The God Bless the USA Bible is back—but back-ordered
The God Bless the USA Bible has been resurrected from the dead but still faces some supply challenges due to “woke” companies that refuse to participate in the project, its publisher announced on March 1.
News of the Lee Greenwood project was first announced last year, but the God-and-country project ran into an obstacle when HarperCollins, owner of the copyright to the New International Version of the Bible, declined to authorize that translation’s use or move forward with the project.
The initial announcement drew howls of protest not only from church-state separationists but from pastors and other religious leaders. The key selling point for the new product is that it combines the complete biblical text with the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and Pledge of Allegiance. Plus, “it will include the handwritten chorus lyrics of ‘God Bless the USA’ penned by Greenwood, who both wrote and recorded the song now beloved by an entire nation.”
The God Bless the USA Bible was intended to ship on September 11, 2021, to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
However, a petition asking HarperCollins Christian Publishing to “rethink” the project garnered more than 900 signatures, and a number of high-profile Christian authors, including Lisa Sharon Harper and Shane Claiborne, spoke out against the project.
Shortly afterward, HarperCollins announced that it would not be publishing or manufacturing the God Bless the USA Bible and that the marketing for it had been “premature.” So the project’s organizers have spent the last year seeking another way to get their version of the Good Book printed.
Step one was to revert to the King James Version of the Bible, which has no copyright restrictions in the United States. Step two was to find a willing printer, who has not been named.
However, orders already are on hold.
The project’s website flashes this “important notice”: “The God Bless the USA Bible is on extreme back order due to very limited paper and cover material. If you order, your place in line and your price will be guaranteed. Several ‘woke’ companies have refused to help us, but we will not be deterred. Always remember that united we stand & divided we fall! God bless the USA!”
A news release from Elite Source Pro, the company behind the project, quotes Fox News as saying Bible sales have been at a “record high over the past year” because people are “searching for hope.”
“We are hoping it will bring renewed hope to America at a time most needed and become a treasured Bible that is ultimately passed down as a family heirloom,” said Hugh Kirkpatrick, president of Elite Source Pro. —Baptist News Global
