Atheists to Send Revamped 'Jefferson Bible' (Including Koran & Book of Mormon) to Obama & 113th Congress

Photo Credit: American Humanist Association (AHA)

Atheist, humanists and their non-believing bedfellows have borrowed a page from Founding Father Thomas Jefferson. In an effort to breathe new life into his so-called "Jefferson Bible," the American Humanist Association (AHA) has assembled a revamped literary work entitled, "A Jefferson Bible for the Twenty-First Century." But rather than merely including the former president's stripped-down version of the New Testament, the non-believing organization has added other religious texts as well.

A press release announcing the new book claims that it also includes edited versions of the Hebrew Bible, the Koran, the Bhagavadgîtâ, the Buddhist Sutras, and the Book of Mormon. The AHA has taken the so-called positive and negative sections of each holy book and highlighted them in the text. According to the statement, the group thought that adding a diverse subset of scriptures from different faiths was a more appropriate and comprehensive action.

See, AHA is planning to send a copy of "A Jefferson Bible for the Twenty-First Century," to President Barack Obama and members of the 113th Congress. But with Christianity not dominating every elected House and Senate member's theological adherence, the humanist group decided to branch out (TheBlaze already told you about Hindi and Buddhist members of the House and Senate who were recently elected).

Printed by AHA's publishing arm, Humanist Press, the book will arrive to politicians free-of-charge. While it is available now as an e-book, it will also soon be published in paper form. A statement circulated by the secular organization summarizes the purposes behind the book.

Photo Credit: American Humanist Association (AHA)

"'A Jefferson Bible for the Twenty-First Century' follows Jefferson’s lead in creating a useful tome for those interested in the best of the best from the world’s most important religious texts, but also highlights problem passages similar to those that Jefferson lamented arose from 'the stupidity of some, and roguery of others of His disciples,'" the release reads.

Humanist Press Director Luis Granados said that AHA is looking forward to debate surrounding the passages that the group has selected. He claims that the AHA welcomes dialogue surrounding these matters.

"In 1901, the U.S. Congress felt that the Jefferson Bible was of such great value that it authorized the printing of nine thousand copies for itself," Granados noted in the release. "With today’s Congress representing a much more religiously diverse population, including a fifth of the population that is not religious, we thought it was appropriate to deliver a new Jefferson Bible that acknowledges that diversity."

You can read more about this atheist bible of sorts here.

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