"blujuju" <blujuju at hotmail.com> wrote in message news:aj8i3h$19380s$1 at ID-
> : Yet another one of your fantasies shot to shit, JK.
>> Mr Jefferson was a theist.
> Our John apparently cannot discern between theist and christian.
>> blu
>
Mr. Jefferson was a CHRISTIAN.
Mr. Jefferson wrote in his own hand, numerous times, "I am a real
Christian".
Morons who don't even know what Christianity is certainly can't be expected
to know who a Christian is, could they?
http://christianparty.net/tj.htm
John Knight
ps--here are some excerpts from that page:
Thomas Jefferson on the Talmud
"What a wretched depravity of sentiment and manners must have prevailed
before such corrupt maxims could have obtained credit! It is impossible to
collect from these writings a consistent series of moral Doctrine.' Enfield,
B. 4. chap. 3. It was the reformation of this `wretched depravity' of morals
which Jesus undertook.
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Thomas Jefferson on Calvinism
"Calvin's character of this supreme being seems chiefly copied from that of
the Jews."
"The truth is that the greatest enemies to the doctrines of Jesus are those
calling themselves the expositors of them, who have perverted them for the
structure of a system of fancy absolutely incomprehensible, and without any
foundation in his genuine words."
"Calvin's character of this supreme being seems chiefly copied from that of
the Jews. But the reformation of these blasphemous attributes, and
substitution of those more worthy, pure and sublime, seems to have been the
chief object of Jesus in his discources to the Jews: and his doctrine of the
Cosmogony of the world is very clearly laid down in the 3 first verses of
the 1st. chapter of John, in these words, `{en arche en o logos, kai o logos
en pros ton Theon kai Theos en o logos. `otos en en arche pros ton Theon.
Panta de ayto egeneto, kai choris ayto egeneto ode en, o gegonen}. Which
truly translated means `in the beginning God existed, and reason (or mind)
was with God, and that mind was God. This was in the beginning with God. All
things were created by it, and without it was made not one thing which was
made'. Yet this text, so plainly declaring the doctrine of Jesus that the
world was created by the supreme, intelligent being, has been perverted by
modern Christians to build up a second person of their tritheism by a
mistranslation of the word {logos}."
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Thomas Jefferson on Quakerism
Nothing can be more exactly and seriously true than what is there stated;
that but a short time elapsed after the death of the great reformer of the
Jewish religion, before his principles were departed from by those who
professed to be his special servants, and perverted into an engine for
enslaving mankind, and aggrandising their oppressors in Church and State;
that the purest system of morals ever before preached to man, has been
adulterated and sophisticated by artificial constructions, into a mere
contrivance to filch wealth and power to themselves; that rational men not
being able to swallow their impious heresies, in order to force them down
their throats, they raise the hue and cry of infidelity, while themselves
are the greatest obstacles to the advancement of the real doctrines of
Jesus, and do in fact constitute the real Anti-Christ.
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Thomas Jefferson on Christianity
Because of his influence, the Virginia Constitution contains, to this day,
the direct reference to Christianity
http://legis.state.va.us/vaonline/li1a.htm
"That religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of
discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force
or violence; and, therefore, all men are equally entitled to the free
exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it
is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and
charity towards each other."
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Thomas Jefferson on jews
SYLLABUS OF AN ESTIMATE OF THE MERIT OF THE DOCTRINES OF JESUS, COMPARED
WITH THOSE OF OTHERS April, 1803
II. JEWS. 1. Their system was Deism; that is, the belief of one only God.
But their ideas of him & of his attributes were degrading & injurious.
2. Their Ethics were not only imperfect, but often irreconcilable with
the sound dictates of reason & morality, as they respect intercourse with
those around us; & repulsive & anti-social, as respecting other nations.
They needed reformation, therefore, in an eminent degree.
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Thomas Jefferson on the First Amendment
"The bill for establishing religious freedom, the principles of which had,
to a certain degree, been enacted before, I had drawn in all the latitude of
reason & right. It still met with opposition; but, with some mutilations in
the preamble, it was finally passed; and a singular proposition proved that
it's protection of opinion was meant to be universal. Where the preamble
declares that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of
our religion, an amendment was proposed, by inserting the word "Jesus
Christ," so that it should read "a departure from the plan of Jesus Christ,
the holy author of our religion." The insertion was rejected by a great
majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of it's
protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the
Hindoo, and infidel of every denomination."
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Thomas Jefferson on exiling the slaves
But as this would be no punishment or change of condition to slaves (me
miserum!) let them be sent to other countries. By these means we should be
freed from the wickedness of the latter, & the former would be living
monuments of public vengeance.
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Thomas Jefferson on the degraded state of jews
JESUS, SOCRATES, AND OTHERS, To Dr. Joseph Priestley, Washington, Apr. 9,
1803, 1803040
DEAR SIR, -- While on a short visit lately to Monticello, I received from
you a copy of your comparative view of Socrates & Jesus, and I avail myself
of the first moment of leisure after my return to acknolege the pleasure had
in the perusal of it, and the desire it excited to see you take up the
subject on a more extensive scale. In consequence of some conversation with
Dr. Rush, in the year 1798-99, I had promised some day to write him a letter
giving him my view of the Christian system. I have reflected often on it
since, & even sketched the outlines in my own mind. I should first take a
general view of the moral doctrines of the most remarkable of the antient
philosophers, of whose ethics we have sufficient information to make an
estimate, say of Pythagoras, Epicurus, Epictetus, Socrates, Cicero, Seneca,
Antoninus. I should do justice to the branches of morality they have treated
well; but point out the importance of those in which they are deficient.
