In 1804 thomas jefferson decided to study the gospels to see if he could distill the essence of jesus teachings into a concise book that could be quickly read and easily understood. Beginning in 1904 and lasting through the 1950s, every new member of congress received a personal copy of the jefferson bible. The jefferson bible the life and morals of jesus of nazareth was created in 1820 by thomas jefferson. The original bound manuscript, popularly referred to as the jefferson bible, is held by the united states national museum in washington. The jefferson bible by thomas jefferson on free audio book. He was seventyseven years old when he constructed his book by cutting excerpts of the new testament gospels from six printed volumes published in english, french, latin and greek. Thomas jefferson, 1803 with these words, written to a personal friend, thomas jefferson. Thomas jefferson s religious beliefs although called the jefferson bible, the actual title of the book is the life and morals of jesus of nazareth.
This story of a thomas jefferson bible is almost as phony as joseph ellis war record. When thomas jefferson was president of the united states, he was a member of the board of education of the then small town of washington, d c, having the responsibility of selecting the reading choices of the public school children there. This work was never published during jeffersons lifetime but was inherited by his grandson and printed for the first time in the early 20th century. Jefferson, the story goes, created a bible in which god plays no significant role. The jefferson bible, or the life and morals of jesus of nazareth as it is formally titled, was thomas jefferson s effort to extract what he considered the pertinent. However, many do not know that thomas jefferson also created his own version of the bible. It was an article of thomas jefferson s faith that no government should interfere in anyones private religious beliefs. The thomas jefferson bible goes on exhibit november 11, 2011 at the albert h. Thomas jeffersons bible the jefferson bible, national. The thomas jefferson bible, or the life and morals of jesus is a stripped down and combined version of the first four books of the biblical new testament compiled by thomas jefferson as a means of distilling the core teachings of jesus christ. A uniquely attractive, compact edition of thomas jeffersons classic abridgment of the bible, in which jefferson sculpted the words and ideas of christ into a resounding moral philosophy. Why thomas jefferson rewrote the bible without jesus.
The writings of thomas jefferson by thomas jefferson. The religious views of thomas jefferson diverged widely from the traditional christianity of his era. Download or stream the jefferson bible by thomas jefferson. The jefferson bible is the result, offering valuable. The jefferson bible audiobook, by thomas jefferson. Start a free 30day trial today and get your first audiobook free. The life and morals of jesus of nazareth also called the jefferson bible was an attempt by thomas jefferson to glean the teachings of jesus from the christian gospels.
Audio download free the thomas jefferson bible, or the life and morals of jesus is a stripped down and combined version of the first four books of the biblical new testament compiled by thomas jefferson as a means of distilling the core teachings of jesus christ. The forbidden gospels and epistles bible full audio book. The jefferson bible, or the life and morals of jesus of nazareth as it is formally titled, was thomas jefferson s effort to extract what he considered the pertinent doctrine of jesus by removing sections of the new testament containing supernatural aspects as well as perceived. The jefferson bible by thomas jefferson and mel foster. Smithsonian national museum of american history once in a while, the myth that thomas jefferson edited down the bible in order to remove the. Jefferson wished to extract the doctrine of jesus by removing sections of the new testament containing supernatural. Apparently, the jefferson bible is now distributed to members of the us congress. Did jefferson really edit out the miracles from his bible. The library serves whilst the research supply of congress and it is thought to be the library that is national of united states of america. Thomas jefferson penned the declaration of independence, served as the third american president, and is widely considered one of the most influential founding fathers of the united states of america. The thomas jefferson bible, or the life and morals of jesus is a stripped down and combined version of the first four books of the biblical new testament compiled by thomas jefferson as a. In this it succeeds quite well, though the language is old and in some places a little hard to follow. He was a product of his age, said ferrell, whose upcoming book, the bible and the people, includes a chapter on the jefferson bible.
What jefferson did is pick and choose the parts of matthew, mark, luke, and john he liked or agreed with, cut them out of the gospels, then pasted. The jefferson bible the jefferson bible audiobook, by thomas jefferson. For starters, jefferson never made any claim of having written his own bible. Taking on the critics for a more thorough response to the critics on the jefferson lies, please go here for generations, america recognized an equality of individualism that made the carpenter as important as the university president and the shopkeeper the equal of the statesman. In the early nineteenth century, thomas jefferson, the third president of the united states and the principal author of the declaration of independence, conceived the idea of extracting a gospel purified of what he saw as extraneous philosophical, mythological, and theological elements. But did jefferson actually call the good book a dung hill, like some say. In the early 19th century, thomas jefferson, the third president of the united states and the principal author of the declaration of independence, conceived the idea of extracting a gospel purified of what he saw as extraneous philosophical, mythological. The life and morals of jesus of nazareth, commonly referred to as the jefferson bible, is one of two religious works constructed by thomas jefferson. They came to a river which had left its banks because of a recent downpour.
