An outraged evangelical pastor has railed against Donald Trump‘s MAGA bible as ‘disgusting’ and ‘blasphemous’ in a furious rant.
Loran Livingston devoted several minutes of his sermon at Central Church of North Carolina, in Charlotte, to trashing the ex-president’s merchandise.
The God Bless the USA Bible, which costs $60 – four times a normal one – to fund Trump’s escalating legal bills, was launched last month.
His bible includes copies of the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and the Pledge of Allegiance, as well as a handwritten chorus of the famous Greenwood song God Bless the USA.
These extras, and the American flag on the leather cover, incensed pastor Livingston, and he accused anyone buying it of not knowing God’s word.
Loran Livingston devoted several minutes of his sermon at Central Church of North Carolina , in Charlotte, to trashing Donald Trump’s MAGA bible as ‘disgusting’ and ‘blasphemous’
‘When you don’t read and pray, you say, «Wow, there’s a Bible out now that includes the Constitution and the Bill of rights! Isn’t that wonderful?» he began.
‘No, no. It’s disgusting! It’s blasphemous! It’s a ploy! Are you kidding me?
‘Some of you are so encouraged by that. Let me tell you something. The gospel is not an American gospel! It is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!’
Livingston, who is a hardline conservative who moments earlier railed against ‘the whole LGBTQ thing’ and called abortion murder, mocked Christians who were ‘encouraged’ by the Trump bible including the US Constitution.
‘A document that says, «We are of the people, by the people and for the people». The people, the people, the people!’ he said, beating his palm with his fist.
‘And you have put it right beside the word of God, which is eternal, unchanging, which says of him, by him, through him, to him, from him are all things.
‘And you’re going to put those together and be happy about it? God forbid!’
Livingston said he didn’t care if his words made those listening mad, and if they glorified Trump’s bible they were ignorant of God’s will.
‘If you glory in that kind of thing, you don’t have a prayer life. If you glory in that kind of mess, political mess, you do not know what the word of God says,’ he said.
Trump launched the God Bless the USA Bible, which costs $60 – four times a normal one – to fund his escalating legal bills, last month
Livingston also attacked worshippers who ‘brought politics into the church’ and viewed voting as a spiritual duty.
‘No, your duty is to serve the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, body, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself,’ he bellowed.
‘Don’t be talking to me about my «spiritual responsibility» to vote. I don’t have a spiritual responsibility, I have a civic privilege.
‘Don’t be telling me that voting is spiritual.’
Livingston never mentioned Trump’s bible by name, but it was clear he was infuriated with the book blurring the lines of church and state.
His break with Trump was only on that issue, however, as his sermon was about how Christians would be ‘confused about everything’ if they didn’t study the Bible.
Thinking the God Bless the USA Bible was something they should buy was just one example, alongside classic conservative Christian ideology.
Livingston is a hardline conservative who moments earlier in the same sermon railed against ‘the whole LGBTQ thing’ and called abortion ‘premeditated murder’
‘People who don’t read the Bible, who don’t pray, who call themselves Christians, get confused about the whole LGBTQ thing,’ he said.
‘Because instead of looking at what the word says, they look– look at how people feel and how they feel and what’s doing to people.
‘People who don’t read the Bible and pray and call themselves Christians will be confused about abortion. Is it a woman’s right? On and on.
‘It is murder! Yes. It’s the premeditated termination of innocent human life! That’s called murder!’
The website selling the God Bless the USA Bible touts it as ‘the only Bible endorsed by President Trump!’
The Bible is described as ‘easy-to-read’ with ‘large print’ and a ‘slim design’ that ‘invites you to explore God’s Word anywhere, any time’.
The cover of the King James version Bible contains the words ‘Holy Bible’ and ‘God Bless the USA’ and a design based on the US flag.
The website says the Bible is not funding Trump’s presidential campaign, noting it’s ‘not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign’.
Instead it’s one of Trump’s latest money-making ventures along with his Trump-branded sneakers and NFTs that show him in cartoon-like images, including as an astronaut, a cowboy and a superhero.
‘Religion and Christianity are the biggest things missing from this country,’ Trump says in his Bible pitch.
‘And I truly believe that we need to bring them back and we have to bring them back fast. I think it’s one of the biggest problems we have. That’s why our country is going haywire. We’ve lost religion in our country.’
He goes on to say: ‘We love God and we have to protect anything that is pro God.’
He concludes with a twist on his campaign slogan, saying: ‘We must make America pray again.’
