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THE JEFFERSON BIBLE AND THE PARABLES OF JESUS
>I am doing a paper on >the power of parables in Jesus' time and in different religions. I went to >your web site and looked at some of the parables in Jefferson's Bible and I >had a couple of questions. Who exactly or what religion studies or uses the >Jefferson Bible? The Jefferson Bible was created by Thomas Jefferson solely for his own personal use. Thousands of people have used and appreciated it, however, because it omits most of the supernatural elements in the Gospels that turn many people off. I know of now sect or denomination that uses the Jefferson Bible as their authorized text, although the Unitarians use and appreciate it. >How do you think Jefferson's Bible and the parables are >different from the ones in a Christian Bible? The Jefferson Bible IS a cut-and-paste version of the Christian Bible. Jefferson cut out those parts he thought had nothing to do with moral teachings. I do not have a list of the parables and parts of parables that Jefferson left out. That would be an interesting study. I think you would find that the omitted parts had little or nothing to do with actual moral teachings. >I am specifically studying the >Good Samaritan, The Prodigal Son, and The Marriage Feast and I noticed some >difference in language. Is the difference superficial or is there a deeper >difference in meaning between the Christian Bible and The Jefferson Bible? The version of the Bible used in this on-line edition of the Jefferson Bible is a revised and corrected edition of the King James Version. It includes some (usually) minor changes, but these changes were dictated by the findings of modern scholarship, and correct what are now considered errors in the King James. In other words, the King James was corrected to conform to the reading in several modern versions, while retaining the King James language and style. Jefferson's original cut-and-paste edition included FOUR different languages. Read the Introduction for more information on the version used on the website. >How did Jefferson view the parables? Why did Jefferson chose to put the >parables in his version of the Bible? Why do you think Jesus and Thomas >Jefferson used parables? I do not have a passage in Jefferson's writings I can refer you to for his views on the parables. Obviously, he thought they contained valuable moral lessons, and that is why he included them in his edition. Jesus used parables as an illustrative teaching vehicle. Most of the people he preached to were illiterate and unfamiliar with complex philosophical and ethical ideas. Parables represented a simple to understand means of providing a moral lesson in terms that every person could understand and relate to. The parables involved things and people that all his hearers were familiar with. >I hope that you can answer some of my questions. I am very interested in this >topic and I would greatly appreciate any information you could give me. Your >website was quite helpful to me. Thank you. >Thank you for your time. Thank you for your kind comments. I hope the above information is useful to you. Best wishes, Eyler Coates