Thomas Jefferson’s Bible

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Thomas Jefferson is a personal hero of mine for several reasons.   Obviously because he  was one of our founding fathers and the author of the Declaration of Independence , but also because he was the epitome of  what it meant to be a “Seeker”.  I have mentioned The Jefferson Bible a few times but, I have recently stumbled across a website that lets you look at the original.  For those that don’t know Jefferson struggled with the miracles and magic in the Bible.  He believed in God and he held Jesus in a high regard.  He was theologically somewhere between a Unitarian and a Deist.  He read a lot and the Bible was one of the books he read the most (he had the Bible in Greek, French, and the good old King James Version you can read today)  Eventually Jefferson narrowed his view of the Bible to just the life and teachings of Jesus.  So he took a razor and some glue and literally cut the passages of the Gospels that he felt best reflected the teachings of Jesus and pasted them into a blank book.  He then used this as his Rule and Guide in life.  For a long time members of congress were given a copy of this book when they took the oath of office.  The rise of evangelicalism in the 50’s saw this tradition come to a quiet end.  It’s a shame when you think about it.  Imagine if members of  Congress followed the precepts taught in the Sermon on the Mount.

Here is a link to The Jefferson Bible: 

http://americanhistory.si.edu/JeffersonBible/the-book/?page=3&view=transcription#dl

I own a copy of this and have set it aside for a little to long as I have focused so much on Torah study.  In fact, due to some recent discussions with a very intelligent author I have decided to revisit the Christian Scriptures.  I am sure that the new reading lenses that I have developed from rabbinical Torah study will no doubt prove useful in reading about the Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth.  Who knows, maybe I’ve been wrong about Paul too.  Stay tuned the Quest is about to go into yet another direction.

© Nelson Rose, The Quest for Light

No, I haven’t forgotten Jesus

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I started The Quest with the desire to conduct an exploration of various theologies with the goal of gaining a better understanding of the Light of Truth. Somehow when I began to dig into the Kabbalah it led to the Torah and then I became consumed with studying just that. I suppose because I had discovered that there existed a tremendous body of literature (Talmud, Mishna, Zohar, and other rabbinical commentaries) that I had never been exposed to (when I was a Christian) that interpreted the various layers of the Torah, I began to focus on Jewish scholarship so much that I began to stray from my universal view of the Divine. In doing so I even began dismissing and even discrediting the Christian religion. The truth is I have nothing but respect and admiration for the teachings and morals of the character attributed to Jesus. In fact I think Thomas Jefferson said it best when he stated:

“Had the doctrines of Jesus been preached always as pure as they came from his lips, the whole civilized world would now have been Christians.” ~Thomas Jefferson

His point being that it was the teachings and not the man himself that he followed.  The evidence of this is in his Unitarian beliefs and his theological compilation known as The Jefferson Bible. The following is an exact quote from a letter Jefferson wrote to Benjamin Rush in April of 1803:

“To the corruptions of Christianity I am, indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian, in the only sense in which he wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to all others.” ~Thomas Jefferson

I have had a few folks accuse me of Jesus bashing lately and I can see how that impression can be made.  To clear it up – I actually really like Jesus.  I am convinced that someone of significance existed a long time ago with that name (the actual interpretation of his name in English is really Joshua though).  The problem I have is the additional doctrines and teachings that were adopted by the church long after Jesus’ death.  Things like eternal damnation for lack of faith and predestination. 

Jesus was a rabbi.  Rabbi means teacher and you do not need a theology degree to know that he was really good at teaching.  Like all the great teachers and scholars throughout history he taught in allegories and symbolism.  Before you cast doubt on what I am saying,  show me one instance where Jesus did not teach in a parable.  You won’t find any because he always spoke in parables.  Even though one can not with absolute certainty know for sure how accurate the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) are due to the lack of any original or complete manuscripts, the various councils used to canonize them, and the several subsequent translations – there is no way to mistake the message Jesus was trying to convey – Love one another.  This message dates all the way back to the very beginning when man chose to take the reins from the Divine and seek knowledge of both good and evil.

“‘Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”  ~Deuteronomy 6:5

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself…”  ~Leviticus 19:17-19

“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’   This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” ~Matthew 22:37-40

I believe the message of Jesus has to be studied and not the dogmas and doctrines that were created by those with motives of control or power.  Jesus taught that the moral code in the Torah should not just be an outward exercise but an internal one.  So while I do not worship the man, I do firmly believe his message was pure, timeless, and applies to all of us.

© Nelson Rose, The Quest for Light