Do you think Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, was a Christian?

Answer 1

Here are some famous Thomas Jefferson Quotes:

"I do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature."


"Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity."

"The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as his father, in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter."

"Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear....Do not be frightened from this inquiry by any fear of its consequences. If it end in a belief that there is no God, you will find incitements to virtue on the comfort and pleasantness you feel in its exercise and in the love of others which it will procure for you."

"In every country and in every age the priest has been hostile to liberty; he is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own."

Answer 2

He was a Dieist (a person who believed that there is a God and that God works in the word, but that man can not get to know God), apparently Jefferson also thought that Jesus was just another person (Jefferson made his own bible that only had the sayings of Jesus but not his miracles). With those items, I would say that he was not a Christian, because he probably did not think that Jesus was the Christ.

Answer 3

I used to know the answer to this, so for my own enlightenment I wiki'ed Thomas Jefferson. He called himself a Christian, but I'm sure that many Christians today would take great issue with that. He regarded Jesus as a superlative moral teacher, but not as divine or the Messiah. He was sympathetic with Unitarian teachings (one tenet of which was that God was a single, unified entity, not tripartite (three-part)).

Keep in mind that he lived in a time when pretty much everyone who was European in origin was a Christian and that all doctrine was defined in terms of Christianity. Deism sought religious understanding through observation and reasoning rather than revelation. In another time, Jefferson might not have bothered with the religious element, but it was actually very important to him. He even bothered to revise his own version of the NT, including only what he thought was authentic to Jesus. I suppose that's enough for many Christians to brand him a heretic. I think it shows that he care deeply about the teachings of Jesus and was thoroughly engaged with it.

(The answer above was posted while I was writing this -- the quotes all refer to Jefferson's criticisms of *Orthodox Christianity* and specific religious organizations like the Catholic Church. Jefferson was very much engaged in religious philosophy and debate. He still considered himself to be Christian, just not an 'Orthodox' one.)

Answer 4

Thomas Jefferson was a Deist. He believed in G-d, but he did not accept Christianity. Many history books will confirm this.

Many of our forefathers were Deists. That is why they DID NOT mean for this country to be a Christian nation----a nation under G-d, but not under Christianity,

Answer 5

Thomas Jefferson:
“ The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend to all the happiness of man.”

“Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern which have come under my observation, none appears to me so pure as that of Jesus.”

"I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus."

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever.” (excerpts are inscribed on the walls of the Jefferson Memorial in the nations capital) [Source: Merrill . D. Peterson, ed., Jefferson Writings, (New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984), Vol. IV, p. 289. From Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, 1781.]

Answer 6

"On matters of religion, Jefferson in 1800 was accused by his political opponents of being an atheist and enemy of religion. But Jefferson wrote at length on religion and most of his biographers agree he was a deist, a common position held by European intellectuals in the late 18th century."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson#Religious_views

Answer 7

nicely, "men" simply by the indisputable fact that's used contained in the statement refers to each and every person, both male and woman. That became the immediately ahead utilization on the time. yet there is not something particularly about women or women's rights because early American establishments were derived from British ones, and there is amazingly little about the rights of ladies in British immediately ahead regulation.

Answer 8

Not in the way you think?? After leaving England for religious and financial persecution...most came to America and formed thier own churches...breaking ties with the CofE [Church of England]..the bastard child of Henry the 8th!!

Our founding fathers were well aware of persecution at the hands of the church..and wrote the constitution in such a way to never allow a religion to hold such power over peoples lives ever again. thus the seperations of Church and State clause.

Answer 9

well he says he wasnt. history says he wasn't. He didn't believe Jesus was God, didn't believe he could do miracles or that he rose from the dead, he even made his own version of the Bible without any indications of Jesus' divinity, called the "Jefferson Bible". Most of our founding fathers were diest, but not Christian in the Biblical sense, read "The American Gospel" by Jon Meacham, its awesome. But to answer your question, no, he wasn't.

Answer 10

He was a Deist, as were many of our founding fathers. It was a popular notion at the time. Deists believe in an impersonal God. God exists but is not involved in our affairs.