Bids opened Monday for a contract to supply the state Department of Education with 55,000 Bibles. According to the bid documents, vendors must meet certain specifications: Bibles must be the King James Version; must contain the Old and New Testaments; must include copies of the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and must be bound in leather or leather-like material.

A salesperson at Mardel Christian & Education searched, and though they carry 2,900 Bibles, none fit the parameters.

But one Bible fits perfectly: Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the U.S.A. Bible, endorsed by former President Donald Trump and commonly referred to as the Trump Bible. They cost $60 each online, with Trump receiving fees for his endorsement.

  • BigMacHole@lemm.ee
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    6 months ago

    Forcing your State to buy 55000 Bibles from ONLY Trump is PROOF that DEMOCRATS are the Swamp!

  • Rob@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Why are they putting bibles in classrooms in the first place? Did they repeal the First Amendment?

    • kyle@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      Apparently, the State Superintendent gets to decide what gets taught in classrooms, and how it gets taught is left up to individual school districts. But it’s fully within his right because no “commentary” is allowed around the Bible, just how important it was to America’s history.

      Why that requires a physical copy that’s leather bound, I have no idea. Nor why the money has to come from the fucking payroll budget.

      Oklahoma is ranked 49th in education, yet this is what we’re spending money on? Seriously?

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      The first amendment doesn’t apply to Christian evangelism.

      According to SCOTUS at any rate.

    • ArtVandelay@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a den of robbers.” -Matthew 21:13

      To be clear, I don’t believe in fairy tales, but they clearly don’t either.

  • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    For fuck’s sake in ten years we’re going to hear kids tell us the Constitution was given to us by Jesus.

  • Sam_Bass@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    if that doesnt convince you that religion is made up on the spot for conniving convenience, nothing will

    • 1024_Kibibytes@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      Some denominations do believe that only the KJV is the correct English translation. Many of those people do not understand what the words actually mean. They interpret the text very narrowly and frequently are told by others what interpretation is correct.

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Which the whole symbolism of the temple veil being torn when Jesus carked on the cross was meant to mean there was no need for anyone (the clergy) to do that or to intercede.

      • ArtVandelay@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        “If the King James version was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me”.

        I live in the shithole south, and I have heard this unironically on multiple occasions. Please send help. And education.

      • kyle@lemm.ee
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        6 months ago

        That’s insane, because the KJV is objectively a bad translation. I’m not even Christian anymore and it still annoys me how popular it is.

    • milkisklim@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      It’s public domain so they don’t have to pay for the copyright of a modern translation.

  • TooManyFoods@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    With the 3 million they would save buying the cheaper bibles(something they shouldn’t be doing either) they could wash a lot of men’s feet. They could be teaching all these students how to fish. That is their job after all.

  • AA5B@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Yep, that’s when you start with the answer you want, then set “general” requirements that only it can meet

  • dgmib@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Who tf wrote those requirements?

    It seems pretty clear to me that they intended the Trump Bible to be the only one that fit all the specifications.

    • carbonari_sandwich@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      While it’s obviously weird to want the bill of rights and declaration of independence in your Bible; let me just say, if your goal is to convert kids to Christianity, the KJV bible is just completely opaque to children that don’t normally read 17th century literature.

  • cultsuperstar@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Trump, cashing in on licensing. Like the $100K watches, where proceeds don’t quite go to funding his campaign. They money goes pretty much directly to his pocket. He loves the poorly educated!