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Thomas
With
Jefferson
Passion
By
For
Elliot
Religious
Religious
K.
Man
Freedom
Wicks*
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MAN
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man."18But this is not to say that he accepted all of the New Testament account of Jesus'life and teachingas a guide to moral behavior,
for much of what was writtenhe regardedas being not the words of
Jesus but those of his biographers.Recognizingwhat was the actual
because what was trulyhis creation
teachingof Jesuswas not difficult,
is found in "passages of fine imaginations,correctmorality,and of
the most lovely benevolence"easily separated fromotherpassages "of
so much ignorance,or so much absurdity,so much untruth,charlatanism and imposture,as to pronounce it impossible that such contradictionsshould have proceeded fromthe same being."14In order
to separate "the gold fromthe dross,"a task which Jefferson
actually
undertookin compiling the Jefferson
Bible previouslyreferredto, it
was necessaryto reduce the New Testament"volume to the simple
evangelists,select, even from the very words only of Jesus, paring
offthe amphibologisminto which theyhave been led, by forgetting
often,or not understanding,what had fallenfromhim,by givingtheir
own misconceptionsas his dicta, and expressingunintelligiblyforothers what they had not understood themselves."16
Admittedly,what
was left were only "fragments"of what Jesus taught,but even these
showed that he was "a master workman, and that his systemof
moralitywas the most benevolent and sublime probably that have
been ever taught,and consequentlymore perfectthan those of any
of the ancient philosophers."10
believed that the religion taughtby Jesus was a simple
Jefferson
one that had as its goal the happiness of man. The key doctrines
were: "1. That there is only one God, and he all perfect.2. That
there is a futurestate or rewardsand punishments.3. That to love
God with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself,is the sum of
religion. These are the great points on which he endeavored to reform the religion of the Jews."17What was really original and of
fundamentalimportancein the teachingsof Jesus, as Jeffersonsaw
- love forour fellowmen. Only if men
it, was the principleof charity
recognized and accepted this principle could there be progress in
human relations,and if theydid, the result would be personal freedom and happiness.18
to JohnAdams,Oct.13,1813in Padover,
p. 295.
"Jefferson
to WilliamShort,1820in Forman,
p. 364.
"Jefferson
to JohnAdams,Oct.13,1813in Padover,
p. 295.
"Jefferson
to Joseph
Priestley,
April9, 1803in Ford,VIII, 225.
"Jefferson
to Benjamin
Waterhouse,
June26, 1822in Padover,
"Jefferson
p. 317.
"Lehmann,
pp. 136-37.
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MAN
277
Most concerned with the moral aspects of religion himself,Jeffersonbelieved that acceptanceof the moral philosophyof Jesuswas
what was essential to Christianityand the only thing that it was important that Christiansagree on. "If all Christiansectswould rally to
the Sermon on the mount, make that the centralpoint of Union in
religion,and the stamp of genuine Christianity,(since it gives us all
the precepts of our duties to one another) why should we further
ask . . . 'What thinkye of Christ?'"19Argumentsabout the divinity
or the nature of the divinityof Jesus are futileand unnecessary,for
what is importantabout religion is how it affectsone's life. "I must
ever believe that religionsubstantiallygood which producesan honest
life."20"He who steadilyobservesthose moral preceptsin which all
religions concur,will never be questioned at the gates of heaven, as
to the dogmasin whichtheyall differ."21
Though he consideredJesus a profoundmoral teacher,Jefferson
could not accept all of what he preached. "I am a Materialist; he
takes the side of Spiritualism;he preaches the efficacy
of repentance
towardsforgivenessof sin; I require a counterpoiseof good worksto
redeem it, etc., etc. It is the innocenceof his character,the purityand
sublimityof his moral precepts,the eloquence of his inculcations,
the beauty of his apalogues in which he conveysthem,that I do so
much admire.. . ,"22
An Admirerof theAncientPhilosophers
At the heart of Jefferson's
personal moral philosophy,then,were
the teachingsof Jesus concerningone's duty to his fellow men. But
was not satisfiedto stop there,for there is a third branch
Jefferson
of moral philosophy,the duty one has to himself,and about this
Jesus had little to say. But it was one of the prime concernsof the
ancient philosophers,who taughthow one could attain
self-discipline,
and make reason rather than passion the ruler of one's
self-control,
conduct. As Jefferson
put it, the preceptsof the ancient philosophers
"relate chieflyto ourselves,and the governmentof those
passions
which, unrestrained,would disturb our tranquilityof mind. In this
branch of philosophy they were really great."28But
Jeffersonwas
no more willing to accept everythingthe ancient
philosopherstaught
to GeorgeThacker,
Tan.26, 1824in Ford.X. 288-Q
"Jefferson
to Mrs.Harrison
1816in Forman,
20Jefferson
Smith,
p. 363.
to WilliamCanbv,Sept.18. 1813in Formanr> Sfii
^Jefferson
to WilliamShort,
"Jefferson
April13,1820in Forman,
n 3fi4
Ford,VIII, 225-26.
23Syllabus,
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283
Though Jefferson's
personal ideas on religion did not gain widehis
spread acceptance,
position on religiouslibertydid. Men of more
orthodox persuasion than he eventually saw the logic and wisdom
in his stand. The struggleto dissentanglethe powers of church and
state was not easily or quickly won, but finallywith the passage of
the Statute for Religious Freedom in Virginia,Jefferson's
position,so
powerfullystated in his preamble to that bill, became embodied in
the law of Virginia and stood as the most eloquent statementof the
principlesof religiousfreedom:
AlmightyGod hath created the mind free, and manifestedhis
supreme will that free it shall remain by making it altogether
all attemptsto influenceit by
insusceptible of restraint;...
temporal punishments,or burthens,or by civil incapacitations,
tend only to beget habits of hypocrisyand meanness,and are
a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion,
who being lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to
propagate it by coercionson either,as was his almightypower to
do, but to exalt it by its influenceon reason alone; . . . our
civil rightshave no dependence on our religious opinions, any
more than our opinions in physicsor geometry;. . . the opinions
of men are not the object of civil government,nor under its
jurisdiction; . . . truth is great and will prevail if left to herself; . . . she is the proper and sufficient
antagonistto error,and
has nothing to fear fromconflictunless by human interposition
disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate;
errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permittedfreelyto
contradict them. ...
all men shall be free to profess,and by
argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion,
and . . . the same shall in no wise diminish,enlarge, or affect
their civil capacities.9
A Bill forEstablishing
ReligiousFreedomin Padover,The World. . pp.
258-60.
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