Pastor's Corner

26 May
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Mid-Week Challenge

If you have ever walked through a bookstore before looking for a new Bible you have noticed that there are lots of choices.  What translation, what cover should I chose, do I need one with the maps?  Should I select a Study Bible and if so, which famous pastor’s version should I go with?  You might have noticed the number of themed Bibles.  There’s a men’s and women’s study version, a military and first responder’s version.  There’s even a children’s and young adult version.  A few months ago there was a plan for a new version, a “God Bless the USA” version.  According to the website, the special edition Bible is inspired by Lee Greenwood’s hit song and includes not only the text of Scripture but also copies of the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance and the text of the Greenwood song. The site says it is “perfect to take to church, a Bible study, to work, travel, etc.” and is the “ultimate American Bible.” https://godblesstheusabible.com/ 

The plan was to partner with Zondervan publishing, but Zondervan told Religion Unplugged this week that it would not publish it due to receiving a petition asking them not to print it.  https://religionunplugged.com/news/2021/5/25/after-pushback-harpercollins-will-not-produce-god-bless-the-usa-biblenbsp   The petition labeled the “God Bless the USA” Bible 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.” https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stop-the-presses-on-the-zondervan-god-bless-the

No matter how you feel about talking about the founding documents and the origins of our Nation you have to admit that there has been an assault on the governmental structure and founding of our Nation in the public schools.  There has been a push in many larger school districts to remove traditional teaching on the history of our nation and substitute it with a version of Critical Race Theory.  Terms like Nationalism and American Pride have been hijacked by some and used to denote racism.  In a time of heightened sensitivity toward race many Christians have sought to avoid all mention of anything to do with being American or showing pride in our heritage.  So if the school is not the proper place to talking about these things where should we discuss our national history and show our appreciation to the Lord for where we live?  Like all sensitive subjects, avoiding and ignoring doesn’t make them go away; it only makes problems, misunderstanding and redefining of terms grow uncontrollably.  

The Bible speaks often of different nations and God blessing those who serve Him and have at their core His instructions.  To ignore this fact and to ignore our history and heritage is a dangerous approach.   I don’t know if we need a Bible that has the Constitution and founding documents recorded in between the covers, but I do know that the Lord is honored when we speak of the blessings of our nation and give Him the glory for it.  To separate who we are as a nation from our Christian heritage is dishonest and damaging.  It will only go to further divide us from one another and the truth of the work of the Lord throughout our history and the glory He deserves for it.  

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.  Psalm 33:12

Serving the Savior,

Bro. Jonathan

By: Dr. Jonathan Richerson

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