should then take a view of the deism and ethics of the Jews, and show in
what a degraded state they were, and the necessity they presented of a
reformation. I should proceed to a view of the life, character, & doctrines
of Jesus, who sensible of incorrectness of their ideas of the Deity, and of
morality, endeavored to bring them to the principles of a pure deism, and
juster notions of the attributes of God, to reform their moral doctrines to
the standard of reason, justice & philanthropy, and to inculcate the belief
of a future state. This view would purposely omit the question of his
divinity, & even his inspiration. To do him justice, it would be necessary
to remark the disadvantages his doctrines have to encounter, not having been
committed to writing by himself, but by the most unlettered of men, by
memory, long after they had heard them from him; when much was forgotten,
much misunderstood, & presented in very paradoxical shapes. Yet such are the
fragments remaining as to show a master workman, and that his system of
morality was the most benevolent & sublime probably that has been ever
taught, and consequently more perfect than those of any of the antient
philosophers. His character & doctrines have received still greater injury
from those who pretend to be his special disciples, and who have disfigured
and sophisticated his actions & precepts, from views of personal interest,
so as to induce the unthinking part of mankind to throw off the whole system
in disgust, and to pass sentence as an impostor on the most innocent, the
most benevolent, the most eloquent and sublime character that ever has been
exhibited to man. This is the outline; but I have not the time, & still less
the information which the subject needs. It will therefore rest with me in
contemplation only. You are the person who of all others would do it best,
and most promptly. You have all the materials at hand, and you put together
with ease. I wish you could be induced to extend your late work to the whole
subject. I have not heard particularly what is the state of your health; but
as it has been equal to the journey to Philadelphia, perhaps it might
encourage the curiosity you must feel to see for once this place, which
nature has formed on a beautiful scale, and circumstances destine for a
great one. As yet we are but a cluster of villages; we cannot offer you the
learned society of Philadelphia; but you will have that of a few characters
whom you esteem, & a bed & hearty welcome with one who will rejoice in every
opportunity of testifying to you his high veneration & affectionate
attachment.
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Thomas Jefferson on the degraded state of jews
THE CODE OF JESUS, To John Adams, Monticello, Oct. 12, 1813, 1813101
DEAR SIR -- Since mine of Aug. 22. I have recieved your favors of Aug. 16.
Sep. 2. 14. 15. and -- and Mrs. Adams's of Sep. 20. I now send you,
according to your request a copy of the Syllabus. To fill up this skeleton
with arteries, with veins, with nerves, muscles and flesh, is really beyond
my time and information. Whoever could undertake it would find great aid in
Enfield's judicious abridgment of Brucker's history of Philosophy, in which
he has reduced 5. or 6. quarto vols. of 1000. pages each of Latin closely
printed, to two moderate 8 vos. of English, open, type.
To compare the morals of the old, with those of the new testament, would
require an attentive study of the former, a search thro' all it's books for
it's precepts, and through all it's history for it's practices, and the
principles they prove. Ascommentaries too on these, the philosophy of the
Hebrews must be enquired into, their Mishna, their Gemara, Cabbala, Jezirah,
Sohar, Cosri, and their Talmud must be examined and understood, in order to
do them full justice. Brucker, it should seem, has gone deeply into these
Repositories of their ethics, and Enfield, his epitomiser, concludes in
these words:
`Ethics were so little studied among the Jews, that, in their whole
compilation called the Talmud, there is only one treatise on moral subjects.
Their books of Morals chiefly consisted in a minute enumeration of duties.
>From the law of Moses were deduced 613. precepts, which were divided into
two classes, affirmative and negative, 248 in the former, and 365 in the
latter. It may serve to give the reader some idea of the low state of moral
philosophy among the Jews in the Middle age, to add, that of the 248.
affirmative precepts, only 3. were considered as obligatory upon women; and
that, in order to obtain salvation, it was judged sufficient to fulfill any
one single law in the hour of death; the observance of the rest being deemed
necessary, only to increase the felicity of the future life. What a wretched
depravity of sentiment and manners must have prevailed before such corrupt
maxims could have obtained credit! It is impossible to collect from these
writings a consistent series of moral Doctrine.' Enfield, B. 4. chap. 3.
It was the reformation of this `wretched depravity' of morals which Jesus
undertook. In extracting the pure principles which he taught, we should have
to strip off the artificial vestments in which they have been muffled by
priests, who have travestied them into various forms, as instruments of
riches and power to them. We must dismiss the Platonists and Plotinists, the
Stagyrites and Gamalielites, the Eclectics the Gnostics and Scholastics,
their essences and emanations, their Logos and Demi-urgos, Aeons and Daemons
male and female, with a long train of Etc. Etc. Etc. or, shall I say at
once, of Nonsense. We must reduce our volume to the simple evangelists,
select, even from them, the very words only of Jesus, paring off the
Amphibologisms into which they have been led by forgetting often, or not
understanding, what had fallen from him, by giving their own misconceptions
as his dicta, and expressing unintelligibly for others what they had not
understood themselves. There will be found remaining the most sublime and
benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man. have performed
this operation for my own use, by cutting verse by verse out of the printed
book, and arranging, the matter which is evidently his, andwhich is as
easily distinguishable as diamonds in a dunghill.The result is an 8 vo. of
46. pages of pure and unsophisticated doctrines, such as were professed and
acted on by the unlettered apostles, the Apostolic fathers, and the
Christians of the (Page 1302) 1st. century. Their Platonising successors
indeed, in after times, in order to legitimate the corruptions which they
had incorporated into the doctrines of Jesus, found it necessary to disavow
the primitive Christians, who had taken their principles from the mouth of
Jesus himself, of his Apostles, and the Fathers cotemporary with them. They
excommunicated their followers as heretics, branding them with the
opprobrious name of Ebionites or Beggars.
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