The Jefferson Bible

By Thomas Jefferson

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.

"To the corruptions of Christianity I am indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself." -Thomas Jefferson, 1803

With these words, written to a personal friend, Thomas Jefferson began one of the most audacious religious experiments in American history. On and off for the next seventeen 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. He purposefully omitted any references to the virgin birth, miraculous healings, demonic possession, or supernatural events of any kind. His aim was to distinguish the moral philosophy of Christ from the religion that was later created around Christ.

This hardcover replica of The Jefferson Bible restores to print a handsome, immensely accessible version of Jefferson's manifesto as it was published for general readers in 1940 by Grosset & Dunlap. This volume includes the original 1940 foreword by editor Douglas E. Lurton, which provides an engaging introduction to the history behind Jefferson's effort. Jefferson's selections are beautifully recomposed in a dignifi ed yet pleasing style for a gem of compactness and clarity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Jan 5, 2012
• ISBN: 9781101554159

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd president of the United States. William Peden is professor emeritus of English at the University of Missouri.

Reviews for The Jefferson Bible

[darthdeverell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In his forward, Brent D. Glass writes, “By removing all references to superstition and the supernatural, Jefferson made clear his admiration of Jesus as a great teacher and moral philosopher while, at the same time, reaffirming his belief in and commitment to the power of reason as the basis for understanding life and the natural world” (pg. 7). Since all interpretations of the Bible are now biased by what the reader wants to find within its pages, it’s refreshing to see such an honest edit to a book that has undergone innumerable edits, translations, and other changes. According to Harry R. Rubenstein and Barbara Clark Smith, “Left behind in the source material were those elements that [Jefferson] could not support through reason, that he believed were later embellishments, or that seemed superfluous or repetitious across the Four Evangelists’ accounts. Absent are the annunciation, the resurrection, the water being turned to wine, and the multitudes fed on five loaves of bread and two fishes. It essentially offers what the title indicates: a distillation of the teachings of Jesus the moral reformer, combined with what Jefferson accepted as the historical facts pertaining to Jesus the man” (pg. 30). The main text of this facsimile reprint shows Jefferson’s cut-and-paste technique of removing supernatural elements, cleaning up the text to prevent multiple prepositions on the same sentence, and even allowing Jefferson to compare the original Greek text of the four Gospels, alongside their Latin, French, and English translations (pg. 38-39). For the philologist or those looking to see how meaning changed via translation, the work allows them to follow Jefferson’s scholarship. Further, the work represents an early step in scholarship on the historicity of Jesus, making it a must-read for all religious scholars. Finally, the Jefferson Bible offers the unique opportunity to gain insight into the private thoughts of one of the Founding Fathers of the nation who was among the first to articulate freedom of religion.

[razinha-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

President Kennedy said something during a dinner honoring Nobel laureates about it being the greatest gathering of intelligence in that room since Jefferson dined alone. Mr. Jefferson had a good idea here, cutting out everything he thought to be unnatural (the more common, if incorrect, term is "super"natural). I wonder if he believed anything of his end product, of if he just passed it on without applying critical thinking. He was not without flaws.

I've decided that part of my reading track for 2016 will be Books I Should Have Read Already. This is the first. Am I enriched? Not very. I've already read the source material (not primary source material...those don't exist) in multiple versions.

[jen6e6moore · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I picked this up because it was recommended to me as "Jesus without the magic," which it turns out is not quite what it is (nor quite what I was interested in). But like any "best of" list, the most entertaining part of this is arguing with the selections -- "divorce is adultery" is in (twice!) but not the loaves and the fishes? I get wanting to take out the miracles, but in the process Jefferson's managed to remove everything that made it sound like the guy had a sense of humor. I was prepared to be annoyed by duplication, but it turns out that putting in the same story told in different gospels gives a remarkable effect of veracity.

[dyarington_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book will be a forever classic. I'm so glad I was able to get a first edition from Amazon.

[berthashaver · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Basically a "copy and paste" version of the highlights of the four gospels without all the repetition. It is a very short, condensed version of Christ's life starting with the birth of Jesus, goes through his childhood, selecting the diciples, beatitudes, Lord's prayer, and several of the more famous parables - the widow's mite, the adulteress, the good samaritan, the ten virgins. ends with the last supper and the crucifixion. Not a work of scripture that I would study intently or read again, but it was ok for a brief overview of the life of Christ.

