Thomas Jefferson was an Orthodox Christian

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So says David Barton:

In his new book, The Jefferson Lies, Barton argues that academics have spread a series of falsehoods about Jefferson — that he was a racist, a secularist and an advocate of strict church/state separation. Barton thinks he knows better. His Jefferson, who died (appropriately enough) on July 4, 1826, wasn't just an "American hero." He was an orthodox Christian, too.

. . .

To be fair, Barton is right to observe that Jefferson was no atheist. He also correctly points out that Jefferson gave money to churches, attended worship services and revered Jesus as a great moral teacher. But does that make him an "orthodox" Christian? Not by a long shot.

Jefferson called the biblical book of Revelation the "ravings of a maniac." He rejected the divinity of Jesus and the virgin birth. He characterized the Trinity as "hocus-pocus phantasm." And in Bibles on display at the Smithsonian, he cut out the resurrection. To call Jefferson a Christian is to demonstrate disdain for either history or Christianity (or both).
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Some "Orthodox Christian" there.
 
And - yes! Yes! We have the rare triple face-palm!

(Jefferson is my favourite of the founding dudes, so this sort of thing irks me. (Barton, that is.))
 
I grew up in Charlottesville and went to UVa. Visited Monticello including the dungeon-like slave quarters. Did a lot of research. Jefferson considering blacks innately inferior to whites throughout his life. He enslaved blacks. Was absolutely a racist.

Not that that prohibits him from being an "orthodox Christian" of course, whatever the **** that phrase means or is supposed to raise him up as.
 
To be fair, Barton is right to observe that Jefferson was no atheist.
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I'm not so sure about that. Jefferson was cagey about his religious beliefs, so I don't think there can be any definitive conclusion about what they were. He may have been a deist, or a deist who nevertheless believed in "Providence," and he may even have been an atheist. When offering advice to young relatives about religion, he said they should question even the existence of God, though he didn't go on to say how he'd answered that question for himself.
 
When I saw the headline for the thread, I was able (correctly) to guess the source. It is a person with virtually no credibility and an anti-historical tendency to be loosey-goosey with basic definitions. For shame.
 
Those of us who have studied history know that Jefferson had two distinct and contrasting personas: by day, mild-mannered statesman and writer. By night, he was Roxxie Toxxic, the wildest working girl in all of Virginia! With a six-shooter in her garter and a vinyl skirt up to here, Roxxie took names and kicked ass, keeping order in the Commonwealth, yo. Criminals learned to stay off her turf, because everyone knew that making trouble could be Toxxic. Coming this fall.
 
BenBurch said:
King George was Right! The American Revolution was a Popish plot!!! :eek:
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It was funded by a business cartel that thought it could cash in on a huge new Catholic nation in North America. That's right, the revolution was organized by Big Incense and Big Stained Glass. Damn these corporate special interests! Playing with lives to make a buck!
 
TragicMonkey said:
Those of us who have studied history know that Jefferson had two distinct and contrasting personas: by day, mild-mannered statesman and writer. By night, he was Roxxie Toxxic, the wildest working girl in all of Virginia! With a six-shooter in her garter and a vinyl skirt up to here, Roxxie took names and kicked ass, keeping order in the Commonwealth, yo. Criminals learned to stay off her turf, because everyone knew that making trouble could be Toxxic. Coming this fall.
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While TragicMonkey engages in his entertaining banter here, one suspects he may have some unplumbed depths.

After all, who among you can say you have always thought the same? That everything you have said or written is consistent with everything else. I suspect that TJ (who probably grew some hemp in his time) liked to engage in thinking Deep Thoughts™ from time to time. He would ramble on down one path and then suddenly swerve in another direction like a drunken wildebeest. So yeah, this freedom-loving slave owner was a whole piñata full of contradictions, scattering every direction if you hit it hard enough.

Sort of like TragicMonkey himself, only without the slaves.
 
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