When Thomas Jefferson was 77, he went back to a project he had been thinking about for decades. Sitting in Monticello, using candlelight and a knife, he cut New Testament verses in four different languages from six books to create his own bible. Jefferson, saying he was selecting his own “morsels of morality,” removed verses on any miracles, as well as the Resurrection.
For more than 116 years, the Jefferson Bible, as it is known, has been one of the iconic possessions of the Smithsonian Institution . Now a group of conservators and curators has removed the 86 pages from the original binding and are examining every inch to stabilize its condition, study its words and craftsmanship, and guarantee that future generations can learn more about the artifact and the man.
They’d be better served to burn it and spend the money on the Air and Space Museum, which is my favorite.
I wonder if the Post understood the joke —RESTORE the thing? Like, put back what he hacked out?? No, that would ruin it. It certainly belongs in the Smithsonian; with Archie’s chair, Fonzie’s jacket all the *really* important things about the US. Lame, very lame.
It did not realize that Jefferson was that modern. He would fit in well with the leadership of TEC who are quite adept at this sort of thing.
Jefferson’s “Bible” will pass away. But the real Bible, the written Word of God affirmed by the living incarnate Word of God, will never pass away.