Americans will well know this author as a founding father and former U.S. President; but fewer are aware that Thomas Jefferson completed his own version of The Bible in 1820 by cutting and pasting selected sections from the New Testament. Fewer still will know that Jefferson’s Bible purposefully excluded supernatural elements from the scriptures, including the miracles performed by Jesus. And many will be surprised to know that, beginning in 1904 and continuing until the 1950s, all new members o

The Bible

The Jefferson Bible

The Jefferson Bible

The Jefferson Bible

Americans will well know this author as a founding father and former U.S. President; but fewer are aware that Thomas Jefferson completed his own version ofin 1820 by cutting and pasting selected sections from the New Testament. Fewer still will know that Jefferson’s Bible purposefully excluded supernatural elements from the scriptures, including the miracles performed by Jesus. And many will be surprised to know that, beginning in 1904 and continuing until the 1950s, all new members of Congress were given a copy of. The copies were provided by the Government Printing Office. A private organization, the Libertarian Press, revived this practice of distributingto congressmen in 1997.The Jefferson Bible is in the public domain and can be read for free. A .pdf may be found HERE or in html at HERE Jefferson’s reason for re-organizing portions of the New Testament was because he believed that much of it had become corrupted by translators who, over time, infused it with idolatry and superstition. Jefferson contended that these past manipulators had so confused scripture that: “. Jefferson prepared this book because he was opposed to these “” by popular Christianity. But Jefferson was not opposed to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself, which Jefferson believed he was preserving in his bible.Jefferson’s manipulation of the scripture is indicative of Jesus’ message to discern and experience righteousness from “” instead of becoming corrupted by static, immutable law that cannot adjust to the infinite situations posed by the dynamic circumstances of life. It is my prayer that the commentaries below will serve to continue Jesus’ and Jefferson’s admonitions into modernity, such that the scripture continues its remarkable journey through history, as persistently relevant.Below is a list of the titled sections under which Jefferson organized the passages, as the reader will find them in The Jefferson Bible . I thinkmakes an excellent study project. My commentary will prove most relevant if the reader first visits the scripture under each of Jefferson’s headings within The Jefferson Bible . Even though my commentary is omitted for some of the introductory or shorter headings, I’m listing them anyway to assist in keeping the reader oriented.: In this section, Jesus displays power by driving many out of the temple, announcing that it should not be a “house of merchandise”. We see here Jesus’ opposition to material things as a profane sacrifice. The revelation of Jesus is that the only worthy sacrifice is to give of one’s self.This section is also an indictment of capitalistic markets and of Mammon. Jesus protests because the spirit of giving is being corrupted by a medium of exchange. One understands Jesus’ viewpoint:. Jesus protested because Mammon was profaning the temple. Jesus would ultimately show that even the sticks and bricks of the temple wereand that the true temple was to be erected spiritually within man.: In this section, we see that the consequence of standing up for righteousness is death. When the martyr looms as a persisting example for those left living, it accomplishes much in the physical world. If we truly believe in a subsequent, enduring spiritual state, why should we fear death?: Here we see Jesus standing up to preach righteousness even in the face of John’s beheading, at his own peril. Thus Jesus demonstrates an absence of fear. Jesus’ physical life is of less concern to Jesus than is proclaiming righteousness.: Here we see that Jesus stands against petrified laws that are so rigid they begin to violate common sense.: In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives a litany of wonderful instructions. The directions given here Jesus likens to the building of a strong house upon a rock foundation, as we should build a strong spiritual temple within ourselves. For it is this inner temple that must survive the storms into the spiritual life. It is the building of our spirits with which we must be first concerned; and we must do this building against the distractions afforded by the physical world set around us. We must build ourselves into a spiritual ark that will carry us beyond physical obstacles into a new dimension that Jesus calls “”.: With a parable illustrating that love emanates out of forgiveness, Jesus reveals The Ragamuffins as is so well explained in Brennan Manning’s wonderful book. Jesus illustrates here that He came for sinners, even the lowest and most abhorred of them.: Here we see that Jesus does not publicly elevate Mary and instead emphasizes universal kinship and relation with those in touch with God. Additionally, Jesus emphasizes how dire are the circumstances of being outside of a righteous relationship, which is to be, essentially, outside of life.: Jesus emphasizes the fruitlessness of storing up earthly treasurers. The spiritual life is not perpetrated by a large inventory of physical things.: Jesus discounts physical life and emphasizes spiritual awareness and spiritual life instead. Jesus warns that those who do not enter into spiritual life will perish.: Jesus emphasizes the importance of using feces fertilizer for the purpose of encouraging a bearing of fruit. The worst byproducts of