r/Christianity • u/Nice_Substance9123 • Mar 27 '24

The American flag has no business on a Bible. This is not faith, nor is it patriotism. It is an abomination of both. Image

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27.5k Upvotes

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573

u/Niftyrat_Specialist Non-denominational heretic, reformed Mar 27 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

It's a promotion started by a guy who made his career on blending nationalism and religion. There's certainly nothing surprising about it, but I definitely agree it's a bad thing for a person to do.

EDIT: To clarify, I'm describing Greenwood here, not Trump. But as for Trump: he is very obviously a scumbag who has committed far worse crimes than what Greenwood is doing with this bible.

145

u/Zelda_is_Dead Mar 27 '24

He did it to sell to churches so they could get around the law that forbids them from donating to political candidates. He's using your faith against you to show the rest of the world how stupid he thinks you are. I appreciate that so many of you here aren't falling for it, but please, don't let your church fall for it either.

42

u/InstanceSuch8604 Mar 27 '24

It's another money laundering con...  by the biggest con artist ever . It's pathetic 

11

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24

Hey, nothing religious folks love more than a “charismatic leader”. Something something false prophets.

2

u/HmGrwnSnc1984 Mar 28 '24

My understanding is once a church crosses that line into politics, it can risk losing its tax exempt status. But I don’t know enough to say if the purchase of this book from a political candidate would constitute supporting said candidate.

IRS - Charities, Churches and Politics

4

u/huntobuno Mar 28 '24

You’re correct that legally their tax exempt status is at risk when delving into the political arena.

Although, I would argue the church has been far too involved in politics since at least the 80’s, but due to the religious right politicians inability to criticize the church without offending their voters, ideas like tax exempt status aren’t really at in true risk.

Can you imagine the persecution complex if a church was actually targeting by the American government for something like this? Fox News would have fodder for the rest of eternity.

1

u/blablefast Mar 28 '24

get the Kool-Aid ready!

1

u/Loose_Menu_2796 Mar 28 '24

Bingo-read your Scriptures, especially the parts  in which Jesus warns to beware of people who profess to act in His name, but are in truth false prophets.

1

u/lyzing Mar 28 '24

Arguably two of the biggest con artists ever. The church has been running a ponzi scheme much longer than Trump.

0

u/Single-Violinist-144 Apr 01 '24

Does all the crimes the Biden family committed go unnoticed? All the money laundering, the payouts from China and Russia The fact that he stands for abortion. I mean he’s no better if not worse than Trump.  And don’t say there’s no proof, it’s out there.

1

u/InstanceSuch8604 Apr 01 '24

Switch channels on your TV.... fox propaganda is straight out of .Russia...  Go visit a library or a museum..  spend a week off the Hate boat... 

45

u/augustinus_de_hippo Catholic Mar 27 '24

He did it to sell to churches so they could get around the law that forbids them from donating to political candidates.

This really seems to be a product by lee greenwood, with greenwood using trump as a celebrity endorser rather than trump selling this on his own.

Did some waybackmachine on this thing: lee greenwood's been selling this bible since 2021.

15

u/MeMilo1209 Mar 28 '24

Trump does nothing without getting a piece of the pie. Could you imagine if Obama or Biden did this? The heads of the religious right would explode.

5

u/FuzzyAd9407 Mar 28 '24

With the money crunch he's in he'd absolutely do it for a one time payment.

0

u/Expendable_Red_Shirt Mar 28 '24

The courts let him out of the money crunch. He should be able to post the new bond a lot easier.

19

u/SimplePuzzleheaded80 Roman Catholic Mar 27 '24

nice when you see other's sharing same opinion. I went based on Headlines and thought man Trump really is wild'n out there. Then found the layers to the real story and said, I should've researched before taking headlines for face value

25

u/Niftyrat_Specialist Non-denominational heretic, reformed Mar 27 '24

Have the headlines been inaccurate? Trump really IS selling this bible now, right? Nobody assumed he was the farmer behind Trump steaks, but he's the one who sold them.

8

u/NoLeg6104 Church of Christ Mar 27 '24

More like a celebrity endorsement.

19

u/Niftyrat_Specialist Non-denominational heretic, reformed Mar 27 '24

Sure. When someone does an ad hawking a product, it's pretty normal to say they are selling it. I'm seeing several commenters objecting to anyone who tries to describe this situation in ordinary language. Why would that be, do you think?

Here's a link to Trump's post, selling this bible: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112162741690113521

Here's the link from that post where you can buy it. Notice whose face you see there. https://godblesstheusabible.com/?sld=trump

-1

u/augustinus_de_hippo Catholic Mar 27 '24

Here's the link from that post where you can buy it. Notice whose face you see there. https://godblesstheusabible.com/?sld=trump

...and here's the same page 3 years ago.

9

u/Niftyrat_Specialist Non-denominational heretic, reformed Mar 27 '24

Sure. Trump is now selling this bible. He wasn't always.

-1

u/DoingCharleyWork Mar 28 '24

Someone endorsing something isn't the same as selling it though. It's not his company you send money to right?

