The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 6 (of 9): Being His Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and Other Writings, Official and PrivateJefferson, Thomas
History
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 6 (of 9): Being His Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and Other Writings, Official and Private
Jefferson, Thomas
United States -- Politics and government -- 1775-1783; United States -- Politics and government -- 1783-1865
I will ask Priestley, when I see him, do you believe those passages in
Peter and Jude to be interpolations? If so, by whom made? And when? And
where? And for what end? Was it to support, or found, the doctrine of
the fall of man, original sin, the universal corruption, depravation and
guilt of human nature and mankind; and the subsequent incarnation of God
to make atonement and redemption? Or do you think that Peter and Jude
believed the book of Enoch to have been written by the seventh from Adam,
and one of the sacred canonical books of the Hebrew Prophets? Peter,
2d epistle, c. 2d, v. 4th, says "For if God spared not the angels that
sinned, but cast them down to _hell_, and delivered them into chains of
_darkness_ to be reserved unto Judgment." Jude, v. 6th says, "and the
angels which kept their first estate, but left their own habitations,
he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment
of the great day." Verse 14th, "And Enoch, also, the seventh from Adam,
prophesied of these sayings, behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of
his saints, to execute judgment upon all," &c. Priestley says, "a wrong
interpretation" has been given to these texts. I wish he had favored
us with his right interpretation of them. In another place, page 326,
Priestley says, "There is no circumstance of which Mr. Dupuis avails
himself so much, or repeats so often, both with respect to the Jewish and
Christian religions, as the history of the _Fall of Man_, in the book of
Genesis." I believe with him, and have maintained in my writings, that
this history is either an allegory, or founded on uncertain tradition,
that it is an hypothesis to account for the origin of evil, adopted by
Moses, which by no means accounts for the facts.
_March 3d._ So far was written almost a month ago; but sickness has
prevented progress. I had much more to say about this work. I shall never
be a disciple of Priestley. He is as absurd, inconsistent, credulous
and incomprehensible, as Athanasius. Read his letter to the Jews in this
volume. Could a rational creature write it? Aye! such rational creatures
as Rochefoucauld, and Condorcet, and John Taylor, in politics, and
Towers' Jurieus, and French Prophets in Theology. Priestley's account
of the philosophy and religion of India, appears to me to be such a
work as a man of busy research would produce--who should undertake to
describe Christianity from the sixth to the twelfth century, when a
deluge of wonders overflowed the world; when miracles were performed
and proclaimed from every convent, and monastery, hospital, churchyard,
mountain, valley, cave and cupola.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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