Apparently, the jefferson bible is now clearly, thomas jefferson predated cable news networks. It consists solely of quotations jefferson selected from the the the christian new testament books of matthew, mark, luke, and john. Download the jefferson bible audiobook by thomas jefferson. Thomas jefferson, 1803 with these words, written to a personal friend, thomas jefferson began one of the most audacious religious experiments in american history. Thomas jeffersons version of the bible is distributed to. Why thomas jefferson rewrote the bible without jesus miracles and resurrection. The jefferson bible is basically a distilling of the books of matthew, mark, luke and john, removing most of the miraculous acts and focusing instead on the words and teachings of jesus. The peoples bible goes to washington thomas jefferson s edited version of the new testament again makes its way into the hands of members of congress. With these words, written to a personal friend, thomas jefferson began one of the most audacious religious experiments in american history.
The book helped inspire saturdays demonstration by the orange county atheist organization, backyard skeptics. The jefferson bible audiobook by thomas jefferson youtube. On and off for the next 17 years including his term in the white house, jefferson cut and pasted the philosophy of jesus christ, as recorded in scripture, into one compact statement. The jefferson bible the life and morals of jesus of nazareth. The forbidden gospels and epistles bible full audio book unabridged ancient books greataudiobooks in public domain. Taken up late in the third presidents life, this personal project endeavored. The jefferson bible thomas jefferson, author of the declaration of independence and third president of the united states, was characterized by some of his contemporaries as. The myth of the thomas jefferson bible the other half.
Thomas jefferson 1743 1826 the life and morals of jesus of nazareth, commonly referred to as the jefferson bible, was a book constructed by thomas jefferson in the later years of his life by cutting and pasting with a razor and glue numerous sections from the new testament as extractions of the doctrine of jesus. The book he put together was something he called the life and morals of jesus of nazareth. A uniquely attractive, compact edition of thomas jefferson s classic abridgment of the bible, in which jefferson sculpted th. Jefferson bible thomas jeffersons bible thomas jefferson. Small documents gallery in the national museum of american history. Here is thomas jefferson s classic abridgment of the bible, in which jefferson sculpted the words and ideas of christ into a resounding moral philosophy. The jefferson bible, smithsonian edition, a fullcolor facsimile created from highresolution digital photographs of recently conserved and rebound pages, includes all four languages and jefferson s handwritten notes. Jefferson was a true genius and ahead of his time in many ways. The original jefferson bible exists to this day, and is available online. The first, the philosophy of jesus of nazareth, was completed in 1804, but no copies exist today.
Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Jefferson was most comfortable with deism, rational religion, and unitarianism. When it became available in an ebook, it was the time for me to read it. Thomas jefferson was known as an inventor and tinkerer. I cant help but wonder how many of them have actually read it before lauding the protestant religiosity of founding fathers. Each rider was forced to ford the river on horseback, fighting for his life against the rapid currents. Opinion thomas jeffersons bible teaching the new york. To the corruptions of christianity i am indeed opposed. But this time he was tinkering with something held sacred by hundreds of millions of people. Thomas jeffersons religious beliefs although called the jefferson bible, the actual title of the book is the life and morals of jesus of nazareth.
A uniquely attractive, compact edition of thomas jefferson s classic abridgment of the bible, in which jefferson sculpted the words and ideas of christ into a resounding moral philosophy. In 1895, the national museum published thomas jefferson s bible based on an edition provided by his grandson, thomas jefferson randolph. The life and morals of jesus of nazareth by thomas jefferson 2,178 ratings, 3. How thomas jefferson created his own bible thanks to an extensive restoration process, the public can now see how jefferson created his own version of the scripture. During his days as president, thomas jefferson and a group of companions were traveling across the country on horseback. When you consider that jeffersons original book was a cut and glue book, it is amazing that we can see what he did. Get 50% off this audiobook at the audiobooksnow online audio book store and download or stream. He was sympathetic to and in general agreement with the moral precepts of christianity. Listen to the jefferson bible by thomas jefferson available from rakuten kobo. Thomas jefferson, the third president of the united states and primary author of the declaration of independence, completed his version of the bible in about 1819many years after he served as president. The life and morals of jesus of nazareth, which appears in this photo, is thomas jefferson s edited version of the bible. Throughout his life, jefferson was intensely interested in theology, religious studies, and morality. The jefferson bible audiobook thomas jefferson audible.