Fearfully and Wonderfully Made – Part Three
“Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 124:8
Look yourself in the eye. It consists of 120 million rod cells and 6 million cone cells with the capacity to distinguish 100 million colors. The 137 million light cells in the eyes take in more information than the largest telescope known to man. It works closely with the brain; in fact, it’s often regarded as the window to the brain. The human eye is the second most complex organ in our body, after the brain. Although it is only approximately the size of a golf ball, your eye has 2,000,000 working parts! If your eye were a digital camera, it would have 576 megapixels.
Even Darwin marveled at the human eye commenting, to imagine the human eye evolving by natural selection is an absurdity to the highest degree.
The brain is the center of a complex computer system more wonderful than the greatest one ever built by man. It computes and sends throughout the body billions of bits of information that controls our every action, right down to the flicker of an eyelid. The brain can hold five times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica. There are 100 billion neurons in the brain that process an average of 600 thousand thoughts a day.
Studies show a single human brain contains some 200 billion nerve cells connected to each other by hundreds of trillions of synapses. It has more information processing units than all the computers, routers, and Internet connections on Earth.
Without a doubt, the most complex information-processing system in existence is the human body. If we take all human information processes together, i.e. conscious ones (language, information-controlled, deliberate voluntary movements) and unconscious ones (information-controlled functions of the organs, hormone system), this involves the processing of 1024 bits daily.
If this overall information is not fascinating enough, consider a sampling of one square inch of your epidermis. Each square inch of your skin includes four yards of nerve fibers, 600 pain sensors, 1300 nerve cells, 9000 nerve endings, 36 heat sensors, 75 pressure sensors, 100 sweat glands, 3 million cells, and 3 yards of blood vessels.
Our bodies are living miracles, ongoing miracles, awesome miracles of creation. The miracle, that is your body, is the house in which the real you lives. We are not a body with a soul, we are a soul inhabiting a body. What a wonderful habitat.
“What a piece of work is man,” wrote William Shakespeare. “How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty!”
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
He Gave the Gift That Keeps on Giving 12/13/98
II Corinthians 9:15
Page 1695 Come Alive Bible
JESUS CHRIST’S birth was God’s way of saying, “Merry Christmas, planet earth. I have a present for you.”
JESUS CHRIST was the reference when Paul wrote, “Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift…” (II Cor. 9:15).
The gift is indescribable, inexpressible, marvelous, and wonderful. The gift is Jesus Christ Himself.
Our distinctive southern tongues have a way of making certain words sound alike. Two such words are presents and presence. “Presents” meaning gifts and “presence” meaning to be in close proximity. God’s present to the population of planet earth was the presence of His Son, Jesus Christ.
An appropriate gift does two things:
It reveals the love of the one giving it.
It suits the needs of the one receiving it.
Isn’t it rewarding when you give a gift for the recipient to say, “How like you to give such a thoughtful gift and it is just what I wanted and needed.”
The gift of Christ as Savior does both. Our response should be, “How like you dear God to give me just what I wanted and needed.”
A gift is an expression of the giver’s heart. The recipient gets it but not because it is earned, merited, or deserved. It is simply an expression of the loving heart of the giver.
Wouldn’t it be a magic Christmas if you placed neatly wrapped packages under the tree with names of family members on them and then set up a cash box to collect a fixed sum for each? The moment you received money for one it would not be a gift, but a purchase.
In Bud Blake’s “Tiger” comic strip two little boys were talking about Christmas. One said, “My folks got us an artificial tree this year.” The other little guy asked, “Does that bother you?”
“No,” was the response, “just as long as the gifts are real.”
The gift of God the Father is Jesus. His name evidences the scope of the gift. Jesus means, “Jehovah is Salvation.” Thus, in the end, the gift is salvation.
Suppose God had said, “You can purchase your salvation.” That would have left out millions who are too poor to buy their salvation.
Suppose He had said, “Be good enough and I will give it to you,” or “Do enough good deeds and you can merit your salvation.” Who could have done that much good or behaved that well?
Suppose God had said, “If you do sufficient penance, or suffer enough, you can deserve your salvation.” Some, having a clouded understanding of just how far their sins had separated them from God, might not have performed sufficiently.”
In Rome, Italy I have seen persons climbing stairs on their knees as an act of penance, thinking they were garnering the favor of God by their work.
