazon for $30.49.

Then there’s The Founders’ Bible, which includes the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights and Amendments. It’s in the New Revised Standard Version. It’s hard cover, and it’s available at Amazon for $80.29.

Or, if you just want the King James Version, but are conflicted about mixing founding documents with Holy Writ, you might like The MAGA Bible (Patriot Pack). These red, white, and blue Bibles sport a cover including a cross, an American flag, the word “MAGA,” and the words “One National Under God.” And when I say the Bibles are red, white, and blue, there are 3 Bibles in this Patriot Pack; one is red, one is white, and one is blue. Selling on Amazon for $125.

They’re really just pew Bibles.

Finally, here’s one that looks interesting.

It’s the “We The People Bible.” It’s rather dark. Go find “We The People Bible,” just do that search, and look at the image. It’s dark. It’s a black and grey cover, with a black rendering of a tattered American flag draped vertically down the cover. There are black stars in the field in the upper left and the words “Holy Bible,” then across the bottom, the words “We The People.”

And just at a glance, to be honest, and not to be funny about this, but it looks like a stylized jail cell door. Do a search for it, and you’ll see what I mean.

Quoting from their website, it says, “Every We The People Bible also includes easy-to-read copies of” yup, “America’s founding documents including the United States Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and the Pledge of Allegiance.” And that is only $89.99 from the website.

It sounds just like the God Bless the USA Bible, but without the song. And, scrolling down here. Whoa! What’s this? The We The People Bible is endorsed by - wait for it - Donald Trump Jr. Well that’s got to make for some awkward dining table conversation.

“Hey, Dad, guess what. I just endorsed a Bible with the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and Pledge of Allegiance included right inside.”

“Oh yeah? What about ‘God Bless the USA.’ Does yours include that? Mine does.”

Those are spot on impressions.

Here’s a question. Do you underline or highlight passages in your Bible? I used to underline, never highlighted. If you have a red letter edition, highlighting really messes with the words of Jesus. One of my Bibles is a topical chain reference Bible that comes already highlighted. It lets me know which passages support which theological points of view without having to, you know, study the whole thing myself.

I don’t routinely underline or highlight anymore, because of a nagging voice in my head that says, “I know this whole book is inspired by God, but, of all that God has to say, this is the part I really want to remember.”

I’d like to have a Bible that is only the underlined passages, just the greatest hits, none of the other stuff. Something of a Reader’s Digest version of the Bible, if something that absurd could be imagined.

By the way, there is a Reader’s Digest version of the Bible. It was published in 1982, and edited by a team led by John Walsh, whose middle name, ironically, is Evangelist. It is said to have cut out 55% of the Old Testament and 25% out of the New. It actually was done as a service to those for whom reading the whole text might pose a problem by attention span, or the time it takes, or their ability to read. It used the Revised Standard Version, and contained a list of publishers of the RSV for those who wanted to take the next step. It’s actually not a bad idea.

Now, let’s go to Thomas Jefferson - you know, Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, Author of that Founding Document called the Declaration of Independence - Thomas Jefferson had a Bible like that, and an extremely condensed version. Made it himself. He cut and pasted the book using a razor and glue, and I have a facsimile of it in my hand right here. There are 4 columns of text, left to right, there’s Greek, there’s Latin, French, and English - King James English. The title page says “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth,” and though the binding says only “Morals of Jesus.” It’s just the Gospels, and, there’s more. It’s just Jesus’ teachings. And there’s more. Jefferson, who was a deist, took out any talk about Jesus’ divinity, and everything that was supernatural.

It’s a thin volume.

I think there should be a place for Bibles that contain only those passages that no one underlines ever. Put it on the Island of Misfit Toys. All those begats, all those fire and brimstone things, all those verses that make for really bad Hallmark cards, you know, “‘And Moses told these things unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.’ Happy Birthday!”

By the way, if you’re in church and you’re sitting next to someone who has highlighted just the fire and brimstone stuff, you probably should find a different pew to sit in, or maybe you should leave the Westboro Baptist Church altogether.

Finally, let’s circle back to Religion Unplugged one more time. After the letter of concern from Evangelical Christian authors, after the online petition, and HarperCollins withdrew from the project, the Zondervan authors penned an OpEd to explain what had happened and their role in it. And this was posted on May 25, 2021. Here are some excerpts.

