Those who knew Jefferson personally tended to believe that he was a professing Christian. That does not preclude the fact that in the 1810’s and beyond (after he was president), he entertained privately some serious doubts about core Christian doctrines. Suffice it to say: it is not tenable to say …
[Photo of Dr. Mark Beliles and Dr. Alvin Edwards of “Healing 4 Charlottesville” on a prayer walk. Photo by Cathrynn Lowenstein] Bad news gets press. “If it bleeds, it leads.” Good news tends not to spread as well and as far. We all know about the horrible events of August …
Politics can be a dirty business. Just ask Thomas Jefferson. Some of the negative things being said about Jefferson, questioning whether he was a Christian, first came out as political statements against the Virginia politician when he was running for president in 1800. This helped create a misleading image of …
During the election of 1800, there was a great deal of acrimony. Some of the charges against Thomas Jefferson, alleging that he wasn’t a Christian were hurled at him at that time—because of political reasons. We address this in our book, Doubting Thomas. It’s hard to imagine muckraking by politicians …
Was Thomas Jefferson an atheist or skeptic? To hear some modern commentators you would think so. But in our book, Doubting Thomas, Dr. Mark Beliles and I show that the modern idea of Thomas Jefferson as a lifelong skeptic of Christianity does not fit the facts. After a few decades …
In our book, Doubting Thomas, Dr. Mark Beliles and I show that the modern idea of Thomas Jefferson as a lifelong skeptic of Christianity does not fit the facts. After a few decades of a seeming good relationship between Jefferson and the church, during the campaign of 1800—when Jefferson ran …
On February 5, 1798, Jefferson wrote some Notes on Newspaper Articles, which spoke of Jesus as “Saviour.” This term describes a redemptive mission. Jefferson also used this term or “Christ” in other letters; but in this 1798 case, like his earlier commonplace notes and other “Notes on Religion” (see DOUBTING THOMAS, pp. 10, …
As is commonly done, even among people today—whether they believe in Jesus or not—, Thomas Jefferson, a professing Christian chose a Christian wedding for his daughter. Our book, Doubting Thomas, makes the point that Thomas Jefferson went through various religions phases of his life….including as a professing Christian for the bulk of …
Our book, Doubting Thomas, makes two simple points: 1) Jefferson was not a life-long skeptic, and 2) Jefferson did not believe in the idea that there should be no godly influence at work in the state. He certainly believed in the separation of the institution of the church from the institution of …
Contrary to the myth of Thomas Jefferson the lifelong unbeliever, our third president was committed as a churchman. He donated a lot of money to church and church-related causes. We document this in our book, Doubting Thomas: The Religious Life and Legacy of Thomas Jefferson. When Jefferson ends his term as …