Urban Myths About Thomas Jefferson

Active in the Virginia Bible Society

Jefferson was an active member of the Virginia Bible Society, writes David Barton, author of The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You've Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson. This was an organization that distributed the full, unedited text of the Bible, including all its supernatural references. He also gave Bibles as gifts to members of his family, including his grandchildren, and contributed liberally to the distribution of the full Bible. In fact, during a period of personal economic crisis so severe that he arranged a personal loan and even offered to sell his own cherished private library to Congress to raise additional funds, he made a very generous contribution to the Virginia Bible Society, explaining: I had not supposed there was a family in this State not possessing a Bible. . . . I therefore enclose you cheerfully an order . . . for the purposes of the Society.

There is no “Jefferson Bible”

Despite what many people believe, there actually is no Jefferson Bible, but modern spin is usually directed at one of two religious works that Jefferson prepared about Jesus. He compiled the first in 1804 and the second around 1820. Jefferson assigned an explicit title to each, accurately describing its scope and purpose. Neither was a “Bible,” and Jefferson would have strenuously objected to that characterization. In his mind each was nothing more than what he said it was in its title. Jefferson’s title for his 1804 work about Jesus was:

The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth, being Extracted from the Account of His Life and Doctrines Given by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; Being an Abridgement of the New Testament for the Use of the Indians, Unembarrassed with Matters of Fact or Faith beyond the Level of their Comprehensions.