Today, as Yesterday, Jesus Teaches a Vital Lesson

God Discusses that Message with Thomas Jefferson

Written by Raymond Fontaine, PhD - April 2004

    For several days, I suffered a writer's block. How could I present in a positive way the single tenet of Deism: namely, that the laws of nature presuppose a Creator. That said, what else could I add? Nothing, it seemed to me.

    Looking for more information and inspiration to promote Deism, I surfed the Internet. Before long, a group of websites called my attention to Thomas Jefferson's Bible. Many persons were visiting these sites and reading his book. I decided to give it a look.  

    In 1804, while sitting in the White House, President Jefferson began a serious study of the Gospels. The moral teaching of Jesus impressed him deeply as the best in history. Jefferson became convinced, however, that the early editors of the Gospels had added fictitious dramatic events to make the story more appealing and convincing.

   In 1820, Jefferson no longer believed in special spiritual revelations by God. With scissors, Jefferson cut out of the Gospels all supernatural events and entities. He deleted the mention of angels appearing and praising God in Bethlehem. In Jefferson's Bible, Jesus does not perform miracles nor does he rise from the dead.

   I read Jefferson's Bible from start to finish. Impressed and inspired by the moral teaching of Jesus, I retired and fell asleep. Before long, my subconscious regaled me with a dream about God discussing Jefferson's Bible with its editor.  

    "Congratulations, Thomas," God said, "for editing the Gospels and deleting all supernatural elements that were added to the original teaching of Jesus."

   "Thank you, my Lord," said Jefferson, " for approving my edition of the Gospels. I admired everything that Jesus said, notably the summary of his teaching in just two brief sentences. First, love God with all you heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. Secondly, love your neighbor as yourself."

   "Have you noticed," asked God, "that Jesus never bothered to prove my existence? There was no need to because everyone in his audience believed in me, their God."

   "In today's world, however," said Jefferson, " many don't believe in your existence. That's why a Deist like me must first establish that fact."

   "That should be easy," said God. "How else explain the laws of nature and its elaborate microscopic structures? These presuppose an intelligent Creator."

   "I agree," said Jefferson. "Nature reveals your intelligence and existence, but it says nothing about your nature, your location and your activities."

   "About these," said God, "some humans have claimed receiving divine revelations. They're wrong; I never made any. As far as humans are concerned, they know that they exist, that nature exists and they can know that I exist. Moreover, by using their intellect, humans can learn a lot more about themselves and nature - but nothing more about me."

   "But," said Jefferson, "humans want to hear more about you and your relation to them."

   "In the days of Jesus," God said, "so did the people who lived in Nazareth. To oblige them, Jesus told them stories. To make a moral point or explain a truth, Jesus spoke in parables. For example, when asked 'who is my neighbor whom I should love as myself?', Jesus told them a short story about a man whom a band of robbers had beaten badly. First, a priest and then a Levite passed by him and never stopped to help. Then a Samaritan saw him, bandaged his wounds and took care of him. The lesson was clear: the Samaritan was the neighbor. And Jesus said, 'Go and do likewise'."

    "Yes," said Jefferson, "I read and reread all the parables of Jesus teaching us how to love you and admire your handiwork while loving our neighbor. Today's Deist can quote the stories of Jesus to inspire people to believe in and honor Nature's God - you , my Lord."  

    "Of course," God said, "a Deist can repeat the parables, as spoken by Jesus in their original simplicity. But Jesus taught moral lessons by taking examples from the daily lives of his audience. Jesus spoke of shepherds and sheep, a mustard seed, the Pharisees, talents - all familiar to the ordinary people of the day.  But many examples of Jesus are foreign to today's audience. Therefore, I suggest that today's Deists should illustrate their message with what is happening today and appearing on the TV, the Internet, the newspapers and magazines. That's what Jesus would do now."

   "If I understand you correctly, my Lord", said Jefferson, "you are suggesting that Deists use the extremely successful technique and method of Jesus to communicate their message taking examples from today's world." 

   "Right" said God, "everything on earth owes its existence to my original creation of the universe which points to me. Humans, with their intellect, can and should recognize that fact."

   "If humans did that," said Jefferson, "they would acknowledge that all beings are your creation and, as such, deserve respect. Moreover, creatures merit our appreciation for what they contribute to nature and they deserve our assistance in their need."

   "Teach that simple message," God said, "with short stories from nature and today's world, just as Jesus did. If you use his method, Deism will spread and eventually replace the religions that are based solely on divine revelations that I never made. Take my word for this. Farewell for now, Thomas, and best wishes to you and your associates and readers."

   At that moment, my dream ended but not the inspiration and energy generated by the words of Nature's God. I'm sending this message of God and Jesus to all humans of good will who want what's good which must be true. For the index of my Dialogues, click here