Notes On Religion
[And his definition of the seperation between Church and State]
[By Thomas Jefferson]
j. mss.
[Oct. 1776?]
Sabellians.
Xn.[Christian] heretics. That there is but one person in the Godhead.
That the ‘Word’ & holy spirit are only virtues, emanations or
functions of the deity.
Sorcinians.
Xn.[Christian] heretics. That the Father is the one only god. That the
Word is no more than an expression of ye. godhead & had not existed
from all eternity; that
Jes. Christ was god no otherwise than by his superiority above all
creatures who were put in subjection to him by the father. That he was
not a mediator, but sent to be a pattern of conduct to men. That the punishments of hell are nt. eternal.
Arminians.
They think with the Romish church (agt. the Calvinists) that there is
an universal grace given to all men, & that man is always free &
at liberty to receive or
reject grace. That God creates men free, that his justice would not
permit him to punish men for crimes they are predestinated to commit.
They admit the presence of god,
but distinguish between fore-knowing & predestinating. All the
fathers before St. Austin were of this opinion. The church of Engld
founded her article of predestination on his authority.
Arians.
Xn. heretics. They avow there was a time when the Son was not, that he
was created in time mutable in nature, & like the angels liable to
sin; they deny the three persons in the trinity to be of the same essence. Erasmus and Grotius were Arians.
Apollinarians.
Xn. heretics. They affirm there was but one nature in Christ, that his
body as well as soul was impassive & immortal, & that his birth,
death, & resurrection was only in appearance.
Macedonians.
Xn. heretics. They teach that the Holy ghost was a meer creature, but
superior in excellence to the Angels. See Broughton, verbo ‘Heretics,’
an enumeration of 48. sects of Christians pronounced Heretics.
Locke’s
system of Christianity is this: Adam was created happy & immortal;
but his happiness was to have been Earthly & Earthly immortality. By
sin he lost this—so that he
became subject to total death (like that of brutes) to the crosses
& unhappiness of this life. At the intercession however of the son
of god this sentence was in part remitted.
A life conformable to the law was to restore them again to immortality.
And moreover to them who believed their faith was to be counted for
righteousness. Not that
faith without works was to save them; St. James. c. 2. sais expressly
the contrary; & all make the fundamental pillars of
Xty[Christianity] to be faith & repentance. So
that a reformation of life (included under repentance) was essential,
& defects in this would be made up by their faith; i. e. their faith
should be counted for righteousness. As to that part of mankind who never had the gospel preached to them, they are 1.
[Pg. 2]
Jews.—2.
Pagans, or Gentiles. The Jews had the law of works revealed to them. By
this therefore they were to be saved: & a lively faith in god’s
promises to send the Messiah
would supply small defects. 2. The Gentiles. St. Pa. sais—Rom. 2. 13.
‘the Gentiles have the law written in their hearts, i. e. the law of
nature: to which adding
a faith in God’s & his attributes that on their repentance he would
pardon them, they also would be justified. This then explains the text
‘there is no other name
under heaven by which a man may be saved,’ i. e. the defects in good
works shall not be supplied by a faith in Mahomet Foe, [?] or any other
except Christ.
The
fundamentals of Xty[Christianity] as found in the gospels are 1. Faith,
2. Repentance. That faith is every [where?] explained to be a belief
that Jesus was the Messiah who had been promised. Repentance was to be proved sincerely by good works. The advantages accruing to mankind from our Saviour’s mission are these.
1. The knolege of one god only.
2. A clear knolege of their duty, or system of morality, delivered on such authority as to give it sanction.
3. The outward forms of religious worship wanted to be purged of that farcical pomp & nonsense with which they were loaded.
4.
An inducement to a pious life, by revealing clearly a future existence
in bliss, & that it was to be the reward of the virtuous.
The
Epistles were written to persons already Christians. A person might be a
Xn[Christian] then before they were written. Consequently the
fundamentals of Xty[Christianity] were
to be found in the preaching of our Saviour, which is related in the
gospels. These fundamentals are to be found in the epistles dropped here
& there, & promiscuously mixed
with other truths. But these other truths are not to be made
fundamentals. They serve for edification indeed & explaining to us
matters in worship & morality, but being written
occasionally it will readily be seen that their explanations are
adpated to the notions & customs of the people they were written to.
But yet every sentence in them (tho
the writers were inspired) must not be taken up & made a
fundamental, without assent to which a man is not to be admitted a
member of the Xn[Christian] church here, or to
his kingdom hereafter. The Apostles creed was by them taken to contain
all things necessary to salvation, & consequently to a communion.