In Brazil, I have seen persons climb gravel roads on their knees hoping to gain God’s favor by their penance.
There are millions who live under this misconception today.
Suppose God had said, “I am going to grade on the curve and if you score high enough you will pass and get your salvation.” When Jesus entered the earthly scene He messed up the curve.
Instead, God said, “I will give you salvation if you will receive the gift.” The gift is His presence.
I walked through the Nazi concentration camp of Dachau, and reflected on an account I had read in the book by Corrie Ten Boom entitled “Christmas Remembered.” It was her memory of her experience in such a Nazi hell hole.
It was Christmas eve. Corrie and the other Christians in the camp had placed meager handmade decorations on a few trees in celebration of Christ’s birth. Beneath some of these trees were the lifeless bodies of fellow prisoners who had died and been thrown there.
Corrie was weary of trying to tell people of the love of Jesus and physically fatigued as she glanced out a crack to see the bodies by the light of the moon. Amid all the moaning and groaning she heard a child’s voice pleading, “Mommy, come to Ollie. Ollie is so alone.”
Corrie knew one of those bodies beneath those trees was that of Ollie’s mother. Corrie went to the bunk of the child and softly said, “Ollie, mommy can’t come, but I want to tell you of One who did come on that first Christmas and that He will come to be with you right now.” Corrie continued to tell how Jesus in love had come to earth and how He lovingly died on the cross of Calvary for our sins. She proceeded to tell little Ollie how the death and resurrection of Jesus enabled Him to provide a lovely house in heaven where there were no cruel people; only those who had love for Jesus and one another. In faith, little Ollie trusted Jesus that night and found great comfort in His presence.
A few days later Corrie saw Ollie with her sores and wounds bandaged only with toilet paper. She could tell the child was in pain but asked anyway: “Ollie, where is Jesus?” With a warm though weak smile the child said, “He is in heaven where He has provided a little house for me.”
“Is He just there in heaven?”
“No,” she said, “He is here with me and when I hurt, I let the pain remind me of His suffering and dying for me to provide that little house in heaven.”
The Nazis saw to it that the little house didn’t stay vacant long. Ollie died and went into the presence of the Lord, all because of a present from the Lord — Jesus Himself was that gift of salvation. Ollie went to heaven because of Christ’s presence.
Let’s consider some passages of Scripture as though they are correspondence delivered to us. First,
I. SPECIAL DELIVERY FROM ZACHARIAS (LUKE 1:5 – 25)
Zacharias and his wife lived in a little hillside town near Jerusalem where he served as a priest in the temple.
An angel appeared to him and told him his wife Elizabeth would have a child.
Verse 18, Zacharias’ understanding of nature prompted him to respond in a natural way and both doubt and question the angel’s message: “How can I know this is true? I am an old man myself, and my wife is getting on in years….” He was so alarmed the angel said, “Fear not…” Well, why not? Why should he not have been virtually terrorized?
The text answers, “Thy prayers have been answered.”
Because of his doubt, God sealed his lips until the birth of his son, John the Baptist. This should be a clear indication to us that God doesn’t like His children going around sowing discord and stirring up dissension.
When his son was born Zacharias began to praise the Lord.
To some, faith comes after hesitation. When it does come, then comes praise.
II. PERSON TO PERSON FOR MARY (LUKE 1: 26 – 55).
In Nazareth a young virgin received an angelic message regarding having a baby. Normal child birth is exciting but this is something special. Husbands often get more excited than wives. Such an excited husband spoke excitedly over the phone, “My wife is pregnant and having contractions every two minutes.”
The operator questioned, “Is this her first child?”
“No, you dummy, this is her husband.”
Parental arrangements for marriage were made for children when at a very young age. This was considered both an engagement and marriage. As they approached marriageable age, they entered into a one year period of betrothal. During this time they lived apart but were legally married. Unfaithfulness during this time was punishable by death.
This process of marriage is the reason secular writings referred to virgins who were widows.
Six months after visiting Zacharias, Gabriel was sent to Nazareth with a message for a teenage girl named Mary.
Mary was frightened and the angel again spoke that familiar line: “Fear not…”
Why not? Because, “You have found favor with God.”
A. Mary said of her son, He was her “savior” (Vs. 47).
Mary was special. She was “blessed” (Vs. 28). What Jesus thought of her and what she thought of Him can be learned from the Scripture.
