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 To learn more about the book, see www.americapublications.org DOUBTING THOMAS contains previously unpublished documents including a dozen religious letters by Jefferson and two sermons by his pastor Charles Clay.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.

Jefferson Supports Evangelical Minister, Rev. Charles Clay

[File photo by Jerry Newcombe, to symbolize church] Contrary to historical revisionism, the serious doubts of core Christian doctrines that Jefferson entertained later in life should not be used to define him for his entire life. In previous blogs, we’ve noted that Jefferson, as a layman, helped create an evangelical …

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Jefferson Once Wrote up the Agreement for Establishing an Evangelical Church

As noted in a previous blog, Thomas Jefferson wrote up the self-charter to help establish an evangelical church. A subscription was the new way of indicating membership in a church (and involved paying money of support), and in 1777 Jefferson wasn’t a mere bystander in this. In the Papers of …

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Jefferson Once Helped Create an Evangelical Church

[Photo by Jerry Newcombe—that church met where this courthouse now stands] One of the main points of our book, Doubting Thomas, is that Jefferson was not a lifelong skeptic. In fact, in 1777, when he was in his 30s—a year after he wrote the first main draft of the Declaration …

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The Patron Saint of the ACLU

Thomas Jefferson—misunderstood—is the patron saint of the ACLU. They view him as accepting a secular view of the public square. but he didn’t believe in that. History has been rewritten, and truth is the victim. The sermons that Jefferson listened to regularly are an important factor. Did he sleep through …

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