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THE THOMAS JEFFERSON BIBLE
What are the major values rejected in the Thomas Jefferson Bible?
The Thomas Jefferson Bible is a revised version of the Bible that was edited by the United States President, Thomas Jefferson, in the year 1804. It was during one winter evening in White House, which he decided to cut up parts of the bible and paste them in a blank folio. He only told his closest of friends about his doings. However, this original version later on got lost, never to be traced again (Jefferson, pg. 98). After retirement, Jefferson continued with his quest in 1820, to edit the bible. He made copies of the edited bible in four different languages; English, French, Greek and …show more content…
This means that his revised version of the bible was based on verses in the New Testament. He believed that some verses in the bible about the teachings of Jesus Christ were fictional and impractical. His revised version, therefore, focused on teachings that he believed to be true and trustworthy. For instance, Jefferson rejected miracles that were performed by Jesus Christ in the New Testament. He found such verses as exaggerated and impractical to some extent. The story about Jesus walking on water is also left out, and so is the one of Jesus being born of Virgin Mary.
Other rejected values in the Thomas Jefferson bible include the story of Jesus Multiplying five loaves and two fish as well as the miraculous raising of Lazarus from the dead. His version of the bible Christened, ‘The life and morals of Jesus of Nazareth’, ends with the burial of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. He never mentions the resurrection of Jesus Christ or any happenings on Easter Sunday. Though he believed in supernatural happenings of nature, he disputed the biblical events that portrayed happenings of miraculous …show more content…
Another similar enlightenment thinker who shared similar thoughts to his was John Locke. Regarded by many as the founding father of classical liberalism, Locke was among the enlightenment thinkers who influenced ideologies in the 16th and 17th centuries. Jefferson himself once mentioned in his books that Locke is one of the greatest men to ever live that had profound influence in the moral and physical sciences. It also seems like Jefferson was influenced greatly by the works and philosophies of Locke owing to the fact that most of his religious beliefs were based on Locke’s ideologies (Jefferson, pg.