The Jefferson Bible

Thomas Jefferson, the principal designer of the the Declaration of Independence and the 3rd president of the United States, was a man of innovation and experimentation, but he was a man of habit, too. And one of his habits was to engage in 30 to 60 minutes of reading nightly, mostly "of a moral nature." Often, these passages would come from the Bible. But not just any Bible - an  84-page personal Bible Jefferson designed which he called The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth but what has come to be called The Jefferson Bible.

That Bible formed the basis of the recent The Jefferson Bible exhibit at the Smithsonian's American History Museum.

For his bible, which he created in 1820, Jefferson excerpted parts of the 1st four books of the New Testament - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Knowing that any tampering with the Bible would pose problems, Jefferson only made one copy for his personal reading and reflection.  However, it was sold to the Smithsonian in 1895 for $400 by Jefferson's great-granddaughter. Obviously, over the years, the original book began to deteriorate. After a year of intensive conservation, Jefferson's Bible was restored and placed on display as the central focus of the exhibit.

In a letter written to John Adams, Jefferson explained his decision to limit his bible to the 4 gospels. "We must reduce our volume to the simple evangelists, select, even from them, the very words only of Jesus ... There will be found remaining the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man."

Jefferson believed that all religion was personal by nature. "No man can conform his faith to the dictates of another," Jefferson wrote in 1776, the same year American became a county.

Jefferson, ever displaying one of the best scientific minds of the Age of Reason, maintained that all should "fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion"

"Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must approve of  the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear," Jefferson added.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
The Smithsonian exhibition on the Jefferson Bible closed on Memorial Day. But you can learn more about the project on-line by clicking here.