[sunnydale_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thomas Jefferson was a Deist who believed in a distant "watchmaker" God. He revered Jesus as a great teacher, but rejected the supernatural events added to the gospels by authors who lived after Jesus died and never met him. "I hold the precepts of Jesus, as delivered by himself, to be the most pure, benevolent, and sublime which have ever been preached to man," Jefferson wrote. "I adhere to the principles of the first age; and consider all subsequent innovations as corruptions of his religion, having no foundation in what came from him."Jefferson endeavored to find a way to read Jesus's teachings without being irritated by the parts of the Bible he considered false. So with scissors and paste he cut the gospels up and made his own version of the Bible that included only the words attributed to Jesus, without the miracles or other supernatural trappings. The result is a small book of elegant simplicity and much worth.

[jbd1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Smithsonian Edition provides a nicely-done facsimile of the original "Jefferson Bible," accompanied by a historical essay by Harry Rubenstein and Barbara Clark Smith and a piece on the conservation of the volume by Janice Stagnitto Ellis. Rubenstein and Smith provide useful background on Jefferson's project and its origins, and Ellis offers a neat perspective on the steps taken to preserve the original volume and make it accessible for exhibition and research. Much different from other editions of the work I've seen, this facsimile helpfully provides the original context, showing the Greek, Latin, French, and English versions side-by-side as Jefferson placed them.

[joshua7pelton7stroud · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

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. In this it succeeds quite well, though the language is old and in some places a little hard to follow. The one thing I felt really hampered the book was the amount of repetition; when reading the New Testament, you don't really get a feel for how often Jesus says the same things over and over again, but nearly each parable related is told twice, making it a tad bit monotonous.Over all, it is a good, short refining for those more interested in the message Jesus spent his life trying to convey; almost an early American "Cliff's Notes" of the Bible, more than a treatise on the scripture itself. I would like to see it modernized a bit, with the language brought up to date and the repetition cut down.

[midlevelbureaucrat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The gospels according to noted deist, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson took the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, arranged them in chronological order to form a single narrative and expunged the miracles, creating an interpretation of the life of Jesus as a guide and teacher, not necessarily as the son incarnate. There's virtually no introduction to this edition; no historical context provided by the editor. Would've been nice to have one.

[mreed61 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Truly a fast read. I think all the essentials for following in Christ's path can be found here. I have always thought Jefferson was a little misunderstood by those who have generally read history, and much maligned by those who didn't dig deeper. Those who didn't dig deeper really don't have much of an understanding of theism and its break from religion and religious practices.

[bookscatsetc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's been awhile since I read the New Testament, and I didn't remember Jesus' message being this culty. I guess I'm just more familiar with cult tactics now.

[stretch_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Finally, I have finished The Jefferson Bible, only took me two years to read a 169 page book. It's not for the lack on content or boring subject, I just kept losing my place over and over and over again... It's hard to find any organization that the original text had since Jefferson literally did a cut and paste job to produce this book, so I kept getting lost trying to follow the chapter verse layout.Thomas Jefferson worked for a couple restless nights in Washington carefully extracting bible passages from the gospels to revile the true essence of religion; collecting them into a single common sense gospel narrative. A brilliant and enlightening take on the essential heart of the teachings of Jesus of absolute love and service to others. Mr. Jefferson eliminated the virgin birth, the miraculous healings, and the resurrection, leaving only the essential teachings and a very human biography of Jesus.I found it fascinating to see which passages Jefferson felt were the correct telling of Jesus's life and what could be discarded. Then to try to piece those passages into a coherent biography. I think Jefferson did an admirable job, but parts still don't seem to fit quite right, often redundant information is conveyed in several places. I think that has far more to do with the structure of the gospels themselves then with Jefferson's edits. Overall, I feel this is one of the best ways to understand and grasp the true teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

[berthacummins · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Basically a "copy and paste" version of the highlights of the four gospels without all the repetition. It is a very short, condensed version of Christ's life starting with the birth of Jesus, goes through his childhood, selecting the diciples, beatitudes, Lord's prayer, and several of the more famous parables - the widow's mite, the adulteress, the good samaritan, the ten virgins. ends with the last supper and the crucifixion. Not a work of scripture that I would study intently or read again, but it was ok for a brief overview of the life of Christ.

[thebentley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really interesting--not only the history of the book and of Jefferson's philosophy but actually the Bible itself. It's interesting to read the French text alongside the English (unfortunately, I can't read Greek or Latin), and it's also interesting to read just the moral philosophy of Christianity with the supernatural completely removed. I actually found that portion of the book much more engaging than I thought I would. Well worth the read.

[kaulsu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is what it is. No miracles, no supernatural acts. This Jesus of Nazareth speaks with a sparseness and type of authority that convinces better than waiting for water to turn to wine. I place more value in this attempt to uncover the real Christ than I do in the Jesus Seminar theologians "votes." Especially helpful are the citations at the end of the book.

