The Jefferson Bible. THOMAS JEFFERSON (1743-1826)-author, statesman, and third president of the United States-was a deist, a believer in, at best, impersonal, transcendental god, who did not take a personal interest in the daily events of humanity. But Jefferson took great comfort from the teachings of Jesus, and so, by editing and rearranging the traditional books of the Bible, Jefferson here retells the story of Jesus in chronological form, removing all supernatural elements but retaining the beauty and the wisdom of the philosophy of Jesus. Jefferson, a deeply private person, refused to let his Bible beyond a circle of close friends, so it remained unpublished until 1895.