Lee Greenwood has never been shy about two things: his faith and his patriotism. Now, the 78-year-old gets to embrace both at once, with a new custom Bible, using the New International Version of the text, combined with both copies of America’s founding documents and the chorus of his patriotic hit.
“I couldn’t believe there’d be a better match than faith and patriotism,” Greenwood tells The Tennessean.
The Bible is being put out by Elite Source Pro, and was inspired by the challenges of the previous years, including the police brutality protests and other troubling events.
“We put all that together in our thinking cap and we came up with a custom, unique, limited edition ‘God Bless the USA Bible,'” Hugh Kirkpatrick, head of Elite Source Pro, says. “It’s the Holy Bible. It just leans toward you’re American and maybe you need to understand the documents behind America and what did these people believe?”
Included in the “God Bless the U.S.A.” version of The Bible is the Bill of Rights, U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Pledge of Allegiance. It can be pre-ordered for $49.99, and will ship in late September, to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
While Kirkpatrick is aware that some may criticize the new Bible, saying it is part of Christian nationalism, he says that isn’t the case.
“We don’t believe in Christian nationalism at all,” Kirkpatrick maintains. “We really didn’t worry about an extreme left or extreme right being upset … I think most people that we talk to they just want to live and love and go to work and live life.”
As for Greenwood, he just wanted to offer something different, which he hopes can spread across the globe.
“We’re offering a patriotic view of today’s population in America,” Greenwood says. “I hope it goes beyond America. I hope it goes to the world.”
When Greenwood released “God Bless the U.S.A.” in 1984, he knew he had written something special, but never imagined how vital to the country the song would become.
“I guess you’d have to see it through my eyes, the organic rise of popularity of ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’ in this country,” Greenwood previously shared with Everything Nash. “It was Song of the Year for country music in 1985 in Nashville at the CMAs. After that, it was pretty much one of America’s songs. It was recognized by a large group of people after the Gulf War, Katrina, the attack on America, and now the pandemic. I’d venture to say that the lyrics have become more important every time it’s used as a form of unity.
“It thrills me to know that I’ve put it in such a manner that it can bind us all together,” he added. “It is so meaningful to so many. And that’s what we tried to do, is to always bring people together.”