Jefferson "believed that an authentic Christianity had long ago been hijacked by the Christian Church," wrote Erik Reece in the December Harper's. Jefferson decided to just fix the problem. So he took out his scissors and cut out the parts that he didn't believe. "Jefferson," Mr. Reece wrote, "cut out the virgin birth, all the miracles, including the most important one, the Resurrection; then pasted together what was left and called it 'The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth.' " (Later, he added portions of the Bible as translated into Greek, Latin and French.) Jefferson described his work as separating the "diamonds from the dunghill." Out went all references to Jesus as divine, all accounts of healings, of walking on water, of making loaves and fish appear out of thin air. What remains? His teachings about helping the needy, shunning earthly wealth and power, treating people as we would have them treat us; in Jefferson's words, "the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man."

Mr. Tomoso wrote that "not all scholars are impressed." Historian Garry Wills, a Catholic, writes that Jefferson's Gospel, "cleansed of all the supernatural hocus-pocus, is the tale of a good man, a very good man, perhaps the best of good men." But, he argues, the Jesus of Jefferson is boring, utterly without mystery, "shorn of his paradoxes and left with platitudes."

It is so easy to criticize Jefferson. What audacity! The incredible chutzpah to modify sacred texts to fit your own views! But then I took a breath and stepped back. Do I do the very same thing at times without the in your face honesty of Jefferson? When I choose to ignore the hard teachings of Jesus I have, in practice, done the same thing. When I say that some command in God's Word is too hard I have essentially taken my scissors of doubt and cut that teaching out. When I point out that I cannot forgive or love or give because you don't understand my circumstances I have clipped out the challenge of supernatural living. In my book When Bad Christians Happen to Good People  I wrote a chapter called "This is a Hard Teaching" about the challenging and difficult things that Jesus taught that I tend to mentally, emotionally, and practically excise from my walk. Let me give a couple of examples.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, Matt 5: 11-12

Do I believe that? Does feeling blessed even cross my radar if I feel insulted? Do I rejoice? Or do I simply pull out the scissors, clip, and concentrate on the ones I am more comfortable with like this.

Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.