DOUBTING THOMAS by Mark Beliles and Jerry Newcombe

When Jefferson was a young man he acted as a professing Trinitarian Christian

In 1777. Jefferson helped found an evangelical church

Now in print---for the first time ever---many religious letters and 2 sermons from the church that Jefferson funded and attended

Jefferson encouraged non-coercive religion in public life and the right of state governments to decide religious policy

DOUBTING THOMAS by Mark Beliles and Jerry Newcombe

This new book presents new evidence that calls into question the view that Jefferson was a lifelong skeptic and that he believed in the "naked public square"

When Jefferson was a young man he acted as a professing Trinitarian Christian

Later in life Jefferson changed in his views, privately, to a more unorthodox position. But the point here is that he was not a lifelong skeptic.

In 1777. Jefferson helped found an evangelical church

The same year he wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, Thomas Jefferson helped create the Calvinistical Reformed Church of Charlottesville.

Now in print---for the first time ever---many religious letters and 2 sermons from the church that Jefferson funded and attended

DOUBTING THOMAS contains in the Appendix about a dozen religious letters of Jefferson that have never been in print before now, plus two sermons by Rev. Charles Clay, whose ministry Jefferson supported.

Jefferson encouraged non-coercive religion in public life and the right of state governments to decide religious policy

Jefferson approved and attended regularly the Christian worship services held Sundays at the US Capitol building and in his local courthouse. He refrained from issuing national religious proclamations but had no objection to state proclamations.

Fresh Insights About Jefferson's Religious Views Based on NEW Evidence

"DOUBTING THOMAS? The Religious Life and Legacy of Thomas Jefferson" by MARK A. BELILES and JERRY NEWCOMBE deals with the faith---or the lack thereof---of one of our most important founding fathers. But this volume provides NEW information, some of which has not been in print before. To learn more about the book, see www.americapublications.org DOUBTING THOMAS contains previously unpublished documents including a dozen religious letters by Jefferson and two sermons by his pastor Charles Clay. Jefferson voluntarily joined and donated to Clay’s Calvinistical Reformed Church of Charlottesville.

First Version of the So-Called Jefferson Bible

One of the big objections to the idea that Jefferson was a Christian was that he supposedly edited the Bible—and he did it to remove the miracles. It is true that on two occasions, he edited down portions of the sayings of Jesus in the Gospels. Here is a description …

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Jefferson Had Regular and Mostly Positive Interactions with Various Clergymen

Rev. William Pryce, of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Delaware, wrote to Jefferson asking for his subscription for his very orthodox book about the life of Jesus, and Jefferson replied from Washington on October 15, 1803: “Your favor of the 10 is duly recieved, and I subscribe with great pleasure to the work …

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I Got to Talk About Thomas Jefferson on Dr. Dobson’s Program Recently

Recently, I had the privilege to appear as a guest on Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk Radio program. Much of the content dealt with the Doubting Thomas book I co-wrote with Dr. Mark Beliles. You can hear the broadcast here. The book makes the point that our third president was …

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Jefferson and Private Doubts

To make Thomas Jefferson into a born again Christian is a misrepresentation. But it’s also wrong to present our third president as a lifelong skeptic. From all outward appearances, he was a Christian early in life, who later came to privately doubt some core Christian documents. In either event, he …

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