Thomas Jefferson was a devotee of the Enlightenment and of rationality. He brings this perspective to his struggle to find salvation and to understand the great contributions of Jesus of Nazareth to people of faith. In his 'bible', he excises all references to anything supernatural or mystical and he focuses on what many of us would think of as Jesus' core message: a loving Creator whose creations were more likely than not to find Salvation; a prescription for how to carry oneself through life in relation to ones neighbors. In every day use, this book provides a concise compendium of the major statements and life events of Jesus of Nazareth. For scholars, this work, a focus of Jefferson's intellect over decades, show his selection of most important passages from the Christian tradition.
The Smithsonian Edition of his Bible is a true copy of the historical document that was given to our national museum by Jefferson's heirs. It includes side-by-side texts in Latin, Greek, French and the King James version of our 'Holy Bible.' This is the bible I want to turn to in my later years to 'accentuate the positive' in Christianity. This is part of the core of my daily devotions.This is a painstakingly produced full-color facsimile of the original volume that Jefferson created, now at the Smithsonian, where it received top-level conservation treatment prior to its high-resolution reproduction here. Jefferson created his version of the New Testament by cutting and pasting from Greek, Latin, French, and English printed texts of the Gospels, which he placed in four parallel columns and accompanied with his marginal notes. This edition also contains two essays: "The History of the Jefferson Bible," in which curators at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History explain Jefferson's intent and his methods, and an essay on the volume's extensive conservation. The passages that Jefferson selected and pasted together present a much-edited, single chronological account of Jesus's life, teachings, and death—ending with Jesus's burial and avoiding redundancies. The passages are those that Jefferson deemed to be supportable by reason. The "History" essay draws parallels between the way Jefferson revised Virginia's laws and the way he revised the Bible. VERDICT Jefferson's Bible has been published before, but never in full facsimile with all its contents. With great cultural importance for all readers from preteens through scholars in American studies, biblical studies, or the Enlightenment, as well as general readers
This edition is not only the Jefferson Bible. It begins with an historical appreciation of Jefferson's approach to a personal faith and it traces how the bible came to be assembled over time. Another chapter traces its history as an artefact and there is an essay on how it was conserved. Finally, about page 50, the document begins.
As an aside, this is also a 'book' that looks like a classic and feels like a classic. This is a Smithsonian reproduction of one of the most significant texts in American history. The paper feels wonderful. The images reproduce the idea of custom papers so dear to bibliophiles. But, the payoff is in the content.
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