Winning Words 4/13/12
“It is in our lives and not our words that our religion must be read.” (Thomas Jefferson) Today is Jefferson’s birthday. He compiled a book, “The Life and Morals of Jesus” by taking a razor and cutting and pasting selected verses from the Gospels and eliminating what he didn’t agree with. I guess we do something similar in our reading and in our listening. T.J. was right about living your religion. ;-) Jack

FROM ILLINOIS LIZ: Happy birthday, Tom! & thanks for everything!!!////FROM JACK: I didn't know that you were on a first name basis with Jeff. BTW, did you know... that he could write Latin with one hand while writing Greek with the other? ...that he invented the coat hanger? ...that he died on the 4th of July? ...that he named his youngest daughter, Elizabeth?

FROM SHARIN' SHARON: Back in the day when Jerry and I took a foray into the Unitarian-Universalist Church, I bought Thomas Jefferson's book. As I recall, Jefferson tried to take out all the scriptures telling about miracles. Met a lot of good people there who were very socially conscious about working to make this world a better more fair place. Particularly liked Emerson.////FROM JACK: Your memory is pretty good. While Jefferson was a religious person, he firmly believed in the separation of church and state.

FROM TAMPA SHIRL: Actions speak louder than words.////FROM JACK: Tim Tebow put it this way: "I think the greatest way to share the Gospel is by acting it." You Floridians are on the same page.

FROM PASTY PAT: How fascinating! I had never heard the 'cutting and pasting' (literally) story about Jefferson before.////FROM JACK: I remember my pastor telling about a seminary classmate of his who cut out those passages of the Bible that he didn't agree with. He was called "the student with the Holey Bible." I don't think he made it to ordination.

FROM PC IN MICHIGAN: There's an exhibit in Washington D.C. right now on Jefferson's Bible. We took a walk through. Very nice!////FROM JACK: Then you were able to see his personal declaration of independence. Belief is in the mind of the believer.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: How very true! All the religious studying of the world won't help if you don't talk the talk and walk the walk. Don't we all "Cut and Paste" life in general the way we want it to be?////FROM JACK: Today, we call it "putting a spin on something," which means: "to twist a report or story to one's advantage; to interpret an event to make it seem favorable or beneficial to oneself or one's cause."////RESPONSE FROM THE OUTHOUSE: Those are definitely modern sayings, but pertain to the same thing. I believe a lot of people do that with the Bible. It's so easy to take a verse out and not read the whole chapter. It's like putting a whole new spin on the verse. I believe the Bible is God's written word given as the ultimate way of life and after-life. It's not to be taken lightly or as a "wonderful story". But that's my spin.


FROM SAINT JAMES: If everyone focused on living their religion to the best of their ability instead of feeding their egos, the world would be a better place.////FROM JACK: This reminds me of an old song from the 50s, sung by Perry Como: "And, if everyone lit just one little candle, What a bright world this would be."

FROM PH IN MINNESOTA: T J must have been quite a unique man in many ways. a real father of our nation. ////FROM JACK: I read about Traits of a Good Father. Among them were...is open-minded...challenges his kids...allows kids to make mistakes...teaches lessons. I guess Jefferson was a good father of our nation.

FROM BLAZING OAKS: T.Jefferson was certainly a well-read and creative person. I read about him at great length a few years ago, and was amazed at the wide variety of things that he was interested in, and all the things that he invented. I loved his Monticello estate, when I toured it! I think you are right, in that we are pretty selective in our Bible and Inspirational reading! Some things we'll never know until we get "there", and as you said once before, "You can't unscrew the inscrutable!" I like that!////FROM JACK: In 6th grade I participated in a play, and the lady who directed it gave us each a new (just released) Jefferson nickle with Monticello on the back of it.

FROM MY FLORIST: What I have always liked about Thomas Jefferson were his flaws. All too often we forget that good can exist inside of everyone although I would never consider him an evil man he had his share of flaws and yet he had his share of greatness. Much like Oscar Shindler his path and his place in history was filled with contradictions. One of them a slave owner and the other a Nazi war profiteer and yet both great humanitarians who struggled with their conflicting realities. It is my belief that every person is carried by the currents of life to the place they occupy and yet they can choose to chart a more challenging course. Even more so for those who make the decision to stand against their own position. Often they are conflicted and yet the try to embrace what they know is the right thing to do. Sometimes they fall short – sometimes they are obstructed by the currents of life from reaching their true objective and yet they find a way to make a difference.////FROM JACK: I've always liked these words and have tried to live by them: "There is so much good in the worst of us, And so much bad in the best of us, That it hardly behooves any of us To talk about the rest of us." (Edward Wallis Hoch, Marion Kansas Record, 1849 - 1925)

FROM CL IN MICHIGAN: well said Mr J.////FROM JACK: He also said: "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."

FROM ME IN NEWPORT BEACH: I am, in general, a fan of Thomas Jefferson. Like all of us he had his pluses and a few minuses. I do like this quote and would razor cut and paste this into my repertoire of spiritual thought.////FROM JACK: Many of our thoughts and opinions are the result of being in a certain place at a certain time. That's why "context" is so important when examining words and actions. That works for the Bible as well as for your life and mine...and Jefferson's, too.////RESPONSE FROM THE BEACH: Agreed. Many of us, including the political pundits, sometimes like to ignore.

FROM CWR IN B'MORE: He did the same thing with the Bible and hence "The Jefferson Bible"....and we do the same thing, although we don't formally transcribe it.////FROM JACK: He was a "religious" person without subscribing to the typical religiosity of his day. I know of people like that in our own time.