BOOK REVIEW - The Jefferson Bible

 

In 1804, Thomas Jefferson decided to make a concise book crafted by using a razor and scissors to cut out squares of text from several versions of the Bible. He created the red leather hand-bound book for his own quick reference and contemplation of its content. The was pasted selections in ancient and modern languages that reflected his knowledge of the Bible into neat columns. Jefferson had created his own New Testament that focused only on the historical figure of Jesus with mysticism excluded. 

  Jefferson’s Bible of 84 pages did not include major references of the resurrection, the ascension to heaven or the several miracles. Jefferson focused upon Jesus as a teacher of morals who expressed truths. The book was for his private use and had the idea that it might be published to share with Native Americans (North American Indians) who had no western education. Jefferson thought that the conciseness of his book would be suited for keeping the attention to the principles of Jesus and his teachings by Native Americans. For decades no one knew about his book, discovered in his personal library. Originally his book was titled - “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth”. Notice that Jefferson used Jesus’ original descriptive name instead of what later would become “Jesus Christ” as described by the Apostles. 

  Thomas Jefferson was a realist and although he was a Christian, he was also considered to be a deist. But Jefferson was more interested in the principals of the Gospels rather than what developed into the religion of Christianity. In that respect he has sometimes been regarded to be a Gnostic. That is part of what some people have been misled to believe. He was a man of constant search for knowledge and held truths in high esteem. Indeed, this is evident in his draft of the Declaration of Independence in the Preamble....

  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

 

  Jefferson’s book attests to his devotion of his vision of spreading the gospel to Native Americans and is an element that defies Progressives ("Liberals") in denouncing him as a racist. Indeed, he wrestled between views of American society concerning slavery and his conviction that slavery should end in the United States. Having slaves of his own, he was instrumental in passing a law in Virginia to forbid the foreign slave trade, ending slave traders arriving in ports of the newly formed United States. Having that conviction he wrestled with the fact he owned slaves, but he was worried about their welfare (especially his own slaves) if when they finally would be freed. 

  Thomas Jefferson was a prolific writer, more than any other Founders. If people would take the time to study those writings they can see the personal conflict he bore and that he was not the racist the Progressive (“Liberal”) historians and pundits make him out to be. Indeed, those books of personal attack against Jefferson are made up of highly edited and misleading propaganda. 

  Written toward the end of his life, Jefferson produced two volumes - The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth and The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth. The Jefferson Bible is edited to remove out passages that went against his sense of reason and to make Gospels more accessible to study. It represents Thomas Jefferson’s complex relationship with Christianity. In regards to religion, he wrote in 1813 - 

Religion is a matter between every man and his maker, in which no other, & far less the public, has a right to intermeddle. 

 

  If Jefferson’ version of the Gospels became known and even published at the time, it would most likely have been the most controversial and influential religious works of early American history. [Mitch Horowitz] 

  Jefferson’s revised Bible was willed to Martha Randolph, his eldest daughter. In the 1880s, Cyrus Adler, a student at John Jopkins University, found the cut-and-paste books in a private library. He began the search for the book that became from the draft. In 1895, Adler finally found the Jefferson’s Bible, but the first volume, The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth was lost. Jefferson’s great-granddaughter agreed to sell the second volume, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth to the Smithsonian Institute. 

  From 1904 to the 1950s, incoming Senators received a copy of the Jefferson Bible and ended when the government-sponsored printing ran out. In the 1990s, economist Judd W. Patton revived the tradition and mailed it to each member of Congress. 

  Today, the Smithsonian Institute has digitized the book. I have a vast amount of digitized books on my Kindle Reader including the Jeffersonian Bible. But if you are like me and like certain books to be hardbound and on paper, this book belongs in your personal library.