Today is the anniversary of Thomas Jefferson’s birth. Apparently he’s an important figure in American history, what with him being the third President of the United States and all. Given the significance of the day I thought that it was worth spending a few minutes talking about him. Please take into account that I’m not an American and American history and politics were never part of my childhood education. Any errors and omissions are a result of the dodgy websites where I’m getting my information. 
I’m going to concentrate on Jefferson’s famous religious opinions. It seems reasonable given the emphasis of the site. Raised in the Church of England (the name itself is conclusive proof that God is English, as if the sense of humour weren’t a big enough clue) he converted to the deist philosophy. He believed in one God, divine moral law and divine providence but not in supernatural revelation. He viewed Jesus as a great teacher but not as the incarnation of God or as a messiah. Perfectly reasonable beliefs if you ask me.
Jefferson’s conclusions about the Bible are noteworthy. He considered much of the new testament of the Bible to be lies. He described these as “so much untruth, charlatanism and imposture”. He described the “roguery of others of His disciples”, and called them a “band of dupes and impostors” describing Paul as the “first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus”, and wrote of “palpable interpolations and falsifications”. He also described the Book of Revelation to be “merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherences of our own nightly dreams”. While living in the White House, Jefferson began to make his own condensed version of the Gospels, omitting Jesus’ virgin birth, miracles, divinity, and resurrection, primarily leaving only Jesus’ moral philosophy, of which he approved. This compilation was published after his death and became known as the Jefferson Bible.
When I read that I just had to laugh. It’s a fine example of cherry picking and is about as close to atheism as you can get and still believe in God.
The separation of church and state was an important issue for Jefferson. The argument being that a religion that is endorsed by the state would not benefit the citizenry but act as a tyrant. Those not of the state religion would be denied rights, possible even punished. He and James Madison wrote the Bill of Religious Freedom which read:
No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities
This just makes me like the guy even more. Of course, a wall of separation between the state and church works to the benefit of both. The church is unable to interfere with the proper running of government and the state is unable to interfere with freedom of the individual to express their faith as they see fit. How he managed to marry his belief in divine providence with the secularization of government is testimony to his strength of character and his intellect.
Biographer Merrill Peterson summarizes Jefferson’s theology:
First, that the Christianity of the churches was unreasonable, therefore unbelievable, but that stripped of priestly mystery, ritual, and dogma, reinterpreted in the light of historical evidence and human experience, and substituting the Newtonian cosmology for the discredited Biblical one, Christianity could be conformed to reason. Second, morality required no divine sanction or inspiration, no appeal beyond reason and nature, perhaps not even the hope of heaven or the fear of hell; and so the whole edifice of Christian revelation came tumbling to the ground
It the modern political climate I swear that the history and opinion of Thomas Jefferson should be required learning for anyone in public office. He was President at the beginning of the 19th Century, and contributed to the formation and structuring of the United States of America as few others did. I don’t know if Jefferson Day is celebrated by his countrymen but, speaking as an outsider looking in, I really think it should be.
(Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson#Religious_views)
Popularity: 9% [?]
It’s been some time since 
Loading ...