[terk71 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Inspired by a featured program on History Channel, I purchased this book as a curiosity and as additional Americana for my library. Two introductory articles by members of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History rebroadcast the core information contained on that TV show. An essay by Harry R. Rubenstein (Political Curator) and Barbara Clark Smith (Curator) elaborates upon the history of this publication. Conservation descriptions are expounded by Janice Stagnitto Ellis (Senior Paper Conservator).The subtitle reads: “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth Extracted Textually from the Gospels in Greek, Latin, French & English.” Thomas Jefferson had spent years cutting, aligning, and pasting typeset classical language passages against the English version. His patience and precision in amassing this assemblage are amazing. It has been decades since I could read Greek and Latin with understanding, so I was not able to decipher the first three columns on each page; but, I read the King James English text almost like the Cliff’s Notes version of the New Testament. This version is astonishingly clearer in presenting Christ’s messages. Jefferson has eradicated any confusion that might arise through reading the divergent texts of the four gospel writers. Since Jefferson has eliminated all the evangelical editorial remarks and hearsay from this text, Christ’s preaching parables and moral messages are more focused and remarkably more comprehensible.The inclusions of Jefferson’s handwritten bibliography as well as the folded map of the 18th Century Mediterranean area have added precious connections to this work. The reproductions of clippings, smudges, and handwritten marginalia are ribbons that connect us to hours of intensive effort two centuries ago in Monticello. The faux-leather binding and hard plastic book jacket create an elegant addition to any bookshelf. Paradoxically, this book by a U.S. President and sponsored by a renowned American institution was printed in China. I can appreciate why Jefferson used this book for his daily reflections. This work may become a reader’s breviary or a primer in learning classical languages, but certainly it will sit as an antiquarian acquisition on anyone’s bookshelf.

[gthurman-401864 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I give it 3 stars for being Jefferson, but Jefferson missed the point about Christ.

[derekcaelin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Raised by agnostics, I never had much of a religious education. This book, which was written to focus on the actions and words of Jesus which did not appear to be miraculous, seemed to be a good way to learn about the doctrine of someone who is arguably the most influential people in history. Stripping away the divine acts, the reader is left with a narrative about a man seeking to reform the morality of his time.

Some elements of his philosophy resonate more than others. I wasn't particularly moved by Jesus' proclamations on divorce and adultery. As one who has never has been compelled to change my behavior in the Sabbath, his early counsels not to refrain from doing good works on Sunday seem as a matter of course. Other ideas I appreciated more, such as his precepts to love - to love one's neighbor, to love one's enemy. If the world were occupied by more people who sought the betterment of the conditions of others, we would be doing better, I think. To the extent that he talks about money (and I was surprised to discover how much money was discussed), Jesus seemed to favor the rich over the poor, and believe in lifting up those who had the least. In this sense, I think I would have agreed with the person whose creed has become such a world-shaping force.

Ultimately, I was surprised at how brief the read was. Sans miracles, divinity, and awe, the Gospels are a remarkably brief text on a someone who appears to have been an influential, respected man of his time. I'm glad to have read the book, but I have to admit I wasn't much moved by it.

[erwinkennythomas · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

2020 marked the 200th anniversary when Thomas Jefferson published the Jefferson Bible known as “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth.” This Bible that first appeared in 1820 was different from his original attempt in 1804, when he created a single copy of “The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth.” While in Washington at the White House Jefferson used a knife or razor cutting up an original Bible to formulate the latter.But the 1820 version was formulated in his later life at the age of seventy-seven by once again revisiting his earlier work, and using Greek, English, French, and Latin editions of the Bible to accomplish his second edition. Jefferson was an original, who wanted to present his own understanding to Scripture. He saw Christ’s teaching as an extraordinary moral compass provided to mankind. He reasoned that to return to the original precepts of Jesus’ teaching he had to remove the superstitions and fabrications of the biblical text.What therefore evolved was the Jefferson Bible without the Virgin’s birth, no miracles like Jesus walking on water, multiplication of loaves and fishes, healing of the leper, the raising of Lazarus from the dead, nor that of Christ’s resurrection. What remained in Jefferson’s second text were morals and Jesus’s teachings - the beatitudes, Sermon on the Mount, and the Lord’s Prayer. Jefferson thought the men who had compiled the Bible were ignorant and illiterate, and he wished to give Scripture its true perspective. It was however hard to classify his religious beliefs. Some thought of him to be a deist, others a Unitarian, evangelical, or even an agnostic.In 1957, Frank Church a newly elected senator from Idaho used the Jefferson Bible to take the oath of office. Senator Church later gave this Bible to his son Forrest, who later became a prominent Unitarian Universalist minister, and the editor of an edition of the Jefferson Bible.