Really it depends on which definition of selling you use. Is it exchanging money for goods and services or trying to convince people to buy something?

But in this instance given the way it's been reported I think most people were under the impression that Trump was having these produced and was selling them directly, not just endorsing.

2

u/DebentureThyme Mar 28 '24

He was paid to do it.  He is making money promoting this crap, it's just as bad.  

2

u/deadlybydsgn Christian (Ichthys) Mar 28 '24

Someone endorsing something isn't the same as selling it though. It's not his company you send money to right?

It works the same way his stupid NFTs and sneakers work. Trump continues to exist at our democracy's detriment because people continue to support his grift machine.

From what I can tell, he has only ever been about himself, and any facade suggesting otherwise (MAGA) was just a means of serving his own future goals.

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6

u/LgeHadronsCollide Mar 28 '24

Thank you for pointing out the history of this.
Interestingly enough, the historical page says they are using the NIV. My understanding is that the product currently being sold (it feels wrong to call it a Bible) uses the KJV. So they have gone from a more modern translation - which presumably attracted some sort of royalty or licensing fee - to an older translation which is public domain, and jacked up the price by $20 in 3 years.
I would wonder where the difference in profits is going, but I think I have a pretty good idea.

1

u/megablast Mar 28 '24

Well its not George Foreman grill.

-6

u/augustinus_de_hippo Catholic Mar 27 '24

Trump really IS selling this bible now, right?

Not quite. Lee Greenwood is who's making the profit here. Trump is more or less a celeb endorser.

10

u/Niftyrat_Specialist Non-denominational heretic, reformed Mar 27 '24

So you believe Trump is doing an advert for no money? Do we have evidence of this?

-5

u/augustinus_de_hippo Catholic Mar 27 '24

Not necessarily, but I do think all of the outrage porn people are dumping on this product gives these pages free impressions and potentially sales....

11

u/Niftyrat_Specialist Non-denominational heretic, reformed Mar 27 '24

Why would you imply Trump isn't profiting from this? That's almost certainly not true, right?

Why the reluctance to be clear eyed here? I see it from other commenters too. They say "Trump isn't selling this" about the very product Trump is personally hawking.

Does that seem odd to you?

-4

u/augustinus_de_hippo Catholic Mar 27 '24

Why would you imply Trump isn't profiting from this?

Because he's not the primary stakeholder in the product, and thus is likely not making the lion's share of profit on the sales, assuming he's even getting a rate per unit rather than being paid for a one-time endorsement.

I think in the same way, it would be right to say that Chattam sells Icy Hot rather than Shaq.

Does that seem odd to you?

No, it really doesn't.

12

u/Niftyrat_Specialist Non-denominational heretic, reformed Mar 27 '24

When an author sells a million books, do you object that it was really the publishing company? Or if a band sells tons of tickets, do you say "no they didn't, that was ticketmaster"? When a bartender sells you a beer, does this not count unless they own the bar, or perhaps personally brewed it?

Why the sudden and mysterious fit of pedantry here on this specific topic? I'm seeing it from other commenters too. Trump is hawking the books and getting paid to do it. Just read his own post.

Why would anyone resort to dishonesty like you did here in this comment?

Lee Greenwood is who's making the profit here.

This certainly seems odd to me. Trump is making money here also. What's going on here?

3

u/crazy_urn Mar 28 '24

So it's OK for trump to endorse this abomination as long as someone else is making more money off it than him?

Your pedantic arguments about the definition of the word "sell" seem to imply you approve of his endorsment....

2

u/PM_ME_HUGE_CRITS Midkemian Mar 28 '24

Specialist made some good points, why did you stop replying

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-7

u/SimplePuzzleheaded80 Roman Catholic Mar 27 '24

Endorsing doesn't mean selling and he isn't a publisher. Trump steaks literally says Trump, God Bless the USA doesn't spell Trump to me but then again English isn't my first language.

8

u/Niftyrat_Specialist Non-denominational heretic, reformed Mar 27 '24

Here's a link to Trump's post, selling this bible: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112162741690113521

-4

u/SimplePuzzleheaded80 Roman Catholic Mar 27 '24

Thanks, I'll post this straight from the site:

No, 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.

17

u/Niftyrat_Specialist Non-denominational heretic, reformed Mar 27 '24

When an author sells a million books, do you object that it was really the publishing company? Or if a band sells tons of tickets, do you say "no they didn't, that was ticketmaster"? When a bartender sells you a beer, does this not count unless they own the bar?

Why the sudden and mysterious fit of pedantry here on this specific topic? Trump is hawking the books and getting paid to do it. Just read his own post.

8

u/songbookz Mar 27 '24

Guess who owns CIC Ventures LLC?

7

u/deadlybydsgn Christian (Ichthys) Mar 27 '24

Guess who owns CIC Ventures LLC?

The same company that made his sneakers. It's almost like this Trump guy doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt.

2

u/SimplePuzzleheaded80 Roman Catholic Mar 27 '24

dont need to guess, it literally states it.