Christ and Mary must each be acknowledged for what they are.
Some failing to understand the Scripture try to attribute to Mary the work of Christ. Only He saves; not His mother.
Mary never hinted she was savior.
Jesus never hinted Mary was savior.
Mary stated Jesus was Savior. In verse 47 she called Him “my savior.”
Jesus stated He was savior. He said of Himself, “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
A Christian receptionist in a doctor’s office tried several times to explain to her friend this basic principle. Over and over she tried to communicate that Mary, His wonderful and blessed mother, could not do what only Christ could do.
One day the lady called and asked to speak to the doctor about a medical problem. The receptionist said, “He isn’t in, but his mother is. Will she do?” Further explanation of this parallel helped the caller understand this truth.
After calming the fears of Mary, that angel told her she was going to have a baby. She never questioned the fact.
She simply asked “How?” (Vs. 34).
The supernatural nature of what was to happen never puzzled her. The Holy Spirit would supernaturally invest an ovum with the germ of life, and the child to be born would be divine.
This clearly teaches Christ was conceived of a virgin. If you deny that, you have an inadequate concept of God. If God couldn’t do that, He couldn’t save anyone. If your view of God is of One who couldn’t do that, in the view of a book authored over thirty years ago by J.B. Phillips, Your God Is Too Small, he writes, ” My God, the God of the Bible, could handle that easily, and He did.”
The angel greeted her, “Hail.” The word was CHAIRE which means “rejoice.” She did so in a big way. She did so because she chose to.
The fact that as a single pregnant girl she might lose her beloved Joseph and even be stoned did not repel her. She disregarded the possible social stigma.
Mary then made one of the most courageous statements ever recorded: “Let it be to me according to your word” (Vs. 38).
Her response: “I belong to the Lord, body and soul. Let it happen as you say” (Vs. 38). Self had been brought under God’s control.
How you respond to the Lord determines the direction of your life. You are a sum total of your choices.
Later in life, under different circumstances, Mary said to Christ’s disciples, “Do whatever He says for you to do” (John 2:5). She was urging them to respond as she had responded.
When I left for college, my cousin who had played basketball in college with the man who was to be my coach said, “Whatever he tells you to do — do it. He did twice as much in college as he will ever ask you to do.”
In effect Mary was saying, “Do as I have done.” That is her message to us.
Remember we pray: “Thy will be done…” Not, “Thy will be changed…”
B. Of Mary’s soon-to-be born Son, it was said: (Vs. 32)
“He shall be great…”
“…called the Son of the Highest.”
C. Of Him she said:
“My soul does magnify the Lord” (Vs. 46).
“Magnify” comes from the word MEGALUNEI, which means to laud, to celebrate.
“Don’t you ever get discouraged?” Yes, but I am never going to tell you when I get discouraged because that might discourage you and that would discourage me and I can hardly stand my present discouragement.”
“My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior” (Vs. 47).
The coming of God to her as Savior was the cause of her rejoicing.
Some persons sigh, “I just love Jesus.” If you do, notify your face.
Joy is the banner that flies over the castle of the heart when the King is in residence.
III. RETURN RECEIPT REQUIRED FROM YOU
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2: 8, 9).
Christmas was the time of Christ’s birth. He was the gift, salvation embodied. For the gift to be yours, you must receive it.
Three responses are potential. They are: BELIEVERS, NON-BELIEVERS, MAKE BELIEVERS.
Which are you?
Do you rank among those who say there is “a” Savior or perhaps even Jesus is “the” Savior?
Can you truthfully say, “Jesus is MY Savior?”
“The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23a).
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made – Part Two
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.” (Isaiah 40: 28)
Our God created the earth from the north end to the south end and all in-be-tween, included you. He is not weary and doesn’t faint. He is still on the job, looking after His creation, including you. Consider just your taste buds. They are replaced every ten days.
Atoms lost are quickly replaced. The epidermis replaces itself every month, the lining of the stomach every five days, the liver every six weeks, and the skeleton every six months. Add it all up and in one year the atoms in your body will be replaced. 25,000,000 of your cells died while you were reading this sentence. Most of the dust under your bed is your own dead skin. The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet. Such pressure is needed to pump blood through 60,000 miles of veins and capillaries. The heart pumps 6 quarts of blood, circulating three times every minute. In one day, your blood travels a total of 12,000 miles.
