The Jefferson "Bible"
Everyone is aware that there are many “versions” of the Bible with names such as “The Jerusalem Bible,” or “The New Standard Revised Bible.” These are actual translations, using old manuscripts in Greek or Hebrew. The Jefferson “Bible,” as you will see, is very different.

In the early 1800s, Thomas Jefferson put together just the “Morals of Jesus.” Living in those “pre-copy-machine days,” he laboriously cut out verses from actual Bibles, pasting the sayings of Jesus into an 82 page book — a revolutionary concept for its day. Once Jefferson could see all the sayings of Jesus together, he described them as the “most sublime edifice and benevolent code of morals which had ever been offered to man.”

The book was never published and remained hidden in the Jefferson family until it was donated to the Smithsonian in 1886. Later, a Congessional resolution was passed authorizing the Government Printing Office to produce 9,000 copies to be given to the Congress in 1904. This began a tradition of presenting a Jefferson “Bible” to each new Member of Congress. Though the tradition ended quietly in the 1950s, a university professor, Dr. Judd Patton, revived the tradition in 1997 by sending copies of the Jefferson “Bible” to every member of the 105th Congress.

Throughout the ages, humans have tried to understand as best they could, what the God they experienced within them, wanted them to do. Then something remarkable happened. Through the teachings of Jesus, God’s Son, a window opened into what God really expects. Little wonder that Jefferson found it so perfect. As Christians, we sometimes focus so much on the fact that “no matter how we try we never can be perfect,” that we lose sight of the fact that we are still expected to try. Jefferson’s “Cut and Paste Bible” is worth a thoughtful read.