The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Vol. XIX and XX

This isn’t your grandmother’s craft project. Taking nearly 15 years to complete, The Jefferson Bible started as an idea to create a succinct version of Jesus’ life. Frequently writing about his thoughts and progress on the project to President John Adams, Jefferson drafted three or four versions of the work years before its final copy in 1820. Spending months carefully choosing passages from the Gospels and ordering them in a logical way, Jefferson worked tirelessly to actually produce the work. Using a razor, Jefferson cut and pasted his arrangement of selected verses in chronological order. The result was a single, complete narrative about Jesus’ birth and life before Crucifixion. Interestingly, the book does not mention angels, prophecy, miracles or the Resurrection. After its completion, Jefferson shared the volume with friends, but never allowed it to be taken from his home or professionally published. Today, the Smithsonian Institute holds the 1820 completed copy and has worked meticulously to digitize and provide the masterpiece to the world. You can find the Jefferson Bible in volume XX of this book, which is appended to volume XIX in this edition.