The body has 1.6 gallons of blood coursing through 42 thousand blood vessels. To facilitate this the heart beats approximately 115,200 times a day. The kidneys serve as the body’s filter system purifying an average of 2.2 pints of blood per minute.
Your liver performs over 400 functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and the production of biochemicals necessary for digestion.
In a lifetime the body produces over 6,000 gallons of saliva, enough to fill two large swimming pools.
Nearly 28 feet of intestines are packed neatly inside your belly. The stomach is a small chemical plant far more intricate than any plant that man has ever built. This plant transforms the food we eat into various components causing the growth of flesh, blood, bones and teeth. It also repairs the body when parts are damaged by accident or disease. The food we eat is also transformed into energy for work and play.
The chemicals are so powerful that if a bit of stomach acid were spilled on the human skin it would burn a hole in it, yet it resided in the stomach. Your stomach gets a brand new lining every four days. Strong digestive acids quickly dissolve the mucus-like cells lining the walls of the stomach. Your body replaces them, routinely, before they are incapacitated.
The God who created that wonderful you knows what He is doing. Some of those wonderful components don’t work at times. (Experientially I know). Even then He can create in you the capacity to deal with the difficulty. (Experientially I know). Trust His loving heart and hand.
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made – Part One
King David wrote a Psalm of praise regarding the human body: “I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are your works.” (Psalm 139:4)
King David penned that wondrous depiction of the human body before advanced science revealed what is known today. Consider just the cell makeup.
Your body is made up of approximately 100 trillion cells. They all came from the division of one single cell. Your body consists of approximately 37.2 trillion cells of 200 different types. Every minute 300 million cells die, but that is only a small fraction of the number we have. 300 billion new cells are produced every day. Perhaps that is a good reason to call someone a busy body.
For human beings to have evolved each of these systems would have had to develop independently and simultaneously. That would not only have involved evolution from one species to another, but within each species. That further compounds the odds against evolution.
Pasteur opined, “The more I study science the more I am amazed at the Creator.”
The awe inspiring complexity is so intricately designed it demands a designer. God’s craftsmanship reached its zenith in the created marvels of the human body.
In winter exhaling warm breath in the cold atmosphere results in a cloud. Reality is every breath exhaled all year is the same. The only difference is the cold weather causes condensation, making the breath visible.
The average person takes over 23,000 breaths a day. Our lungs have a surface area the size of a tennis court. Our lungs have thousands of microscopic capillaries just to oxygenate our blood. The large amount of surface area makes it easier for this to take place, and get the oxygen where it needs to go.
While sleeping, parts of the lungs are inactive. In the morning people yawn to exercise the inactive parts. We automatically yawn every six hours during the day for the same reason. We sneeze at 120 MPH and blink every time.
What is in that breath is remarkable. You are exhaling atoms of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen that just a short time before were embodied in solid matter constituting your heart, stomach, lungs, and yes, brain. That is you vanishing in thin air. That means all the organs are in a constant state of change.
Isn’t it reasonable that such a creator is capable of helping you deal with the complex issues you are facing. Look at you! He created you, not to abandon you. but to bless you. Call upon Him.
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1: 20)
A Nation Whose God Is the Lord 6/28/98
Psalm 33:12
Page 822 Come Alive Bible
Jesus Christ warned the people of His day regarding their hard and unrepentant hearts: “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing fruits of it” (Matthew 21:43).
America has enjoyed the signature blessings of the Lord. God has blessed America. America has born the fruits of the kingdom at times. A great gleaning needs to be done in our society to gather and groom those spiritual qualities inherent in our emergence as a nation.
When the virtues of our young nation are mentioned there are those who seek to deny a Christian influence in our emergence. Some then seek to discredit those of us who espouse such from a historical perspective by saying we want to make America a theocracy governed by Old Testament rules. God Himself doesn’t want that. Those rules were not even intended for modern Israel. They were the civil laws of the young fledgling nation of Israel.
Not even Theo wants America to be a theocracy.
There are persons intent on changing public policy who contend that America was not founded by Christians on Christian principles. A study of the lives of the signers of the Declaration of Independence speaks of their values.
