A black leather-bound copy of the Thompson Chain-Reference Study Bible, King James Version, owned by Johnny Cash. Cash has written his name, address, and phone number twice on the inside. Accompanied by the original box, signed by Cash, and a signed letter of authenticity from Cash’s daughter Cindy Cash stating that the item was owned and signed by her father.

Also included is a Johnny Cash Handwritten Spiritual Assignment: A sheet of lined note paper with Johnny Cash’s handwritten “20th Exodus Spiritual Assignment” for “seven steps down to the cross” and “seven steps back to the throne.” Each of the seven steps for “up” and “down” are handwritten by Cash.

John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and author. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 90 million records worldwide. His genre-spanning songs and sound embraced country, rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel. This crossover appeal won Cash the rare honor of being inducted into the Country Music, Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music Halls of Fame.

Much of Cash’s music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his career. In 1999, Cash received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Cash number 31 on their “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” list and No. 21 on their “100 Greatest Singers” list in 2010. In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked Cash’s 1968 live album At Folsom Prison and 1994 studio album American Recordings at No. 88 and No. 366 in its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Religious beliefs
Cash was raised by his parents in the Southern Baptist denomination of Christianity. He was baptized in 1944 in the Tyronza River as a member of the Central Baptist Church of Dyess, Arkansas.

A troubled but devout Christian, Cash has been characterized as a “lens through which to view American contradictions and challenges.” He was many things to many people: a master storyteller and a world-class embellisher; a drug addict and a social activist; a full-tilt party outlaw who secretly carried a Bible in his briefcase; a committed Christian who was both a sinner and saint; a tortured soul who sometimes pin-balled between the two extremes.

On May 9, 1971, he answered the altar call at Evangel Temple, an Assemblies of God congregation pastored by Jimmie R. Snow with outreach to people in the music world. His friendship with Billy Graham led to Cash’s production of a film about the life of Jesus, The Gospel Road, which Cash co-wrote and narrated. It was released in 1973. Cash viewed the film as a statement of his personal faith rather than a means of proselytizing.

A biblical scholar, Cash penned a Christian novel, Man in White in 1986 and in the introduction writes about a reporter, who, interested in Cash’s religious beliefs, questioned whether the book is written from a Baptist, Catholic, or Jewish perspective. Cash replies “I’m a Christian. Don’t put me in another box.”

In the mid-1970s, Cash and his wife, June, completed a course of study in the Bible through Christian International Bible College. Cash often performed at Billy Graham Crusades. At a Tallahassee Crusade in 1986, June and Johnny sang his song, “One of These Days I’m Gonna Sit Down And Talk To Paul.” At a notable performance in Arkansas in 1989, Johnny Cash spoke to attendees of his commitment to the salvation of drug dealers and alcoholics. He then sang, “Family Bible”.

He made a spoken-word recording of the entire New King James Version of the New Testament. Cash declared he was “the biggest sinner of them all”, and viewed himself overall as a complicated and contradictory man. Accordingly, Cash is said to have “contained multitudes,” and has been deemed “the philosopher-prince of American country music.”

Cash is credited with having converted actor and singer John Schneider to Christianity.