The Jefferson Bible

[NewTestamentChristian]

“I am a Christian, in the only sense he [Jesus] wished anyone to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to all others; ascribing to himself every human excellence; and believing he never claimed any other." - Thomas Jefferson

IMO, some American historians have tried to write Jesus out of our history. Thomas Jefferson wrote The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, what we know as the Jefferson Bible, for reasons that are constantly debated. I think he developed a devotional piece in crafting it but I also think his goal was to try and use the earliest draft, The Philosophy of Jesus which he began in 1804, to introduce some Native American tribes to Christian morality. Jefferson too, was a very unorthodox Christian. To my knowledge, he only believed in Jesus the man and was skeptical of many of the miracles in the gospels including the resurrection. I own a copy of the Jefferson Bible and do enjoy reading it from time to time. Not only is it an important part of American intellectual history but it also provides a lesson for today. If we want to tell people about Christ, then we should start with what He actually said and did. All the other theological stuff can be discussed after we know who Jesus is.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

“I am a Christian, in the only sense he [Jesus] wished anyone to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to all others; ascribing to himself every human excellence; and believing he never claimed any other." - Thomas Jefferson

IMO, some American historians have tried to write Jesus out of our history. Thomas Jefferson wrote The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, what we know as the Jefferson Bible, for reasons that are constantly debated. I think he developed a devotional piece in crafting it but I also think his goal was to try and use the earliest draft, The Philosophy of Jesus which he began in 1804, to introduce some Native American tribes to Christian morality. Jefferson too, was a very unorthodox Christian. To my knowledge, he only believed in Jesus the man and was skeptical of many of the miracles in the gospels including the resurrection. I own a copy of the Jefferson Bible and do enjoy reading it from time to time. Not only is it an important part of American intellectual history but it also provides a lesson for today. If we want to tell people about Christ, then we should start with what He actually said and did. All the other theological stuff can be discussed after we know who Jesus is.

I'm sort of thinking that we can't really "know Christ" with a Jefferson Bible since understanding all that Jesus is reported by the Gospel writers (and Paul) to have said is contingent upon our understanding all of the various contexts in which Jesus' "words" are embedded.

And this, of course, requires both Hermeneutics and Philosophy of History to dig into, both of which can also be applied to Jefferson's scissors-hands version of Scripture (which I also have a copy of).

 

[Joseph G]

I'm sort of thinking that we can't really "know Christ" with a Jefferson Bible since understanding all that Jesus is reported by the Gospel writers (and Paul) to have said is contingent upon our understanding all of the various contexts in which Jesus' "words" are embedded.

And this, of course, requires both Hermeneutics and Philosophy of History to dig into, both of which can also be applied to Jefferson's scissors-hands version of Scripture (which I also have a copy of).

Agreed. One has to question the validity of someone's claim to a personal relationship with Christ if they feel the need to gloss over or ignore or *gasp* even clip out the words Jesus said that are painful to our fleshly pride.

I wonder if Jefferson felt the hubris to do so because he simply couldn't reconcile the frightening verses with the promisory ones in his own understanding? That is what adherehents to the practice of abiding to "the Christian religion" typically do.

Those with a genuine relationship with Christ, obversely, acknowledge His sovereignty and place full trust in Him irregardless of what we don't understand. Thus why we stick with the Holy Bible as is as our only source of Truth.

 

[zippy2006]

If we want to tell people about Christ, then we should start with what He actually said and did.

Jefferson simply removed all the parts of the gospels that he disliked, so we won't get an accurate picture from Jefferson.