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''The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth'', commonly referred to as the ''Jefferson Bible'', was a book constructed by Thomas Jefferson in the later years of his life by cutting and pasting with a razor and glue numerous sections from the New Testament as extractions of the doctrine of Jesus. Jefferson's condensed composition is especially notable for its exclusion of all miracles by Jesus and most mentions of the supernatural, including sections of the four gospels which contain the Resurrection and most other miracles, and passages indicating Jesus was divine.〔 Jefferson, Thomas, ''The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Lipscomb, 10:376-377.''〕〔''Thomas Jefferson's Abridgement of the Words of Jesus of Nazareth'' (Charlotesville: Mark Beliles, 1993), 14.〕〔Jefferson, Thomas, ''The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Lipscomb, 10:232-233.'' 〕 == Early draft == In an 1803 letter to Joseph Priestley, Jefferson stated that he conceived the idea of writing his view of the "Christian System" in a conversation with Dr. Benjamin Rush during 1798–99. He proposes beginning with a review of the morals of the ancient philosophers, moving on to the "deism and ethics of the Jews," and concluding with the "principles of a pure deism" taught by Jesus, "omitting the question of his deity." Jefferson explains that he does not have the time, and urges the task on Priestley as the person best equipped to accomplish the task.〔(Excerpts from the Correspondence of Thomas Jefferson ) Retrieved March 30, 2007〕 Jefferson accomplished a more limited goal in 1804 with ''The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth'', the predecessor to ''The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth''.〔(Unitarian Universalist Historical Society ) profile of Jefferson. Retrieved March 30, 2007〕 He described it in a letter to John Adams dated October 13, 1813: Jefferson wrote that “Jesus did not mean to impose himself on mankind as the son of God.” He called the writers of the New Testament “ignorant, unlettered men” who produced “superstitions, fanaticisms, and fabrications.” He called the Apostle Paul the “first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus.” He dismissed the concept of the Trinity as “mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus.” He believed that the clergy used religion as a “mere contrivance to filch wealth and power to themselves” and that “in every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty.” And he wrote in a letter to John Adams that “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.” Jefferson never referred to his work as a bible, and the full title of this 1804 version was, ''The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth, being Extracted from the Account of His Life and Doctrines Given by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; Being an Abridgement of the New Testament for the Use of the Indians, Unembarrased () with Matters of Fact or Faith beyond the Level of their Comprehensions.''〔Randal, Henry S., ''The Life of Thomas Jefferson,'' vol. 3 (New York: Derby & Jackson, 1858), 654.〕 Jefferson frequently expressed discontent with this earlier version. ''The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth'' represents the fulfillment of his desire to produce a more carefully assembled edition. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jefferson Bible」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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