The new Trump Bible makes a mockery of scripture’s true message

You may have seen the latest edition of the ‘God Bless America’ Bible. Signed by Donald Trump himself and selling for $1,000, it includes an inscription saying: “The day God intervened: July 18, 2024”.

This is a reference to the first attempt on Trump’s life on the campaign trail, and part of an ongoing attempt to position him as a new ‘chosen one’, commissioned by God to protect American culture from the evils of secular liberalism.

We risk idolatry when we elevate national identity above the gospel

I have written about this before – and I hold that Trump makes a mockery of the message of the very Bible he touts. I find it to be a manipulative, greedy and cynical use of God’s word. Like the money lenders in the Temple courts, it uses something sacred for the means of self-promotion and making money.

However, a new criticism has emerged this week: the ‘God Bless America’ Bibles are printed in Hangzhou, China. Considering Trump’s vocal criticism of China, it’s hard to avoid a charge of hypocrisy. As Rolling Stone magazine puts it: “The former president promises to bring back manufacturing from China while profiting off their goods.”

A boom in Bibles

China is the world’s manufacturing powerhouse. It is also one of the biggest printers of Bibles. The Amity Printing Co (APC) in Nanjing produces more than any other country - 70 Bibles every single minute!

It seems ironic that a country so hostile to Christianity would print so many Bibles for the world, while restricting access for its own citizens.

China has two main church streams. The house church movement, which often faces restrictions and arrests as part of ordinary life, and the state-sanctioned church – the Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM).

Three Self churches are the acceptable face of Christianity in China. They follow Chinese Communist Party (CCP) dictats, sing patriotic songs in their services and display Communist-friendly flags in their buildings.

Most significantly, they use the officially sanctioned CCP translation of the Bible. This is a radical rewriting of the original text that distorts Christ beyond recognition. For example, in John 8:3-11, where the Pharisees catch a woman in adultery, Jesus challenges them: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” As we know, the crowd disperse and Jesus then forgives her, telling her to “leave your life of sin.”

However, in the CCP translation, he instead admits his own sin and stones the woman himself, pressing home a government lesson: “I too am a sinner. If the law could only be executed by men without blemish, the law would be dead.”

This is a shocking misrepresentation of a false gospel in the service of nationalism and, ultimately, the CCP.

Trump’s Bible does not go so far as to rewrite the actual words of scripture. But the addition of patriotic texts such as the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence and the Pledge of Allegiance could be seen as attempting to make them equivalent to the Word of God.

We should remember God’s warning in Deuteronomy 4:2, which says: “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it.”

An idolatrous generation

When we prioritise nationalism over Christ’s teachings, we risk diluting the gospel’s message. Jesus did not come to endorse any political ideology; he came to establish his kingdom. As Christians, our foremost calling is the Great Commission. Matthew 28:19-20 reads: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” – not in the spirit of nationalism. Christianity transcends borders and cultures.

It seems ironic that a country so hostile to Christianity would print so many bibles for the world

We risk idolatry when we elevate national identity above the gospel. This can lead to a misguided belief that our nation’s interests align perfectly with God’s will. Wherever faith in Christ is conformed to the idol of nationalism, the ugly outcome is the same. A subservient Christ, the abuse of faith to serve political ends, and an anaemic Church with no public witness.

This temptation is common to all humanity, not just America. We must always be on guard against those seeking to use Christ for their own gain. But we must also guard our own hearts – mine more than anyone’s.

Let’s pray for the wisdom and conviction of our brothers and sisters in the Chinese house church movement to see through deceitful idolatry. Regardless of political posturing, all authority on heaven and earth still belongs to Jesus.