Was Thomas Jefferson a Christian?

[FrankRep]

"I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ."
--The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, p. 385.

 

[dannno]

Sounds like he was more spiritual and less religious.

 

[WaltM]

Sounds like he was more spiritual and less religious.

I was going to say, more moral, less miraculous.

 

[phill4paul]

I don't care.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

I don't care.

You're either with us or against us. Choose one:

- Judeo-Christian Theocrat.
- Muslim Theocrat.
- Godless communist.
- All others must convert or die.

 

[phill4paul]

You're either with us or against us. Choose one:

- Judeo-Christian Theocrat.
- Muslim Theocrat.
- Godless communist.
- All others must convert or die.

If I'm "in the process" of converting do I get a pass on the "die" part?

 

[Brian4Liberty]

If I'm "in the process" of converting do I get a pass on the "die" part?

After you convert, we'll review your case to find out if you converted to the correct sub-sect...and there may be some fees.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

you're either with us or against us. Choose one:

- judeo-christian theocrat.
- muslim theocrat.
- godless communist.
- all others must convert or die.

lmao!! :d

 

[kpfareal]

I would most definitely say that he was not a Christian. His "Jefferson Bible" alone should convince any Christian that he was not one...

 

[low preference guy]

this is one of RPF's eternals threads.

 

[kpfareal]

this is one of RPF's eternals threads.

I honestly didn't even know something like this was up for debate... :o

He was a "friend to religion", in the sense that he was all for religious freedom, but by no means do I think (or anyone who has read a great deal of his writings) he was a practicing Christian. I can quote mine him all day for both sides of the argument (Christian or not), but that would not do his personal beliefs any justice.

At best, he was a Virginian Anglican, in the same vein as JFK, John Kerry or Nancy Pelosi being Catholic.

 

[WaltM]

You're either with us or against us. Choose one:

- Judeo-Christian Theocrat.
- Muslim Theocrat.
- Godless communist.
- All others must convert or die.

I appreciate you giving me more than 2 choices.

 

[idirtify]

"I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ."
--The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, p. 385.

The conclusion drawn from a similar LF thread was that his brand of “Christianity” did not believe in the divinity of Christ, but only valued his teachings. In my book, that isn’t “Christianity”. (If it is, I might as well say that a belief that Jesus was a psychedelic mushroom is also “Christianity”.) Therefore quoting TJ doesn’t support the claim that America was founded as a “Christian” nation.

 

[FrankRep]

The conclusion drawn from a similar LF thread was that his brand of “Christianity” did not believe in the divinity of Christ, but only valued his teachings. In my book, that isn’t “Christianity”.

Thomas Jefferson supported Christian morality. This is the important thing.

 

[jsu718]

He was a Christian in the sense that he followed Christ's teachings... short of the belief that Christ was the Son of God... which most people would say is the one requirement to actually be called a Christian. I'd go with "sort of".

 

[FrankRep]

bump

 

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

Jefferson was a Deist who was intrigued by the teachings of Christ. He was no Christian. To be a Christian you must believe that Christ is the son of the God, bladdy blah blah, etc. etc. divinity, revealment, holy trinity, blah blah, more stuffs, etc. He believed Jesus was merely a man, not the son of God (Does that make you Christian now-a-days?).

 

[FrankRep]

Jefferson was a Deist who was intrigued by the teachings of Christ. He was no Christian.

AED is calling Thomas Jefferson a liar.

"I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ."
--The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, p. 385.​

 

[fedup100]

AED is calling Thomas Jefferson a liar.

"I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ."
--The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, p. 385.​

yep, does it all the time. Apparently if you keep writing it, it makes it so.

 

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

AED is calling Thomas Jefferson a liar.

"I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ."
--The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, p. 385.​

That isn't a Christian. You can be an atheist and believe in the doctrines of Jesus (Love thy neighbor, do not steal, etc.). There are a good many things Jesus stood for, but it is not predicated on believing he was the son of God and that he was resurrected. Or do you posit that you must believe Jesus was the son of God to agree with his moral stances?

Have you ever read Jeffersons Bible? He took out every revelation and every supernatural event. You should read it sometime. You cannot be a Christian if you deny revelation.