The Jefferson Bible
Prof. Valentine, PHIL-101-02
The Jefferson Bible
Thomas Jefferson is one of the most prominent historical figures for the United States. He was one of the Founding Fathers of the Nation, the main author of the Declaration of Independence, the third president of the country. Besides, he dared to write his own version of the New Testament that became known as the Jefferson Bible. Rewriting the Testament was not an act of atheism on Jefferson’s part. Being a very religious man, he, on the contrary, saw his task in writing the true story of Jesus’ life and removing the untrustworthy interpretations (Lehman, 1994, p. 89).
Jefferson’s first attempt to create this book was made in 1804. This version included only the teaching of Jesus and was named The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth. What is now known as The Jefferson Bible or The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth was completed much later, in 1820 (Edwards, 2012). However, the existence of the book was hidden from the public for more than 70 years. It was in the possession of the Jefferson family, and only after it was sold by his great-grand daughter, was its existence made public. The book was first printed only in 1904 (Sanford, 1984, p. 104).
The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth was a much thorough work than The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth. Firstly, it included not only the teachings, but also the events of Jesus’ life. In order to write it, Jefferson took the French, Latin, Greek and King James English translations of the New Testament and compared the texts in order to find any existing incongruities (Edwards, 2012).
Secondly, in Jefferson’s opinion, “Early Christians obscured the words of Jesus with the philosophy of the ancient Greeks and the teachings of Plato” (Mellowes, 1998), and the Christian Church created a system of beliefs that “Jesus himself would not have recognized” (Reese, 2005). Looking for the “authentic” Jesus, Jefferson omitted everything that, in his opinion, was unoriginal. Thus, Jefferson’s version ignores the virgin birth and the Resurrection, Jesus never claims to be the Son of God, and he never performs any miracles. Consequently, what Jefferson presents to the reader is very different from the New Testament as we know it. Jesus appears to be an ordinary man, who has a most important message to the human kind (Reese, 2005).
That message is what Jefferson is trying to reveal to the reader because he, Jefferson, saw Jesus’ teaching as the most sublime code of morals that has ever been created (Reese, 2005). Reading Jefferson’s version of the New Testament with all its alterations, one is not distracted by the miraculous events, but clearly sees the teaching. In it, the focus shifts from the eternal salvation to the everyday practices of the teaching and to the lifelong purpose of becoming a better person. Presenting his account of Jesus’ philosophy, Jefferson spells out clear-cut instructions that everyone should follow in their everyday life.
Nowadays, almost 200 years after having been written, the Jefferson Bible can serve as an inspiration. Being influenced by advertisements, trends
Jefferson Davis was an important historical figure before and during the Civil War. “African slavery, as it exists in the United States, is a moral, a social, and political blessing.” said Jefferson Davis on his thought about slavery (Deo Vindice). It was before the Civil War and a part during it when Jefferson Davis lived. Davis was one of the many Americans who accepted slavery and a person who contributed to the Civil War. Jefferson Davis was born June 3, 1808 in Christian County, Kentucky…
Thomas Jefferson presented cogent, wholly logical, nearly incontrovertible arguments against England’s unjust repression of the American colonists; little did he know that his own words might be used to plead with exceptional logic that he and his fellow founders of the United States should stop repressing black Americans. Banneker uses both logical and ethical arguments to develop his claim that Jefferson now needs to use his eloquence to speak out for all African-Americans, who are suffering…
Chapter 1: • Grant recalls the event leading up to the trial • Jefferson is accused of robbing Alcee Gopre (a store owner) with two other young black men (Brother and Bear) • Brother and Bear demanded Alcee, the store owner to hand over some alcohol for free • An argument broke out which soon led to a shootout killing all three of them and leaving Jefferson on his own • Being confused and scarred, Jefferson took some alcohol to calm his nerves and took some money as well, even though he knew…
well-rounded person and was against slavery. Banneker wrote a thought felt letter to Thomas Jefferson, A Founding Father of the declaration of Independence saying how slavery should be abolished. Although Banneker does not want to upset Jefferson, he states how Jefferson is a hypocrite, in a sincere way because he allows slavery when he says all men are created equal. Banneker also explains how Jefferson has experienced slavery as the British colonized his country. In the Declaration Of Independence…
free and it was not as available -Dame schools were the earliest form of daycare -Lessons were linked to the protestant bible, and the protestant catechisms. -some older boys went to grammar schools -schooling- it was seen as a way to preserve the statue qoe Private vs. Public Religion and education 1776 -most people had enough education to read taxes, the Bible and the newspaper. -Noah Webster wanted to eliminate British texts from schools so he wrote his own book called the Blue…
conservative, you’ll hear about taxes, making money, exploiting the planet and pushing other countries around. Thomas Jefferson separated Jesus' Liberal principles from religious practice and adopted them as ideals for the new republic, which George Mason and James Madison expressed as the Bill of Rights. He expanded on his idealized view of Jesus' philosophy when he later created “The Jefferson Bible,” with a New Testament, a straight razor,…
fathers in this country can not be described as Christians but as Deists, people who believe that the Creator set the world to put in motion but no longer is intervenes with the world. George Washington never been publicly admitted as Christian and Jefferson was regularly attack Christians, even though both of demonstrated writing to various religious groups. It showed that America is not supporting specific religion in the country. For example, as president Washington responded to Jewish congregation…
history. If we look back to America in its fledgling days, we can witness our founding fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson (who was an especially strong advocate and believer in an agricultural-based economy) overseeing their plantations of not just cotton, but also hemp. Even Benjamin Franklin owned a mill that produced hemp paper, and interestingly enough Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper. Now in modern times, hemp is still is being used for manufacturing…
Poe’s story is definitely a new American form of literature. If we look at the history of the American writers, we see that it starts with the puritans making the bible the center of their lives. We see that in Winthrop, Bradford, and all the puritans’ writers. Then they evolve to the era of reasoning with Franklin, Jefferson, and Thomas pain. The next step of the evolution is imagination. Early puritans believed that Satan and…
Take in Muhammad even though he’s facing persecution in Mecca. Muhammad and followers leave protection of tribe/family (this moment called Hijra (start of Muslim calendar)). -Quran: initially not a book. Only one Quran (different versions of Bible) and only exists in Arabic (translations could be wrong/misinterpreted). Organized bureaucratically by length (big to small), not chronologically. -Monotheism: one God, no partner, no son. God is one creator and all ese is created. [Christian prayers…
