tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882699495059104312.post289245020624593857..comments2024-01-24T04:02:06.466-05:00Comments on Why I De-Converted from Evangelical Christianity: Thomas Jefferson's Advice to His Nephew on the Study of ReligionKen Pulliamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12161943466797514854noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882699495059104312.post-72810946124839970872019-08-11T09:44:04.155-04:002019-08-11T09:44:04.155-04:00You have completely missed the intent of Mr. Jeffe...You have completely missed the intent of Mr. Jefferson's letter. He desired above all else that Mr. Carr not blindly accept Doctrine, but, by earnest inquiry be CERTAIN of the teachings of Jesus. You have emphasized the wrong portions of that letter. Read the end of the letter where he says to his nephew "If you find reason to believe there is a God, a consciousness that you are acting under His eye, and that He approves you will be a VAST ADDITIONAL INCITEMENT; if that there be a future state, the hope of a happy existence in that increases the appetite to deserve it; if that Jesus was also a God, you will be comforted by a belief of His aid and love." I refer you also to Mr. Jefferson's letter to his friend Charles Thomson dated January 9, 1816 in which he says "I, too, have made a wee-little book from the same materials, which I call the Philosophy of Jesus; it is a paradigm of his doctrines, made by cutting the texts out of the book, and arranging them on the pages of a blank book, in a certain order of time or subject. A more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen; it is a document in proof that I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus, very different from the Platonists, who call me infidel and themselves Christians and preachers of the gospel, while they draw all their characteristic dogmas from what its author never said nor saw."<br />I urge you to reconsider your relationship to God and your misinterpretation of Mr. JeffersonRoberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01003053391095572672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882699495059104312.post-7130586753807182092010-10-30T11:28:56.434-04:002010-10-30T11:28:56.434-04:00That's wonderful, and yet more proof against J...That's wonderful, and yet more proof against Jefferson being a Christian. It is obvious that he had a healthy, reasoning skepticism.Bethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05149068921334726430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882699495059104312.post-61170935196715246192010-10-12T12:36:43.147-04:002010-10-12T12:36:43.147-04:00Thanks for posting this. It is even more astoundin...Thanks for posting this. It is even more astounding when you realize this was written in the 18C long before Darwin, and before a lot of other scientific laws were discovered. Jefferson was a brilliant mind.Clarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17836679819711814306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882699495059104312.post-36351092979196056042010-10-12T12:14:45.543-04:002010-10-12T12:14:45.543-04:00Excellent letter. I'm keeping it in my file. ...Excellent letter. I'm keeping it in my file. Thank you for your dedication and your tireless research.Emet L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10343680315038823414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882699495059104312.post-67383601773310902752010-10-12T09:16:28.995-04:002010-10-12T09:16:28.995-04:00Wonderful, thanks for posting this. If only more C...Wonderful, thanks for posting this. If only more Christians today embraced such honest inquiry of their religion's premises. I especially appreciate the way Jefferson is not trying to force particular conclusions on his nephew, only stressing that he is responsible to use his own reason to arrive at them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com