Browsed by
Tag: Jefferson Bible

Jefferson’s Syllabus of an Estimate of the Merit of the Doctrines of Jesus

Jefferson’s Syllabus of an Estimate of the Merit of the Doctrines of Jesus

Thomas Jefferson May 21, 1803 Before he wrote the Jefferson Bible, Jefferson had tried to get others to create a more honest depiction of the true merits of Jesus. He crafted this syllabus ostensibly as a guide for someone else who might tackle the project. In the end, he did the Philosophy of Jesus and, later, the Life and Morals of Jesus, himelf. Here is the cover note he sent to Benjamin Rush and and an earlier note on the…

Read More Read More

Letter from Thomas Jefferson to William Short, October 31, 1819

Letter from Thomas Jefferson to William Short, October 31, 1819

Thomas Jefferson October 31, 1819 Monticello Oct. 31. 19 Dear Sir Your favor of the 21st is recieved. My late illness, in which you are so kind as to feel an interest was produced by a spasmodic stricture of the ilium, which came upon me on the 7th inst. The crisis was passed over favorably on the 4th day, and I should soon have been well but that a dose of calomel & Jalap, in which were only 8 or…

Read More Read More

Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Joseph Priestley

Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Joseph Priestley

Thomas Jefferson April 9, 1803 In 1803, Jefferson had hoped that someone other than he would write a book on the true merits of Christianity. He eventually wrote a “Syllabus of an Estimate of the Merit of the Doctrines of Jesus.” Here is a letter he sent to Joseph Priestley, the scientist who discovered Oxygen and had written extensively on Christianity, explaining his project. He later would return to the project and create what came to be known as the…

Read More Read More

Letter from Thomas Jefferson to F. A. Van Der Kemp, May 25, 1816

Letter from Thomas Jefferson to F. A. Van Der Kemp, May 25, 1816

Thomas Jefferson May 25, 1816 Jefferson explains that his various efforts to highlight what he sees as the uncorrupted portions of Jesus’s teachings. He makes reference to the project he undertook while President, which he says was hasty, and to his forthcoming efforts to create a new Bible using just the valuable parts of scripture. This project resulted in the Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, better known as The Jefferson Bible. SIR,-Your favor of March 24th was handed…

Read More Read More