Of the 56 signers of the Declaration 27 had degrees from seminaries.
Reverend John Witherspoon over saw the printing of the Bible by Congress in 1782.
Charles Thompson, Secretary of Congress, was responsible for the first translation of the Bible in America and published the Thompson Bible.
Benjamin Rush founded the first Bible Society in America, the Philadelphia Bible Society.
The signers of the Declaration of Independence were responsible for starting 121 Bible Societies in eight years.
Francis Hawkins was responsible for printing the first hymn book in America.
John Adams and Benjamin Rush sat next to each other during the drafting of the Declaration in which 56 men proposed to overthrow the most powerful nation on earth. Rush leaned over and asked Adams, “John do you think we can really win this conflict?” Adams replied, “Yes, if we repent of our sins and rely on God.”
Rush later said he wrote that in his diary so he could teach others it was possible to be Godly and in politics, that those two were not incompatible.
John Adams, who was one of those who signed the Declaration and the peace treaty with England, wrote a letter in 1813 in which he said, “The principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the principles of Christianity. I will now avow that I did believe and now believe that those principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the general attributes and characteristics of God.”
That is what history from the period recorded before modern day revisionists with an agenda began to misrepresent it. Primary sources from the day support the concept that our founding fathers work was an outgrowth of their beliefs in God. Modern day persons trying to bash God want to refute history in their efforts.
Thomas Jefferson has long been considered an iconoclast among our early presidents in matters of religion. Jefferson wrote most of the Declaration of Independence. Some evidence from his early public life indicates he was not a Christian though on occasion he declared he was. His deeds do attest that he subscribed to Christian ethics. While Governor of Virginia he called for days of fasting and prayer. He helped found Bible societies and fund missionaries to Native Americans. Jefferson had a broad understanding of the Bible and quoted it frequently. In starting the University of Virginia he invited the various denominations to establish their seminaries around the University so students could choose their denomination. He thought of it as good to have a non-denominational school.
In the Jefferson Memorial in Washington there are four quotes considered by historians to be his most important statements. Three of the four are God centered.
One of those statements closely parallels our text which says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance” (Psalm 33:12).
One quote from Jefferson found in the Jefferson Memorial states: “Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed the conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever.”
Let’s first review some court decisions from the modern era as a backdrop before considering what the founding fathers had in mind.
Encel v. Vitale, June 25, 1962 was the first case to separate religious principles from public education. In this case removing prayer from schools there was no legal precedent ro history cited. No reference was made to the Constitution. Seven members of the Supreme Court making this ruling had no background on court benches. They were all politicians appointed by politicians.
This marked a new direction in the legal system in America. It was to be no longer constitutional law.
Most persons have never heard the prayer that resulted in this legal action. It was: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee and beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our Country.”
In these 22 words God is acknowledged one time. He is acknowledged four times in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution is dated “in the year of our Lord.”
Abington v. Schempp was the cause resulting in the prohibition against Bible reading. Without any Constitutional basis it was said doing so could be “psychologically harmful.”
Stone v. Gramm, 1980, the court removed the Ten Commandments from schools even though they said it was a “passive” display, meaning someone would have to stop on their own will to read them.
James Madison, chief architect of the Constitution, said, “We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments.” That’s what he thought of the Commandments.
In Jefferson’s letter to the Banbury Baptist he asserted Christian principles were never to be separated from government.
This is an era in which every Christian who is a citizen of this great republic should rededicate self to the God who has granted us such liberties.
Four times in the Declaration of Independence God is acknowledged and reliance on Him referenced. Jefferson started by referring to God as “our Creator.” He goes on to refer to the “Supreme Judge of the Universe.” Mention is made to the “laws of nature and natures God” and speaks of “divine providence.”
Confusion regarding his beliefs related to separation of church and state have arisen from a statement in one of his letters. His response to an appeal from the Danbury Baptist Association that no one denomination be made a national religion has caused this. In his famous response he used the phrase referring to a “wall of separation between Church and State.” What did he mean by that metaphor? The question is “what did he mean,” not what do modern thinkers interpret it to mean?
First, consider why the Baptist wrote Mr. Jefferson. Europeans had fled to these shores seeking freedom of religion. They had come from countries with state churches such as England, France, Holland, and the Netherlands. Others had come from countries that were church states, such as, Italy. In these countries denominations that were not the state supported denomination were discriminated against and often persecuted. Some of this had come over into certain colonies. In those colonies with state churches other denominations were discriminated against and adherents persecuted.
