Friday, July 6, 2012
Founders Weren't All-Wise
What do you get when you take a religion’s holy book and remove all the
Joy
Wonder
Hope
Confidence
Awe
Power
and
Mercy
?
You get the Jefferson Bible, a cut-n-paste creation by Thomas Jefferson wherein the founder excluded all mentions of the supernatural acts of Jesus and various other events he felt were embellished by the gospel writers. No miracles, Resurrection, angels, genealogy, prophecy, or mention of the Trinity in this “bible.” Though in fairness to Jefferson, he did not intend for its publication, and thought it best used as an introduction to Jesus' ethics for Indian instruction (as well as his own self-study).
Don’t know why this popped into my head today; maybe thinking and reading about the birth of our country this past Independence Day. I’ve come across reference to the Jefferson Bible various and numerous times in my reading life, but have felt absolutely no desire to investigate it any further.
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