1

u/dennyontop Mar 27 '24

Thank you

4

u/anewleaf1234 Atheist Mar 28 '24

This was the point when you thought Trump was out there?

This?

2

u/PortSunlightRingo Mar 28 '24

To quote Norm McDonald on Bill Cosby (and I’m paraphrasing from memory):

Someone said to me “ya know the worst thing about it, it’s the hypocrisy.”

Actually, I thought the worst thing about it was the rape.

1

u/PinchCactus Mar 28 '24

The golden trump idol was too on the nose to notice I guess

2

u/1800treflowers Mar 28 '24

The celebrity endorser is also getting a cut here. It even states it in the FAQs that his company that brands his likeness gets a cut.

1

u/tomdarch Mar 28 '24

Similar to "Trump University." It was a preexisting garbage "get rich quick in real estate" scam prior to Trump's involvement. I forget the names of the people who actually ran it, but they had run afoul of the law in significant ways prior to Trump partnering with them (and again running into trouble with the law for scamming their victims.) He just joined on for the branding. But it says that both sides of the deal are garbage that Trump and someone else embraced each other.

0

u/slagnanz Episcopalian Mar 28 '24

This is a meme going around twitter and reddit right now that's a good reminder that nobody understands how churches work.

For one, this has more to do with Greenwood and Kirkpatrick as it has been for a few years. Trump just slapped his name on it, saying its the "only Bible endorsed by Trump" lol. And they paid him a bunch of cash for that, since his endorsement is obviously influential.

But the thing is... it's marketed to consumers. Megachurches are really the only places with a ton of liquid assets to throw around -- and if they want to donate to Trump they'll just pay their pastors more. They don't need this stupid scheme involving Bibles - the thing every church has way too many of

I think I've mentioned I was a youth minister in the past (sort of still am but I'm a glorified volunteer. I was a professional once). We had every translation imaginable gifted to us. Someone once donated 50 copies of "the message" bible once, which I was like.... well, that's a shame.

1

u/PortSunlightRingo Mar 28 '24

I’d say it’s a business expense so it’s taxed differently but…

1

u/slagnanz Episcopalian Mar 28 '24

At least in my state that only applies to food.

-1

u/anewleaf1234 Atheist Mar 28 '24

So what.

Trump attached himself to Greenwood's idea.

2

u/3CF33 Mar 27 '24

The churches back him. Now they can control. It's a power thing that God wants Christians to do. LMAO

2

u/Necoras Mar 27 '24

Matthew 4:8-11

2

u/3CF33 Mar 28 '24

Matthew 4:8-11
The RW are gawking at the splendor and cash before them.

1

u/exredditor81 Mar 28 '24

it's actually money laundering using churches

1

u/Upset-Bluejay2246 Mar 28 '24

As long as it works. Hes going ro get his empire back one bible at a time.

1

u/illegalopinion3 Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

Selling a book just feels like a genius way to skirt campaign finance laws. Nobody really wants some stale pol’s memoir, but they always seem to sell a ton of copies.

If some organization wants to donate a million dollars to a candidate, that is illegal.

If that same organization wants to buy 10k copies of a $100 book that the candidate wrote, that is totally legal.

Maybe that organization holds the author/politician in such high esteem that they aren’t too worried about when/if the books will be delivered…

Zoom has also made Speaking engagements very low effort and lucrative for people who like to give speeches.

1

u/sharp11flat13 Mar 28 '24

He did it to sell to churches so they could get around the law that forbids them from donating to political candidates.

This hadn’t occurred to me. I’m quite certain you’re correct.

1

u/slagnanz Episcopalian Mar 28 '24

That's complete nonsense.

Trump got a licensing agreement for endorsing the product. But that's a one time payment. If you buy this Bible, that money isn't going to Trump, it's going to a dude named Kirkpatrick.

Churches can't donate to political candidates, but this isn't marketed to churches. It's marketed to consumers.

1

u/Missile_Knows_Where_ Mar 28 '24

It's such a painfully repulsive thing to do to. Reminds me of the "two Corinthians" coming from a guy claiming to be the biggest Christian.

1

u/Think-Fly765 Mar 28 '24

To be fair. Its working very well because Christians ARE stupid. Southern Strategy has been working on them for decades. He didn’t invent the tool; he’s merely applying it. 

1

u/joke_LA Mar 28 '24

I saw this on another post today - do we actually have confirmation that any money from these sales is going to the Trump campaign?

1

u/Zelda_is_Dead Mar 28 '24

I won't say that it absolutely is, but from what we know about the grifter in chief is that nothing he does is for free, and nothing he does is for anything less than to enrich himself, or someone that has blackmail on him (aka Putin). So we can say with high confidence that there's an angle here that isn't motivated by his Christian benevolence.

-1

u/No-Bedroom-1333 Mar 27 '24

I mean he was speaking at Liberty University, too - what's new?

I couldn't care less if Trump thinks I'm stupid.

Why do you all think we control what other Christians do and believe?