Utter nonsense. Most real scholars still argue this point. In fact, it makes perfect sense that those who had a very distinct memory of flight from RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION would wish to keep religion out of public life.
OTHERWISE, they would have used the Bible (whatever convoluted, corrupted, mistranslated version they had) as the basis for defining the Judiciary.
In that vein, they would have done exactly what Muslim clerics in Iraq (and Afghanistan for that matter) would like to do...use the Koran as the basis for all laws.
They didn't.
...Jefferson discovered a Jesus who was a great Teacher of Common Sense. His message was the morality of absolute love and service. Its authenticity was not dependent upon the dogma of the Trinity or even the claim that Jesus was uniquely inspired by God. Jefferson saw Jesus as
'a man, of illegitimate birth, of a benevolent heart, (and an) enthusiastic mind, who set out without pretensions of divinity, ended in believing them, and was punished capitally for sedition by being gibbeted according to the Roman law'
In short, Mr. Jefferson's Jesus, modeled on the ideals of the Enlightenment thinkers of his day, bore a striking resemblance to Jefferson himself....
He saw current day (his current) Bible as having been contaminated. Ooops.
Of course he prided himself on being a FREE THINKER which is something you may wish to try ONCE in your life before you die. |
