mgpcpastor's blog

The title for this post was supposed to be ‘A Bible You Can’t Buy In Australia’. But Koorong actually list it, even though they have none in stock. Of course, there’s always Amazon too.
The American Patriot’s Bible is described in the following manner on the website of its publisher, Thomas Nelson:
“THE ONE BIBLE THAT SHOWS HOW ‘A LIGHT FROM ABOVE’ SHAPED OUR NATION. Never has a version of the Bible targeted the spiritual needs of those who love our country more than The American Patriot’s Bible. This extremely unique Bible shows how the history of the United States connects the people and events of the Bible to our lives in a modern world. The story of the United States is wonderfully woven into the teachings of the Bible and includes a beautiful full-color family record section, memorable images from our nation’s history and hundreds of enlightening articles which complement the New King James Version Bible text.”
The subject of hyperbole and extravagent claims in advertising for Christian products is a subject for another day. ‘Never has a version of the Bible targeted the spiritual needs of those who love our country’, ‘extremely unique’. Some humility would be appreciated.
My observations about The Green Bible hold true for this publication as well. It is one thing to publish a history of the United States which seeks to illustrate the spiritual lives of its leaders and incorporates as many biblical texts as desired along the way. It is another thing altogether for any nation’s history to be ‘woven into the teachings of the Bible’.
The history of the USA and it’s leaders are portrayed in a way that seems to lack balance. The Bible itself points out unstintingly that every human being and group of human beings has failings. How critically can a project such as this examine its subjects?
The Bible is the story of God’s glorifying Himself by gathering a holy nation from every nation which is ruled by the One who redeemed us by His blood and who said that His kingdom was not of this world.
Look through the book’s website for yourself. There is video and exerpts. Enough to form your own judgments. The editor of the book Dr Richard Lee is no theological lightweight. He is a Christian leader of substance and sincerity. It brings no happiness to believe this is a sincerely misguided exercise.
Here is a two part review of the book. Part One. Part Two. Dr Lee provides a response here.
One of the reasons I keep returning to this theme is because the way we read the Bible is vital. Many secondary truths are evident in the Scriptures. As I stated earlier, there are ways to write books that use Scripture and demonstrate that secondary truths are being brought to bear. When use of the whole Bible is made, the unfortunate impression some may gain is that your subject is the principle subject of the Scriptures.
That continues to be my problem with all projects of this type. Study Bibles, at their best, try to explain what is there. This latter trend seeks to read into the text elements that could never have been considered by the author.