The title page of the Jefferson Bible, written in Jefferson's hand, reads: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth Extracted Textually from the Gospels in Greek, Latin, French & English.
Material
Red Morocco goatskin leather, handmade wove paper, iron gall ink
Size
8.3 in × 5.2 in × 1.3 in (21.1 cm × 13.2 cm × 3.3 cm)
Writing
Greek, Latin, French, and English
Created
c. 1819, at Monticello
Discovered
Acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1895
Present location
Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Smithsonian National Museum of American History: Thomas Jefferson's Bible
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. Jefferson compiled the manuscripts but never published them. The first, The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth, was completed in 1804, but no copies exist today.[1] The second, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, was completed in 1820 by cutting and pasting, with a razor and glue, numerous sections from the New Testament as extractions of the doctrine of Jesus. Jefferson's condensed composition excludes all miracles by Jesus and most mentions of the supernatural, including sections of the four gospels that contain the Resurrection and most other miracles, and passages that portray Jesus as divine.[2][3][4][5]
^Tay, Endrina. "The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth". Monticello.org. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
^R.P. Nettelhorst. "Notes on the Founding Fathers and the Separation of Church and State". Quartz Hill School of Theology. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2017. Thomas Jefferson created his own version of the gospels; he was uncomfortable with any reference to miracles, so with two copies of the New Testament, he cut and pasted them together, excising all references to miracles, from turning water to wine, to the resurrection.
^Jefferson, Thomas, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Lipscomb, 10:376–377.
^Thomas Jefferson's Abridgement of the Words of Jesus of Nazareth (Charlottesville: Mark Beliles, 1993), 14.
^Jefferson, Thomas, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Lipscomb, 10:232–233.
commonly referred to as the JeffersonBible, is one of two religious works constructed by Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson compiled the manuscripts but never...
Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, known today as the JeffersonBible, never published during his lifetime. Jefferson believed that Jesus' message had been obscured...
followers, resulting in a Bible that contained both "diamonds" of wisdom and the "dung" of ancient political agendas. Jefferson held that "acknowledging...
members of Congress were given a copy of the JeffersonBible, an edited version of the Bible by Thomas Jefferson that excluded what he felt were statements...
position was Thomas Jefferson, who praised "nature's God" in the "Declaration of Independence" (1776) and edited the "JeffersonBible"—a Bible with all reference...
revelation should conform to man's natural ideas of God. In the JeffersonBible, Thomas Jefferson went further and dropped any passages dealing with miracles...
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Everett's introduction was added to the 2004 paperback edition of The JeffersonBible. Ploughshares, Fall 2014 (vol. 40, nos 2 & 3) Everett's stories have...
William, 2003. "Siewert, Frances E." English Language Bible Translators, p. 208,209. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland and Company. "Biography of Mrs...
sufficiently in agreement with the Trinitarian theology. His work, the JeffersonBible, was Unitarian in theology ... In a letter to Benjamin Rush prefacing...
known as the JeffersonBible) strip all supernatural and dogmatic references from the narrative on Jesus' life. Like Franklin, Jefferson believed in God's...
Language Bible Translators. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland and Company, 2003, pp. 263–264. Muir, Laurence. "Translations and Paraphrases of the Bible and...
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little confidence indeed. Sagan also commented on Christianity and the JeffersonBible, stating "My long-time view about Christianity is that it represents...
Christian agnosticism Christian atheism Christian deism Historical Jesus JeffersonBible Jesus movement Jesus Seminar Jewish Christian Ministry of Jesus New...
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Martha Skelton Jefferson (née Wayles; October 30, 1748 – September 6, 1782) was the wife of Thomas Jefferson from 1772 until her death. She served as...
affirmation entails. Among other changes, Thomas Jefferson excised all the miracles of Jesus from his JeffersonBible. The Scottish philosopher David Hume published...
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(1884–2017) - merged with Thomas Jefferson University Pinebrook Junior College (1914–1992) – nondenominational Bible college in Coopersburg (Lehigh County)...
by the Christian Clergy for his Bible and other writings. Tucker was the first notable historian to explore Jefferson's religious life from a biographical...
theological agreement before they are allowed to enter heaven. The JeffersonBible Mader, Eric (2007). "Tolstoy's Gospel". NecessaryProse.com. NecessaryProse...
Baptists Steven L. Cox and Kendell H. Easley in 2006. JeffersonBible Ministry of Jesus Timeline of the Bible Steven L. Cox, 2007 Harmony of the Gospels B&H...
Thomas Jefferson rarely mentioned his mother, much is known of her from extant records, including public records and inscribed family bibles. She was...
Weissenburg, Thomas Jefferson and Leo Tolstoy, each of whom prepared edited versions of the four Gospels: the Evangelienbuch, the JeffersonBible and the Gospel...
substantivized adjective”. Paul, William (2003), English Language Bible Translators, Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland and Company, p. 42 US copyright law...
collection to a large adjacent library building, now known as the Thomas Jefferson Building, across the street from the Capitol. Two more adjacent library...
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