William Penn, the Quaker who founded Pennsylvania, was the first to afford asylum to persons of all faiths.
The Baptist noted that the Constitution did nothing to prevent the government from establishing a national church. This prompted them to write Mr. Jefferson in an attempt to insure the government would not establish a national, or state church.
In his letter of response, in order to insure them there would be no national church, he asserted a “wall of separation” has been established that will prevent the government from doing so. That is all it meant. His conduct thereafter bears this out.
His letter to the Baptists was written on Friday, January 1, 1802. Two days later he attended the first church service in the House of Representatives on Sunday, January 3, 1802. Note: “in the House of Representatives.” He continued to do so for seven years. Church services were held during this time in the House with the Speakers chair as the pulpit, in the Supreme Court Building, the War Office, and at the Treasury Building. Sunday School was also conducted.
Jefferson was a tactful politician. His words and actions were coordinated to fit together like hand and glove in order to convey his policy to the citizens. By attending these services he was attempting to signal to the electorate his support of non-state supported religion. In his view the government could not be a party to imposing a uniform religious exercise or observance. It could on the other hand support as being in the public good voluntary, non-discriminatory religious activities, including church services. As proof of this he put at the disposal of the citizens public property, public facilities, and including public personnel, including the president himself.
Are you ready for this? The Marine Corps Band even played for these services in uniform. Vice President Aaron Burr attended regularly.
Jefferson’s personal financial records reveal he contributed to nine local churches. He was a principal subscriber to the building fund of Christ Church in Washington. His liberality benefitted several church building programs.
To insure there would be no “national religion” established, James Madison introduced the First Amendment to the Constitution. As introduced on June 8, 1789, it directed that no “national religion be established.” To insure that no “national” or “state” religion be established the word “national” was dropped and the amendment reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.”
Later Madison wrote his “Detachment Memoranda” after his second term as president. Therein he wrote: “the constitution of the US forbids everything like an establishment of religion.” Then he corrected himself by inserting a caret, “a national” in front of religion. To Madison and his colleagues the establishment clause meant Congress could not pick one denomination and promote it to the status of an official national religion supported by taxes and with coercive authority. It granted to Congress no power to legislate on religious matters.
Obviously Madison and his colleagues believed the Constitution did allow Congress to support religion in a non-discriminatory and non-coercive way for he like Jefferson and their colleagues did precisely that. They attended worship, appointed chaplains, published Bibles and issued Thanksgiving proclamations, wrote in the Northwest Ordinance, “Religion, Morality and knowledge [were] necessary to good government and the happiness of Mankind.”
To them the separation issue involved not endorsing one denomination over another. It gave freedom to all.
Jefferson’s opinion regarding religion obviously evolved as he matured. The statements that seem to be contradictory are indeed. This is explained by them being made at different stages of his life.
In a letter to Benjamin Rush, dated April 21, 1803 he wrote, “I am a Christian.” “I am a real Christian,”
He wrote Charles Thomson in 1816, I am “a disciple of the doctrine of Jesus.” This phase of his life appears to have started in the mid-1790’s. Beginning at this time and continuing through his presidency he immersed himself in biblical scholarship. In compiling his writings of the Scripture he consulted texts in English, Greek, French, and Latin. His passion for privacy kept him from sharing these works with anyone during his lifetime.
His thought progress brought him into closer agreement with his colleagues with which he had argued in earlier years. He was now ready to concede religion fosters morality and, consequently, had a role to play in a free society. In 1801 he wrote, “The Christian religion brought to the original purity and simplicity of its benevolent instructor, is a religion of all others most friendly to liberty.”
Later he informed a Presbyterian minister that “Reading, reflection and time have convinced me that the interest of society requires the observance of those moral precepts…” Still later he confessed to agreeing with his former opponents that “a future state of retribution for the evil as well as for the good done while here” was a crucial concept for the promotion of public morality.
Facts contained herein have been extracted from a scholarly work by James H. Hutson, Chief of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building Manuscript Division, with a forward by Jaroslav Pelikan of Yale University, entitled, Religion and the Founding of the American Republic. This well footnoted work is for sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office.