CREEDE HINSHAW: Save your 50 bucks … you have access to a patriot Bible

Sitting on my bookshelf is my sixth-grade Gideon’s bible, a small New Testament I received in 1959. I suspect I didn’t read much of it, because the print is quite tiny and the version is King James. But it was a gift significant enough for me to save all these decades. On Page 7 of that Bible is the only page printed in color. It is a depiction of the American flag with this verse printed beneath it: “Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.” Proverbs 14:34.

I recalled that pocket-sized New Testament this week upon reading reports of a new bible proposed to go on sale this September. It will be called the God Bless the USA Bible, and the publishers say they hope it will be available by the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

This patriotic bible, to be sold by a Nashville, Tenn.-based marketer, will include the King James Version of the bible and include the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights and handwritten lyrics from Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” Oh yes, red letter edition, as well. You can order yours now for $49.99.

I suspect this bible will be quite popular among those who most closely equate patriotism with the Christian faith. This is the group that blurs the lines between patriotism and faith so they both seem the same. I once passed a church with a cross erected in the church yard, an American flag hoisted atop the cross, an act that was – to me – a desecration of the cross.

But although some in the liberal wing of the Christian church have loudly protested the marriage of the bible with these secular documents, I am not in that camp. It’s a free country. If you can find a publisher, you can print anything you want these days, including many subjects that never should see the light of day. People have every right to publish patriot bibles. Bibles have been published in thousands of ways, many with weird combinations.

I have another suggestion for patriotic Christians, however, and it won’t cost $50. If you have a smart phone, you can carry every one of these important documents on your phone for free. For my bible, I use the YouVersion Bible App which allows the reader to select 1,678 languages to read sacred writ, accompanied by 74 daily and weekly bible reading plans.

As far as patriotic documents, one can also download free apps for every possible foundational paper. There are many apps offering the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, etc. A patriot can download the entire Federalist Papers and James Monroe’s journal on the Constitutional Convention. Others apps offer the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address.

Smart phone technology allows me to carry an entire encyclopedia of civic and sacred documents in my hip pocket, all for free, to be read whenever and wherever I choose.

As for Lee Greenwood’s hit song, I’ll be singing it and playing it this weekend, listening on my music app which, unfortunately, is not free. Happy Fourth of July, dear readers.