“[W]e watched the rioters on Jan. 6th storm the Capitol. … What some of us remember most are the prayers rioters prayed in the Senate chamber ‘in the name of Jesus,’ including the now recognizable QAnon shaman who wore Viking headgear and publicly thanked God for helping rioters take over the Capitol.

“After that day, hundreds of evangelicals, pastors, authors and faith leaders began to mobilize…

“As Christians around the country organized to address ‘Christian’ nationalism, we heard about this new Bible, with the American flag on the front cover…

“This is not the first time there has been an attempt to fuse American nationalism with the holy book…

“[W]hat is new is a growing awareness of how dangerous nationalism is when coupled with faith. 

“American nationalism,” the authors say, “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.  Like any religion it has its own liturgy, saints and holidays.  These symbols are on full display in this new Bible – the eagle, the flag, the red, white and blue.  America’s civil religion has its own creeds too in the new Bible – “We hold these truths to be self-evident…” It has its own “worship” songs, like “God Bless the USA.” … It has its own theology – manifest destiny, the doctrine of discovery and American exceptionalism.  And this is precisely why it is dangerous to mesh patriotism with orthodox Christian faith.  

“After all, the Bible does not say ‘God bless America.’ It says, ‘God so loved the world.’ The national anthem should not be in the church hymnal, and the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States should not be in the Bible.”

End quote.

To me, the idea that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation is a revisionist myth.

I heard someone argue once that Jesus was in the Constitution. This was news to me. Where is Jesus in the Constitution?

The answer given: In Article 7. Just read it. Just above the signatures. Quote, “done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven.”

Did you catch it? “In the Year of our Lord.” That’s a common convention for identifying dates, but that is given as proof that Jesus is in the Constitution? The arguments are that weak.

Another one points out that God is in the Declaration of Independence. And I know where they’re going with this. It goes like this:“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…”

That’s the thing. “Endowed by their Creator.” So, God is in the Declaration. But, any student of history (and that might be the problem here), any student of history will know that when Jefferson uses the phrase “endowed by their Creator,”- the same Jefferson who took all the supernatural stuff out of the Gospels - when Jefferson says that everyone has these rights from their Creator, he is not pushing back against atheism. He’s pushing back against the inherited idea that these rights were granted by monarchs and the church. Jefferson was a deist, not a Christian. He was not adding a Creator in; he was taking church and king out, making sure that our rights did not come from those authorities.

This is the same Jefferson who gave us the phrase “a wall of separation between Church & State.” And the customary objection is that the exact phrase, those exact words, “separation of church and state” are not in the Constitution,” which is true, but the idea of that separation, which, let’s remember, was done for the benefit of both, is what gave us first the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which led directly to our First Amendment.

By the way, it is well worth remembering that Jefferson was trying to calm the worries of the Baptists of Danbury, Connecticut, with his “wall of separation” language. And from whom did the Baptists of Danbury, Connecticut, wish to seek protection of their religious freedom? It was from the more numerous Congregationalists.

To say this nation was founded on Christian principles or fundamentals, one would have to delineate those principles or fundamentals unique to Christianity, that no people had thought of before.

Liberty? Equality? Self-determination? Free speech? Rule of law? Freedom of assembly? Representative government? Government by consent of the people - which of those is uniquely Christian? The argument that Christianity is or can be against each of these principles is much stronger than the argument that these principles belong only to Christianity.

The historical irony is that those governments that favor one religious disposition over another have become the most secular in moderntimes, while, among Western democracies, the one nation that consistently scores as the most religious is the one that was founded on a secular Constitution: and that is, the United States.

So, to answer your question, yes, I have seen the new Bible Trump is selling. Why do you ask?

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That is today’s story. The soapbox, by the way, is $18.99, available at Amazon.

Next week, we’re going to continue with our Quiz Show. We’ve got 2 segments I think you’ll enjoy.

One thing is, interesting facts out of history. Things that make you go, “Wow!”

And the other is a U.S. Citizenship test. We talk a lot about immigrants, but they happen to score very well on U.S. Citizenship tests, much higher - you won’t be surprise to know - much higher than natural born citizens.

So, next week, Jan and Rob will be back. Dee will be here, and the four of us will be on Quiz Show, part II.

Until then, we are “Making Our Way.”

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