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Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth
Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth | Thomas Jefferson
11 posts | 6 read | 4 to read
"Question with boldness even the existence of a god," Thomas Jefferson asserted, "because if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear." America's third president regarded Jesus as a moral guide rather than a divinity, and in The Jefferson Bible, he highlights Christ's ethical teachings from the Gospels. Discarding the scriptures' supernatural elements and dogma, this volume reflects the deist view of religion, focusing on Jesus' message of absolute love and service.Jefferson undertook his self-appointed task in 1794, consulting not only the King James Bible but also Greek, French, and Latin versions. He selected verses from the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and arranged them in chronological order to form a single narrative. Although Jefferson shared his interpretation with friends and family, he declined to publish it, in keeping with his conviction that religion is a private matter and also to avoid providing his political enemies with ammunition. Not until the turn of the twentieth century did the book appear in print, when it became a tradition to present it to new members of Congress. Unique and influential, this volume reflects not only the thinking of one of the nation's most brilliant statesmen, but also the ideology of the Enlightenment era."
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SleepyDragon
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Pickpick

So Jefferson bought multiple copies of the Bible (back when that wasn't cheap), cut up the Gospels, and pasted them back together chronologically, eliminating redundancy and also any and all supernatural and miraculous elements. The idea was that Jesus' life and teachings were enough to impart morals and wisdom. He didn't have to be Divine to do that. Jefferson was not Christian. He was a Deist, but he admired Jesus.

#Alphabetgame #LetterJ

SleepyDragon The copy I have also includes supplemental material that gives background into Jefferson's religious beliefs and his conviction regarding the necessity of separation of church and state. 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thank you for playing! 2y
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review
SleepyDragon
Jeffersons Bible | Thomas Jefferson
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Pickpick

I don't read as much theology as I used to, but I enjoy the occasional academic read.

Here is a review by Denise: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2251442537

#MtTBRreadathon #MtTBRchallenge

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SleepyDragon
Jeffersons Bible | Thomas Jefferson
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I am so tired of arguing with people that Jefferson and some of the other Founding Fathers weren't Christian. They should put this book in hotel rooms instead of Gideon Bibles in red states where people think the US was founded on Christianity. Jefferson was a proud Deist, dammit! #soapbox #MtTBRreadathon #realhistory #religion

SleepyDragon Sorry. Just venting. I feel better now. 😁 7y
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SleepyDragon
Jeffersons Bible | Thomas Jefferson
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I really did try to make an effort to participate in the #MtTBRreadathon today, but it didn't work out too well. My hubby had to work😒, and my kids just wouldn't let me read today. They were climbing all over me everytime I picked up my book, or getting into mischief. 🙃 People don't believe me when I say I don't have much time to read. Well ... they don't know my life. Lol 🤡 (Minutes weren't all consecutive. Read in spurts then logged them in.)

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SleepyDragon
Jeffersons Bible | Thomas Jefferson
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"Like other Enlightenment rationalists, Jefferson was convinced that the real villian in the Christian story was the apostle Paul, who had corrupted the religion of Jesus into a religion about Jesus, which thus had, in combination with the otherworldly outlook of the Fourth Gospel, produced the monstrosities of dogma, superstition, and priestcraft, which were the essence of Christian orthodoxy."

#MtTBRreadathon #MtTBRchallenge #FoundingDeist

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SleepyDragon
Jeffersons Bible | Thomas Jefferson
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"To the corruptions of Christianity, I am indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself."

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TheBookbabeblog84
Jeffersons Bible | Thomas Jefferson
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8) Bold —— “I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led.” - Thomas Jefferson/ isn‘t this a gorgeous photo of UofVA! #quotsynov17 #thomasjefferson

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FairyHighRoad
The Jefferson Bible | Thomas Jefferson
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My tiniest book is the Jefferson Bible (morning snack for scale). 😁 #tinybooks #riotgrams

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Texreader
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Thomas Jefferson is one of my heroes and I find his thoughts about Jesus and the Bible fascinating. This is #atopicyoudliketoknowmoreabout. #readjanuary

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Notmacaroniandcheese
The Jefferson Bible | Thomas Jefferson
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As someone who went to seminary for a year, I find the gap in the number of "issues" these two versions of the Bible come in awfully amusing

SusanInTiburon That is funny. Is the Jefferson Bible a compilation of the words of Jesus, or did I dream that up? 8y
Notmacaroniandcheese It is. Jefferson basically did a cut and paste on the gospels. He didn't believe some things, like the miracles or resurrection, were historically accurate. So, he cut out what he didn't like (literally, his bible has holes in it), which left pretty much the words of Christ. 8y
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Laalaleighh Hahahaha that sounds so like something his character in Hamilton would do 😂 8y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled I had no idea! Hilarious, really! 8y
SaraFair Not much different from people today. 8y
53 likes6 comments
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SerialReader
The Jefferson Bible | Thomas Jefferson
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Cut and pasted - literally - from the Gospels, Thomas Jefferson assembled his own book of the moral teachings of Jesus. It's a compact, quick, and fascinating read, even for skeptics (Jefferson left out the miracles, for example).

Trending today in #SerialReader!

OSChamberlain Dang, definitely gonna check that out. 8y
25 likes1 comment