Author Archives: Jerry Newcombe
The Religious Environment in Jefferson’s Area and Day
[The photo, by Jerry Newcombe, shows James Madison—who is mentioned in this article] The Central Virginia Piedmont was strongly influenced by religious awakenings almost continuously between 1743 and 1806. Evangelicalism came to dominate the culture, even among Anglican churches. It strongly influenced the personal religious beliefs and activities of men …
Dr. Mark Beliles Speaks to the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society
Jefferson and Presbyterians
In Jefferson’s Albemarle County, there was a great deal of influence—more than realized today—of Presbyterians. Much of the education, including that which Jefferson received and that he was to provide for his children and grandchildren—was positively impacted by Presbyterians. In Albemarle County and environs different denominational groups grew up side …
Jefferson and The Enlightenment
[Photo by Jerry Newcombe in Paris—Was Jefferson influenced more by the anti-Christian French philosophy or by the biblical traditions in his native Virginia?] Many respected scholars have begun to refute long-standing beliefs that Deism and Enlightenment thought was highly influential in America, and that America’s Christian culture was only of …
An Atheist Comments on Thomas Jefferson
Opinions on Jefferson’s Faith
Our book, Doubting Thomas, strives to show that Jefferson was not a life-long skeptic, although he privately appeared to abandon core Christian doctrines later in life. Nonetheless, he is often presented as if he were always of a skeptical bent. Many scholars and writers of today and times past refer to …
“God’s Not Dead 2” Deals Indirectly with Fallout from Misreading Jefferson
On Jefferson and Religion
Dangerous Fallout from Misreading Jefferson
Ideas have consequences. As we show in our book, Doubting Thomas, the Supreme Court in 1947 misread Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptist Association. They made that misinterpretation the key arbiter of church-state relations. This has not only done much to discriminate against the Christian religion, which helped play a …