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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)
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Jefferson truly is a study in contradiction.
A man who believed in the equality of man and yet held slaves. One author called him the “American Sphinx”, and for good reason.
I consider him to be one side of the American coin, my fellow Bay-Stater, John Adams being the other side.
Jefferson the romantic optimist, in awe of what humanity could be, if we could only educate and strive for the better angels of our natures.
Adams the realist pessimist, convinced of the depravity of man unless reigned in by something, God or Law.
I think there has been a struggle between proponents of those two disparate ideas for the soul of America since its very inception all those years ago.
In answer to your question Hov. generally most Americans ‘cherry pick’ Mr. Jefferson’s work to support their particular views.
Each side accuses the other of historical revisionism. I have read enough history of our republic to know when I am being lied to.
I am fully aware that Mr. Jefferson was no atheist, however, it is VERY clear to anyone who chooses to read “Notes from Virgina” that he was no evangelical Christian or even a Christian in the traditional sense.
Mr. Jefferson was a radical! A man who knew the problem of maintaining the institution of slavery was a contradiction of the very ideals he fought so hard for yet he for all his brilliance he couldn’t find a way to end it in his lifetime.
Mr Jefferson also believed that America should re-write it’s Constitution every 20 years! Imagine what this country might be like we did that? It’s a powerful and disquieting idea.
I often find myself wondering what the ‘Sage of Monticello’ would have thought after reading the magnum opus of Charles Darwin. Would it have increased or decreased his faith the deistic clock-maker God?
Robert
I agree Jefferson (and Madison and Paine) are the heroes of “separation of church and state” and a secular government.
I think people unfortunately try to elevate the founding fathers to some kind of god-like (pun intended) status. Many times I think the arguments of the founding fathers are put in the following manner, “The Founding Fathers were moral/sage-like/wise-beyond-their-years and therefore their ideas are golden ideals” instead of, “Many of the ideals of the Founding Fathers have proven to be some of the wisest ideas in human history and that those ideas that have withstood the test of time only goes to show that these ideas are worthy of our esposal despite the flawed men they came from.” The former idea leads to comments like “Jefferson truly is a study in contradiction”, how so? He was a white, land-owning, male at the turn of the 19th century in America. He was what he was. The statement begs the question, “What mythical 21st-century qualities did he have that cause such head-scratching?” I’m not trying to argue but I think if you look at the writings that talk about the “man of contradictions” you will see that Jefferson has been placed on a pedestal in the Parthenon with Apollo and Aphrodite.
Robert, I often wonder what it would have been like for Jefferson, Madison or even Thomas Paine to have grown up when there was a theoretical framework for the origins of life independent of a god. However I usually keep that to myself because it truly leads to revisionist thinking. The next thing you know atheists will claim MLK Jr. was a humanist or only used his status as preacher to give him political clout within the African-American community (I’m looking at you Hitchens).
Skeptigator
I agree completely! That’s why I try NOT to get too hung up on ‘what if’ scenarios. Jefferson was a man of him time with some radical ideas.
We need to remember to read him and think of him in HIS own context.
R.
Can either of you suggest a good book on the life of Jefferson or early American politics? I’m beginning to be fascinated by the origins of your nation. Do you ever wonder if it’s all gone wrong and if so, when?
Hi Hov
Anything by David McCullough:
“John Adams” , “1776″ , “The Faiths of the Founding Fathers”
For Jefferson there’s no better than:
“American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson” by Joseph Ellis
Robert
If you read anything about Early American politics you have to read about BOTH John Adams and Thomas Jefferson…
They represent the two poles of American thought at the time.
R.
I agree McCullough does a very good job of telling “the story”. The story of the Federalists (John Adams/Hamilton) and the Anti-Federalists (Jefferson/Madison) is perhaps the most interesting particularly how that conflict led directly to the first 10 amendments (Bill of Rights) almost being a requirement for ratification of the Constitution itself.
Many Americans forget that civil war almost broke between the Feds/Anti-Feds before the Constitution was ratified in 1789. In fact, I believe it was Anti-Feds actually marched on Massachusetts (RI?) to force them to ratify the constitution. It’s amazing how our country almost didn’t happen in so many different ways.
It’s easy in today’s political environment what real diplomacy (you remember that right?) looked like.
There is a lot of (understandable) confusion about Jefferson’s perspective on the First Amendment. He was not in this country when it was drafted and ratified, but he certainly held opinions. Consider his actions, though, as an insight.
He signed laws that set aside funds for missionaries to the Indians. As the first president of the Washington, D.C. school system, he specified that the primary sources of reading material would be the Holy Bible and the Watts Hymnal. As President of the United States he did not follow Washington’s lead in signing a declaration of a national day of fasting and prayer. However, as governor of Virginia, he DID sign such a proclamation for the state (clearly he believed that such things should not come from the Federal Government, but were appropriate at the state level.
When Washington D. C. became the national capital in 1800, Congress voted that the Capitol building would also serve as a church building. President Jefferson chose to attend church each Sunday at the Capitol and even provided the service with paid government musicians to assist in its worship. Jefferson also began similar Christian services in his own Executive Branch, both at the Treasury Building and at the War Office.