Thomas Jefferson: Unbeliever
"In whom the god of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the
glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."
—2nd Corinthians 4:4
I was
greatly saddened to learn that Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was NOT a Christian.
Jefferson made so many wonderful quotes concerning freedom and the dangers
of the central bank. It is tragic that such a brilliant man would be
so foolish as to reject the Word of God. I realize that there are
historical writings which reveal that Thomas Jefferson claimed to be a
Christian, including an actual photo of Jefferson's handwritten statement "I
am a real Christian." Nevertheless, the following quotes from Mr.
Jefferson make it quite clear that he was NO Christian:
"And the day will come when the mystical
generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a
virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the
brain of Jupiter. But may we hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of
thought in these United States will do away with this artificial
scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this
most venerated reformer of human errors." –Thomas Jefferson, Letter to
John Adams, April 11, 1823
Here you clearly learn that Jefferson denied
Jesus' virgin birth, and so denied the Son of God. Jefferson was an
incredible orator, admirably patriotic and certainly spoke the truth about
the evils of the central banks. Sadly, Jefferson's writings reveal him to be
no Christian . . .
"It does me no injury for my neighbor to say
there are 20 gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my
leg."
"History I believe furnishes no example of a
priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the
lowest grade of ignorance, of which their political as well as religious
leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose. " — Thomas
Jefferson to Baron von Humboldt, 1813
"Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the
introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and
imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half
the world fools and the other half hypocrites" –Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, 1782.
"Rogueries, absurdities and
untruths were perpetrated upon the teachings of Jesus by a large band of
dupes and importers led by Paul, the first great corrupter of the teaching
of Jesus."
"The clergy converted the simple teachings of
Jesus into an engine for enslaving mankind and adulterated by artificial
constructions into a contrivance to filch wealth and power to
themselves...these clergy, in fact, constitute the real Anti-Christ."
"I do not find in orthodox Christianity one
redeeming feature."
SOURCE: Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President,
author, scientist, architect, educator, and diplomat
END
The
Need for Morals and Virtue in Society
America has
never been a Christian nation . . .
Thomas Jefferson
put it most poignantly:
No
government can continue good but under the control of the people; and
people so demoralized [lacking good morals] and depraved as to be
incapable of exercising a wholesome control, their reformation must be
taken up ab incunabulis. Their
minds [must] be informed by education what is right and what wrong, be
encouraged in habits of virtue and deterred from those of vice by the
dread of punishments, proportioned indeed, but irremissible. In all
cases, follow truth as the only safe guide and eschew error which
bewilders us in one false consequence after another in endless
succession. These are the inculcations necessary to render the people a
sure basis for the structure of order and good government. – Thomas
Jefferson to John Adams (1819. ME 15:234)
Religion, as well as reason, confirms
the soundness of those principles on which our government has been
founded and its rights asserted. – Thomas Jefferson to P. H.
Wendover, (1815. ME 14:283)
To put it in
today's language, it was Jefferson's conviction that by nature, people are
depraved, immoral and lacking self-control. He therefore believed that the
only way that the American style of government could be maintained was to
instruct everyone in right and wrong from birth, and train them toward good
habits and virtue through disciplinary consequences. Political
self-government, he said, requires that citizens be raised to despise
dishonesty and embrace personal integrity through instruction and repeated
admonitions. Religion and reason, he said, form the basis for our nation's
foundations.
Thomas Jefferson
and the other founders built our nation upon Christian principles and
ethics, and warned that America would morally disintegrate if it forsook its
"religious" roots. Although such a foundation could not make our nation
"Christian," we would be wise to listen to our predecessors and embrace our
Creator and the Bible that communicates how to walk in morality and virtue.
SOURCE:
America has
never been a Christian nation
False Quotes by Jefferson
In fairness to Thomas Jefferson, some of the
modern quotes attributed to him are false. The following quote is
not found among the writings of Thomas Jefferson; therefore, it
should be considered false...
"Christianity is the
most perverted system that ever shone on man."
Here's another false quote:
"I have examined all
the known superstitions of the world, and I do not find in our
particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They
are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of
innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of
Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What
has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world
fools and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and
error all over the earth."
If you look at Jefferson's notes on the State of Virginia, you will
see that only some of this quote was truly penned by the
hand of Jefferson. Only the part that is underlined is true
Jefferson. The rest is false.
Here's another popular quote, where only some
of it is actually Jefferson. Again, the underlined part is
true Jefferson. Even the true part is only paraphrase, not word for
word.
"Christianity...(has
become) the most perverted system that ever shone on man. ...Rogueries,
absurdities and untruths were perpetrated upon the teachings of
Jesus by a large band of dupes and importers led by Paul, the first
great corrupter of the teaching of Jesus."
This whole quote is false....
"The Christian god can
easily be pictured as virtually the same god as the many ancient
gods of past civilizations. The Christian god is a three headed
monster; cruel, vengeful and capricious. If one wishes to know more
of this raging, three headed beast-like god, one only needs to look
at the caliber of people who say they serve him. They are always of
two classes: fools and hypocrites."
None of this means that I believe Jefferson
was a Christian. He, of course, said he was a Christian; but did not
believe in the Virgin birth, the Godhead, miracles, the resurrection,
etc. Thomas Jefferson was a Christ-rejecter.
So I bring out these quotes because I, and I'm
sure you, are interested in the truth even if the person in question
doesn't happen to believe the way I do.
END
Faith of Our Founding Fathers?
Hitler claimed to be a Christian; but was not. George W. Bush claims to be a Christian; but is not. Just because someone claims to be a
"Christian" means nothing if their words and life don't support
that claim. Jesus said that men would be known by their
fruits... "Ye shall know them by their fruits..." (Matthew 7:16). Thomas Jefferson denied the Godhead and called the Bible a dunghill... something no true Christian would ever do. Though an educated and
brilliant thinker; Jefferson was NOT a
Christian!
"As we said before, so say I
now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have
received, let him be accursed." —Galatians 1:9
"That at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and
things under the earth" —Philippians 2:10
