Find anything factually wrong at wtv-zone.com
Consider these words that Thomas Jefferson wrote on the front of his well- worn Bible: "I am a Christian, that is to say a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our Creator and, I hope, to the pure doctrine of Jesus also."
I found that quote to be particularly interesting. It seemed an odd entry to put in a personal bible. Also, a rather obscure piece of information it would seem. Seaching over the web, I found a few references to it, but they appeared in the same context, i.e, some attempt to do a Jefferson=>Christian=>US Government.
So I said to myself...."Self. Who who be able to verify this quote?" ....ponder...ponder...ponder... lightbulb!!! Monticello! Who would better know Jefferson than the fine folks at Monticello? Did it the old fashion way, wrote them the little ditty above and asked them where I might be able to find Jefferson's bible and verify the quote. I received the following reply...
Dear Mr. ______,
First, please accept my apologies for the delay in replying to you. It has been a rather hectic few weeks here at the Jefferson Library.
As for your question, I don't find this statement in any of the sources on Jefferson and religion that I consulted; it seems to be an intriguing enough factoid that it would be mentioned, if it were true. I find a sentence in a letter he wrote to Benjamin Waterhouse 6 June 1822, "I rejoice that in this blessed country of free inquiry and belief, which has surrendered its creed and conscience to neither kings nor priests, the genuine doctrine of one only God is reviving, and I trust that there is not a young man now living in the United States who will not die an Unitarian." This seems to express a vaguely similar sentiment to the quote you are asking about, but is not quite the same.
If you searched our catalog, the Thomas Jefferson Portal, you would not find Jefferson's Bible; we do not have any original Jeffersonian documents here in the Jefferson Library. Some of his original books do reside in the house, but they are under the care of our Curatorial department. I contacted them and they told me that they do have a 1798 Bible that Jefferson owned, but it does not have this inscription; UVA has a copy from 1804-1809; and the Library of Congress has several copies. I checked the annotated catalog of books Jefferson sold to LC in 1815, and none of the Bibles in that group had any sort of inscription other than Jefferson's initials.
For more information, see our research report on Jefferson's religious beliefs: monticello.org
I hope you find this information helpful, and please let us know if you have further questions.
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I trust as a good Christian, you will take further initiative and notify the appropriate web sites that they are relaying false information and any further claims that Jefferson made any such inscription in his bible, or elsewhere, would be a flagrant offense to God, Exodus 20:16 "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." I'm sure they will appreciate the correction.
A Child of God,
jttmab |
