Derivative Images

For many years Americans have grown acusstomed to US Presidents taking policy liberties via executive orders and sometimes attempts by other means. Often the public does not agree and may protest but to no avail. How far do they actually go at times? Bearing in mind topics that are important at certain points in history let's take a look at Thomas Jefferson who did indeed rewrite the Bible -

For those who know much about Thomas Jefferson, the idea that he wanted his own version of the Bible shouldn't be surprising. He took issue with the idea of organized religion dictating what people should and shouldn't believe, and he believed that faith was a very personal thing. Jefferson wrote that the matter of religion "lies solely between man and his God" [source: Derschowitz]. In fact, the idea of separating church and state doesn't come from the Constitution (as many incorrectly think) but rather from a letter that Jefferson wrote to the Connecticut Committee of the Danbury Baptist Association [source: Hutson]. Clearly, his ideas about the individualistic nature of religion were important to him.

On top of this, Jefferson was highly skeptical of the accounts of Jesus written in the Gospels. He maintained that those who set down the story of Jesus to paper were thoroughly unqualified to do so -- Jefferson considered them "unlettered" and "ignorant" [source: Church]. He also insinuates that the oral tradition from which the Gospels originated was flawed. The possibility of bad memories, gross misunderstandings and misinterpretations tainted his trust in these sources [source: Church]. Jefferson felt that the Evangelists (Gospel writers) fabricated the miracles associated with Jesus to cohere with their mistaken idea that he was the son of God [source: Reece].

Despite his skepticism, Jefferson admired Jesus. Aside from the miracles and other things he considered nonsense, Jefferson thought that Jesus was worth studying -- or, more precisely, his philosophy was worth studying. Though he didn't trust the validity of the miracles, Jefferson found enlightenment in Jesus' words. He even placed him among the ranks of the most esteemed classical Greek philosophers. More than that, Jefferson said that Jesus' system of morality was actually "more perfect" than any other ancient philosopher [source: Church].

Given his esteem for (at least some of) Jesus' teachings and his disdain for how they were recorded by the evangelists, you can imagine how Jefferson yearned to cut the scriptures down to what he felt was truly valid and relevant. And starting in the winter of 1816, he finally did.

Scholars refer to the Jefferson Bible as a cut-and-paste job. That's literally what it is. Jefferson actually cut out the verses he liked from a few copies of the Bible and pasted them into a blank book. So he didn't actually rewrite the Bible -- but he did restructure it and write the table of contents for his book.

After retirement from public life, Jefferson worked on his bible some more. He added the corresponding Bible verses in three other languages (Greek, Latin and French) in addition to the English-language translation he originally used. In his final version, each page had two columns. On the left-hand side, he put the Greek in the first column and the corresponding Latin in the next column. On the right-hand side, he listed the French and English versions.

In all, 990 verses made the final cut. The verses he chose chiefly came from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. What he actually considered worth reading and "genuine" were events like the Sermon on the Mount, certain parables (such as the ones about the good shepherd, the wedding feast and the 10 talents, among others) as well as the Lord's Prayer [source: Hardon].

As we mentioned, miracles are completely absent from Jefferson's bible. This includes the stories of Jesus turning water into wine, healing the sick, raising Lazarus from the dead and scores of others. What most people consider the most significant miracles -- the virgin birth and the resurrection -- aren't mentioned, either. The Last Supper is depicted in part, but Jefferson skips over the part about the Eucharist. These miracles and events are at the core of the Christian belief that Jesus was, in fact, the son of God. That's exactly why Jefferson skipped them. Unlike the Gospel writers, Jefferson didn't believe in the divinity of Jesus. He thought it was the belief in Jesus' divinity that muddled the evangelists' accounts.

That he focused on Jesus' words and not his miracles isn't to say that Jefferson's bible doesn't have a narrative structure. It does tell a story of Jesus. Because he was merely cutting and pasting, however, Jefferson had to sometimes take a teaching out of its immediate context. In all, the story of Jesus certainly carries less punch, as you'd expect when the virgin birth and dramatic resurrection are omitted. What remains are the thoughts of an insightful philosopher, which overshadow the details of his life -- an effect Jefferson no doubt intended.