The God Bless the U.S.A. Bible, also known as the Trump Bible, is an edition of the King James Version of the Christian Bible containing additional content specifically relating to the United States. The patriotic compilation was created by country music singer-songwriter Lee Greenwood and first published in 2021. It was later marketed by Donald Trump under his brand name and promoted as part of his 2024 presidential campaign.
In May 2021, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York, Greenwood published a "God Bless the U.S.A." edition of the Bible. It has the U.S. flag on its leather cover and includes the texts of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the chorus of Greenwood's song "God Bless the USA" in Greenwood's handwriting. [1] [2] The text of the Bible was intended to be the New International Version, [3] but Zondervan, the division of HarperCollins that owns the rights to the New International Version, withheld them rather than associate Christianity with U.S. nationalism, and the King James Version was used, which is in the public domain in the United States. [4]
The book created further controversy in 2024 when former president Donald Trump promoted a new edition of it. [5] In March, Trump began promoting the book at a price point of $60. The website selling the Bible bills it as "the only Bible endorsed by" Trump and that his "name, likeness and image" are being used under paid license from one of Trump's organizations, CIC Ventures LLC. [6] [7]
The creation and sale of this version of the Bible has drawn criticism from various quarters due to its incorporation of documents specific to a single country, and assertions that it gives the appearance of an effort to profiteer off of a text of religious significance. [2] Charlotte, North Carolina, evangelical pastor Loran Livingston drew national attention when he gave a sermon denouncing the Trump Bible as "blasphemous" and "disgusting" for tying the Bible to American politics. [8] [9] YouTube Bible reviewer Tim Wildsmith's review of the Bible, where he described it as "overpriced," "a money grab," and "a really cheap[ly-made] Bible that did not cost them very much money to make," amassed over 500,000 views. [10] The bible was noted to be missing amendments 11-27 to the Constitution. [11]
The New International Version (NIV) is a translation of the Bible into contemporary English. Published by Biblica, the complete NIV was released in 1978 with a minor revision in 1984 and a major revision in 2011. The NIV relies on recently-published critical editions of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts.
William Franklin Graham III is an American evangelist and missionary in the evangelical movement. He frequently engages in Christian revival tours and political commentary. The son of Billy Graham, he is president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and of Samaritan's Purse, an international Christian relief organization. Graham became a "committed Christian" in 1974 and was ordained in 1982, and has since become a public speaker and author.
A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities. Most megachurches are Protestant, and particularly Evangelical, although the word denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant Christian church that draws 2,000 or more people in a weekend.
John Stephen Piper is an American Baptist theologian, pastor, and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Piper taught biblical studies at Bethel University for six years (1974–1980), before serving as pastor for preaching and vision of Bethlehem Baptist Church (Converge) in Minneapolis for 33 years (1980–2013).
The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is a Holiness Pentecostal megachurch and denomination in Lagos, Nigeria.
The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is an American association of Evangelical Christian denominations, organizations, schools, churches, and individuals, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. The association represents more than 45,000 local churches from about 40 different Christian denominations and serves a constituency of millions. The mission of the NAE is to honor God by connecting and representing Evangelicals in the United States.
The English Standard Version (ESV) is a translation of the Bible in contemporary English. Published in 2001 by Crossway, the ESV was "created by a team of more than 100 leading evangelical scholars and pastors." The ESV relies on recently published critical editions of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts.
Lakewood Church is a non-denominational evangelical Christian megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It is among the largest congregations in the United States, averaging about 45,000 attendees per week. The 16,800-seat Lakewood Church building, home to four English-language services and two Spanish-language services per week, is located at the former Compaq Center. Joel Osteen is the senior pastor of Lakewood Church with his wife, Victoria, who serves as co-pastor.
William Franklin Graham Jr. was an American evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister and civil rights advocate whose broadcasts and world tours featuring live sermons became well known in the mid- to late 20th century. Throughout his career, spanning over six decades, Graham rose to prominence as an evangelical Christian figure in the United States and abroad.
"God Bless the U.S.A." is an American patriotic song written and recorded by American country music artist Lee Greenwood, and is considered to be his signature song. The first album it appears on is his 1984 album You've Got a Good Love Comin'. It reached No. 7 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart when originally released on May 21, 1984. That summer, the song was included in a film about President Ronald Reagan, the Republican presidential nominee, that was shown at the 1984 Republican National Convention. "God Bless the U.S.A." gained prominence during the 1988 United States presidential election campaign, when Greenwood performed the song at the 1988 Republican National Convention and at rallies for the Republican nominee, George H.W. Bush. The song was also featured in television advertisements for Bush. The song became popular again during the Gulf War in 1990 and 1991. As a result of its newfound popularity, Greenwood re-recorded the track for his 1992 album American Patriot.
Greg Laurie is an American evangelical pastor, evangelist and author who serves as the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, based in Riverside, California. He also is the founder of Harvest Crusades. Laurie is also the subject of the 2023 film Jesus Revolution, which tells the story of how he converted to Christianity and got his start in ministry in the midst of the Jesus movement.
Melvin Lee Greenwood is an American country music singer-songwriter and saxophonist. Active since 1962, he has released more than 20 major-label albums and has charted more than 35 singles on the Billboard country music charts.
The Evangelical left is a Christian left movement in Evangelical Christianity that affirms conservative evangelical theology and are politically progressive. It is mainly based in the US, but is also found in Latin America.
The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a theological belief and movement that combines elements of Pentecostalism, evangelicalism and the Seven Mountain Mandate to advocate for spiritual warfare to bring about Christian dominion over all aspects of society, and end or weaken the separation of church and state. NAR leaders often call themselves apostles and prophets. Long a fringe movement of the American Christian right, it has been referred to as "one of the most significant and controversial movements in late-twentieth-century evangelicalism." The NAR's prominence and power have increased since the 2016 election of Donald Trump as US president. Theology professor André Gagné, author of a 2024 book on the movement, has characterized it as "inherently political" and said it threatens to "subvert democracy." Many notable American Republican politicians such as Mike Johnson, Doug Mastriano, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert and activists such as Charlie Kirk have aligned with it.
Paula Michelle White-Cain is an American televangelist and a proponent of prosperity theology.
Christianese refers to the contained terms and jargon used within many of the branches and denominations of Christianity as a functional system of religious terminology. It is characterized by the use in everyday conversation of certain words, theological terms, puns and catchphrases, in ways that may be only comprehensible within the context of a particular Christian sect or denomination. The terms used do not necessarily come from the Bible itself. They may have come into use through discussions about doctrine, through the social history of the Christian church at large, or in the unique history of a specific denomination or movement.
The Good Book Company (TGBC) is an evangelical Christian publisher, located in Epsom, Surrey, England. They are structured as a large unquoted, private company, limited by share capital. Their practices include publishing, mission outreach and training. The Publisher was declared runner up in the Christian Publisher of the Year Award by the Trade Body for Christian Publishing and Retailing in the UK.
George Arthur Buttrick was an English-born, American-based Christian preacher, author and lecturer.
Robert James Jeffress Jr. is an American Southern Baptist pastor, author, radio host, and televangelist. He is the senior pastor of the 14,000-member First Baptist Church, a megachurch in Dallas, Texas, and is a Fox News Contributor. His sermons are broadcast on the television and radio program Pathway to Victory, which is broadcast on more than 1,200 television stations in the United States and 28 other countries, and is heard on 900 stations and broadcast live in 195 countries.
Guillermo Maldonado is a Honduran-American evangelical Christian, pastor, televangelist, and author. He is the co-founder and senior pastor of El Rey Jesús, a Nondenominational Christian megachurch located in Miami, Florida.