humanity: war, poverty, ignorance, exploitation, imprisonment, etc., can spur and redirect our spirits toward the righteous, fruitful growth of goodness. Ask of thyself constantly:? Jesus emphasizes that the unfruitful will be destroyed. If the excrement of sin in our life is not fertilizing us forward through repentance, what use is it? What use is a waste product that cannot fertilize a growing fruit? Should it not be discarded?: Here fruit is identified as expanding love and Jesus chastises the Pharisaic legalism that stems from an unauthentic outer show instead of a genuine inner love.: This parable likens the probability for one to ascend into spiritual life with the likelihood that seeds cast about will sprout. Jesus reveals that many seeds will perish, as they are eaten by fowls, scorched, left in stoney places, or choked by thorns. Fewer will land in fertile ground and sprout fruit. Again, the reference is that many will eventually simply perish. In this parable, Jesus identifies three major pitfalls that threaten the spiritual seed: (1) evil people, (2) apathy, and (3) worldly allurements.: Jesus encourages people to shine through their lives and not to cower hidden because of fear of what others may think or say. Again, the implication remains that the physical life is of little worth in comparison to the spiritual life and in fact exists as fertilizer for spiritual growth.: Here we have a very interesting allusion to the human race as the result of purposeful agriculture. This is a picture of human kind as a cultivated species: planted, nurtured, and eventually harvested. The harvest is for the purpose of perpetuating the growth of spiritual goodness, the conglomeration of which is referred to as “The Kingdom”. Again, destruction is predicted for those despising or ignoring the spiritual life during their physical existence, which is clearly identified as the opportunity to experience and become a proponent of goodness. Jesus clearly states that ascending into the Kingdom of goodness is worth more than anything that can be accumulated in the short, terminable physical life. Jesus refers to His life as a sowing of seed. Clearly, the modern proliferation of Jesus is clearly a testament to His abundant fruitfulness.: The seeds are sown in the dirt among the fertilizer of waste. For it is from the dirt that the small seed grows into the mighty tree. Those who have superficially cleaned themselves of all dirt, have sterilized themselves from the fertilization that stems from interaction with the dirt of humanity. To become segregated conformists among the generic adherents of the law, is to disconnect from the soil in which you are intended to sprout. The seed sprouts most fervently among the sinners who feed it with their growing attention and love, such that their dirt fertilizes the seed’s growth, which, in turn, gives forth more seeds.: Jesus provides an illumination between the adjustment necessary to transcend from the old law to the new good news. Newness comes in contradiction or modification of the old way. People will normally try to cling to the old way and view the new way skeptically. The convergence of old and new thus produces conflict, which must be managed.: Jealously inflicts those who know one another intimately because we greedily want to possess and hoard what we love. To bequeath yourself widely is to unshackle yourself from the confines of a possessor, who thus senses a loss. When we come to think less of our self possessions and more of the celebration of righteousness, we shall then delight to observe those we love sowing seeds of love upon others.: The disciples are sent forth passively, transparently, without burden, and with instructions to not fear the loss of their mere physical body. Again, Jesus speaks of “destruction” for those that reject goodness.: Jesus attests that it is not the things that enter or comprise a man that may defile him but the things which come out of him. A man becomes defiled by those corrupt things that he creates within his being and issues forth into the world.Here we have the notion of the body as a temporary organization of life forms. Man ingests various substances, synthesizing them into good or evil, the latter of which must ultimately be destroyed, the former which may endure.Jesus speaks here of “” within which we sense the goodness of the Kingdom will endure, but evil will not be able to survive. God wishes that all may love goodness and thereby come willingly into the Kingdom and be protected from the destruction that materialism will ultimately encounter in the transition from the physical realm to the spiritual realm, a transition that awaits us all. Our ultimate sustenance must be love.: In this parable hell is characterized as having a termination defined by the point at which one should acquiesce to forgive others in token of the forgiveness they have received. The kingdom is characterized as a place of forgiveness.: Here we see that believers are deployed passively, like laborers in the field, or as “”. Such labor is characterized by transparent living and fearless proclamation of righteousness, by which I do not mean dogma and superstition, but simply standing up for what we know to be right, i.e. against exploitation of others, against usury, against slavery, against war, for a flourishing environment for children, against misery and domination, for education, for health care, for compassion, for peace, for equitable distribution of resources, against pathological hoarding of resources, against weapons of destruction, etc. The fact that this mission has become misguided into a superstitious proselytizing of rigid doctrines is tragic.: Here Jesus emphasizes that His testimony comes from God within Him as opposed to codified education handed down. Jesus