As schoolkids learn in civics class, our government is made up of three separate branches. Your church is not one of them.

Unless you live in Oklahoma.

There, a fanatical Christian Nationalist named Ryan Walters is the appointed superintendent of schools. But he’s confused on the concept of “instruction,” viewing it not as teaching, but as a commandment to implement his own personal theology.

In June, he pompously instructed all public schools to put the Christian Bible in every classroom and to use them for teaching every subject. He’s also demanding millions of dollars from taxpayers to buy Bibles.

But not just any Bible. This month, Walters went from kooky to corrupt, issuing bid requirements that effectively narrowed the state’s purchase to one particular edition of Christianity’s Holy Word – the “God Bless the USA Bible.” It’s a MAGA-approved compilation promoting the dogma that America is meant to be governed by Christians. Marketed by right-wing country musician Lee Greenwood, the volume is being hawked in commercials by presidential flimflammer Donald Trump, who is avidly supported by Walters.

Oh, coincidentally, it turns out that Trump gets a cut of every one of Greenwood’s sales. So, a chunk Oklahoma’s big Bible purchase would be pocketed by The Donald, enriching the most unholy president in history with manna from above.

The stench of this scam was even too much for Oklahoma’s aggressively partisan GOP leaders, who’ve now rewritten Walters’ purchase order to eliminate the Trump bid-rigging bias. Still, regular citizens are asking why the hell their state is trying to indoctrinate schoolkids, putting one religion above all others. To follow this Bible Story, connect with the nonprofit news group, Oklahoma Watch: OklahomaWatch.org.

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