The Jefferson Bible

The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth by Thomas Jefferson

The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, commonly referred to as the Jefferson Bible, was a book constructed by Thomas Jefferson in the later years of his life by cutting and pasting with a razor and glue numerous sections from the New Testament as extractions of the doctrine of Jesus. Jefferson's condensed composition is especially notable for its exclusion of all miracles by Jesus and most mentions of the supernatural, including sections of the four gospels which contain the Resurrection and most other miracles, and passages indicating Jesus was divine.

This is Thomas Jefferson's attempt at editing the Gospels into a single, coherent narrative. The text here focuses on the attributed words of Jesus: chiefly the Sermon on the Mount and the parables. Jefferson highlights the ideas of the Gospels, rather than miracles and wonder stories. For instance, Jefferson ends the story with Jesus' burial: there is no resurrection in this tale, and no post-death interaction with the disciples.