emphasizes that all should discern through righteousness, seeing beyond merely physical appearances and deceptions. Jesus states that standing up for this righteousness will position one counter to the world: “: Here Jesus displays the radical concept of forgiveness and grace, which come face-to-face with the law. Jesus does not refute the law or deny its relevance but instead reveals that all have broken the law. Essentially Jesus poses the question:? The adulterous woman is encouraged to refrain from sin, so the law is not relegated to irrelevancy, but forgiveness is shown to trump the law, which is relegated to a goal. Jesus is calling mankind to forgive instead of punishing.: This suggests that the situations of souls on the earth are so engineered as to be conducive to the growth of the spirit. Catastrophe is revealed as fertilizer for spiritual growth and not as retribution from God. This is a profound reversal of primitive thinking about the intrusion of disasters (and evils) into the world. It posits catastrophe as a catalyst for growth, instead of punishment from God. The challenges (fertilization) of evil had to be set before Adam and Eve in order for them to grow beyond the status of being merely pets. From dung and dirt, the growth arises,: The vulnerability of the human Christian is emphasized by the analogy to sheep. Jesus identifies Himself as shepherd and the source of life for Christians. There is an implied segregation here between the sheep, who hear and recognize the shepherd, and those who apparently do not. Additionally, the shepherd knows and calls the sheep by name, indicative of personal familiarity. The implication looms that the unhearing are merely instinctual components of the world, destined to pass away, after serving the purpose of facilitating the edification of the sheep.: Eternal life is illustrated here as a function of loving God and loving ones neighbor. The subsequent parable identifies or defines the term “neighbor” as: “”. By extension, eternal life will be inhabited by “neighbors” or those willing and capable of showing compassion to others. “”. Loving thy neighbor therefore involves “being a neighbor”.: The admonitions given by Jesus via The Lord’s Prayer are: (1) Recognize God as father and above you. (2) Pray and be in favor for the Kingdom to arrive, that is, for the earth to become as heaven. (3) Recognize our sustenance comes from God. (4) Recognize that the receipt of forgiveness is intwined with forgiving others. (5) Recognize that freedom from sin comes only through reliance upon God. Conformance to the criteria of this prayer brings forth the Kingdom, which should truly be the focus of our desire.: Jesus dismisses rules and regulations imposed upon the sabbath, which is intended instead as a day of repose, contemplation, and rest. Again, the implication here is for recognizing righteousness by discernment instead of by codified law. What makes sense within us is more important than blind obedience to rules imposed by others.: Jesus identifies those that entertain and deploy lavish gifts for the sake of worldly recompense as misguided. Those that seek worldly advantage are worshipping the physical, not the spiritual. The art of entertaining and helping those unable to recompense is a far greater spiritual act, that will result in infinitely more valuable spiritual recompense.: Can you finish this journey? Have you compiled the spiritual fortitude to persist beyond this physical dimension? Have you achieved a state of mind sufficiently congruent with the occupants of the spiritual dimension so that you may reside with them without disruption? Why do you so earnestly lust after the physical enticements which are merely temporary and ignore the spiritual necessities that are prerequisites for you to endure?: The parable of the prodigal son speaks clearly about the extent of forgiveness that will prevail in the spiritual realm. The truly righteous will joyously forgive and welcome even the last to repent, without forethought of their more lengthy works. The unforgiving are depicted as self-inflated, less concerned with the triumph of righteousness, and more concerned with their perceived self superiority, as earned merit. But the truly righteous would willingly sacrifice their accumulated merit to bring others into the fold.This powerful axiom of forgiveness is symbolically demonstrated in the life and death of Christ, which has served as the catalyst for the promulgation of enhanced spirituality throughout the world. Some see it and are drastically changed into beautiful loving creatures; while others are blind to it because they are spiritually destitute, or are otherwise caught up within a cult of self-righteous arrogance, turning up their noses, like the same Pharisaic characters that were denied by Jesus.: The unjust Steward seeks to save himself by underhanded deal-making through which he displays his faith in Mammon. Most people today worship Mammon, which is an ancient reference to wealth (or wealth personified as demonic). People spend their days striving and laboring after Mammon, while praising and looking up to people who have vast accumulations of Mammon. When people see vast quantities of accumulated Mammon, their eyes often glaze over in lustful desire and they seem to wither in obedience to it. The promise of Mammon will make people do almost anything, including becoming workaholics or even committing horrid evils, like contract murder or prostitution.The vast majority of people display faith and worship for Mammon, far and above that which they may reserve for the integrity of righteousness. Such people have thwarted their spiritual salvation because they have limited themselves to physical substances for the definition of what they embrace most highly.