Jefferson's view of the Resurrection was not so divine

America's First Amendment guarantees millions of Christians the right this weekend to boldly celebrate their faith's holiest day of the year, Easter, when Scriptures say Jesus rose from the dead. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is foundational to Christianity. But ironically, a man and future president who worked to safeguard religious freedom, Thomas Jefferson, could only believe in an earthly Jesus. Jefferson, the third U.S. president and principle author of the Declaration of Independence, created his own version of the Bible, now on exhibit at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History. Cut and pasted together at his Monticello estate in Virginia, Jefferson's Bible is stripped of the divine. There are no miracles ... and no Resurrection. "Jefferson was very much a product of thinking of the time, known as the Enlightenment,” said Andrew O'Shaughnessy, director of the International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. “And so he was unwilling to accept anything that couldn't be proved on the basis of evidence. So he was determined to remove what he felt couldn't be substantiated." CLICK TO READ MORE