Book Review : The Jefferson Bible by Thomas Jefferson

 Jesus of Nazareth is one of the most compelling figures in history. A simple carpenter from a one horse town became the son of God, king of the universe and the redeemer of mankind. Not according to Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of America. It is very fitting that a man named Thomas would be a Doubting Thomas. Jefferson clearly does not believe in miracles and works of wonder that defy the laws of the universe. In the Jefferson Bible Jefferson cuts out all the miracles and supernatural occurrences. Jesus is stripped bare of his super powers. In the gospel according to Thomas Jefferson he was not born of a virgin. He was not the son of God. He did not walk on water and he most definitely did not rise from the dead. 

I found the Jefferson Bible to be more interesting than the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. As an agnostic, I feel the Jefferson Bible paints a more realistic picture of who Yeshua really was. He was most likely, the bastard son of a Jewish woman who was initially the follower of John the Baptist. Then after John is beheaded, Yeshua begins his mission to teach his disciples and the common Jewish peasants about the coming of the kingdom of God. Perhaps he was a con artist or maybe he was a schizophrenic mad man. Did Jesus incur the wrath of the temple establishment or did his teachings get him in trouble with the Roman establishment? How much of the words in the new testament were his own and how many were later added? Was the story of Yeshua a game of Chinese telephone that spun out of control and gave birth to a religion? Will we never know. 

Back to the Jefferson Bible. The Jesus of this book comes across as a philosopher, a social activist, a deep and complex figure. A witty banterer and a thorn in the side of the rich and corrupt. This portrait of Jesus is probably closer to the real Jesus than the water walking and water to wine making Jesus of legend. He is more like Gandhi and Martin Luther King and ultimately faces the same consequences they did. He became a martyr. The end of the Jefferson Bible is sad and tragic for there is no Sunday resurrection and no ascension into heaven. The Jesus of the Jefferson Bible dies a gruesome death and is buried and that's where the story ends. There is no happy ending and that is more poignant and leaves the reader in a state of moaning. 

Definitely worth the read. I would give it a 10/10.

https://www.amazon.com/Jefferson-Bible-Thomas/dp/1503032051



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