The “America Reads the Bible” event took place in late April and drew hundreds of Christian leaders, entertainers and politicians, organizers said, according to an opinion piece published on Magnolia Tribune.
The piece said President Donald Trump was assigned 2 Chronicles 7:11-22, a passage the article described as a decades-old call to “national remembrance of God and corporate repentance.” The article quoted the verse often cited in such appeals: “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land,” attributing the passage to the Bible.
The Magnolia Tribune commentary urged that those who embrace the verses should accept their full context, noting the biblical account of Solomon’s temple dedication and subsequent warnings that turning to other gods would bring exile and “disaster,” the article said. It argued that public Scripture reading is valuable but insufficient without sober leadership to assess the nation’s moral direction.
The article listed a series of social indicators it said reflect that direction, saying the U.S. government “spends $1.33 for every dollar collected” and naming abortion, divorce, gun deaths, homicide, incarceration, addictions, single-parent households, child poverty, maternal mortality and obesity among concerns. It called on political and religious leaders — and, first and foremost, individuals, families and local churches — to “humble ourselves” and seek change, the piece concluded.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