Shaftesbury
Charact. As the Antients tolerated visionaries & enthusiasts of all
kinds so they permitted a free scope to philosophy as a balance. As the
Pythagoreans & latter
Platonists joined with the superstition of their times the Epicureans
& Academicks were allowed all the use of wit & railery against
it. Thus matters were balanced; reason
had play & science flourished. These contrarieties produced
harmony. Superstition & enthusiasm thus let alone never raged to
bloodshed, persecution &c. But now a new sort
of policy, which considers the future lives & happiness of men
rather than the present, has taught to distress one another, &
raised an antipathy which if temporal interests
could ever do now uniformity of opn, a hopeful project! is looked on as
the only remedy agt. this evil & is made the very [Pg. 3] object of
govm’t itself. If magistracy
had vouchsafed to interpose thus in other sciences, we should have as
bad logic, mathematics & philosophy as we have divinity in countries
where the law settles orthodoxy.
Suppose
the state should take into head that there should be an uniformity of
countenance. Men would be obliged to put an artificial bump or swelling
here, a patch there &c. but
this would be merely hypocritical, or if the alternative was given of
wearing a mask, 99/100 ths must immediately mask. Would this add to the
beauty of nature? Why otherwise in
opinions? In the middle ages of Xty[Christianity] opposition to the
State opins was hushed. The consequence was, Xty[Christianity] became
loaded with all the Romish follies. Nothing
but free argument, raillery & even ridicule will preserve the
purity of religion. 2 Cor. 1. 24. the apostles declare they had no
dominion over the faith.
A
heretic is an impugner of fundamentals. What are fundamentals? The
protestants will say those doctrines which are clearly & precisely
delivered in the holy Scriptures. Dr. Vaterland
would say the Trinity. But how far this character of being clearly
delivered will suit the doctrine of the trinity I leave others to
determine. It is nowhere expressly
declared by any of the earliest fathers, & was never affirmed or
taught by the Church before the Council of Nice (Chillingas Pref. § 18.
33.) Iranæus sais ‘who are
the clean? those who go on firmly, believing in the Father & in the
Son.” The fundamental doctrine or the firmness of the Xn[Christian]
faith in this early age then was
to believe in the Father & Son. Constantine wrote to Arius &
Alexr treating the question “as vain foolish & impertinent as a
dispute of words without sense which none could
explain nor any comprehend &c.’ This line is commended by Eusebius
(Vit. Constant 1. r. c. 64 &c.) and Socrates (Hist. Eccles. 1. i. c.
7) as excellent admirable & full
of wisdom. 2 Middleton. 115. remarks on the story of St. John &
[[Editor: illegible word “Le saint concil (de Nièce anno 630) ayant
defini que le fils de dieu est de meme
substance que son pere & qu’il est eternel comme lui, composa une
Simbole (the Nicene creed) ou il explique la divinite du pere et du fils
et qu’il finit par ces paroles ‘dont
le regne n’aura point de fin.’ car la doctrine que regarde le Saint
Esprit ne fut ajoutée que dans la seconde concile tenu contre les
erreurs de Macedoniens, ou ces questions
furent agitées.” Zonaras par Coussin. Ann. 330. The second council
meant by Zonoras was that of Constantinople ann. 381. D’hist. Prim. Xty.
pref. XXXVIII. 2d app.
to pref. 49. The Council of Antioch ann [ ] expressly affirms of our
Saviour ο?? ?στιν ?μουσιο? that he was not consubstantial to the father.
The Council of Nice affirmed the direct contrary. Dhist. Prim. Xty. Pref. CXXV.
]]
Episcopy.
Gr. Επισ?οπο?. Lat. Episcopus. Ital. Vescovo. Fr. Evesque. Saxon,
Byscop. Bishop (overseer). The epistles of Paul to Timothy & Titus
are relied on (together with Tradition) for the Apostolic institution of bishops.
As
to tradition, if we are Protestants we reject all tradition, & rely
on the scripture alone, for that is the essence & common principle
of all the protestant churches. As to
Scripture 1. Tim. 3. 2. ‘a bishop must be blameless &c. Επισ?οπο?.’
v. 8.; ‘likewise must the deacons be grave &c. Δια?ονο?’
(ministers). C. 5. v. 6, he calls Timothy a ‘minister,
Δια?ονο?;’ C. 4. v. 14. ‘neglect not the gift that is in thee, which
was given [Pg. 3] thee by prophecy with the laying on the hands of the
presbytery, πρεσβυτεριου’; C.
5. ‘rebuke not an elder; Πρεσβυτεροι.’ 5:17;—‘let the elders that rule
well, &c. Πρεσβυτεροι.’ 5.19; ‘against an elder (Πρεσβυτερο?)
receive nt an accusn.’ 5.22. ‘lay hands suddenly
on no man, χειρα? ?πιτίθει.’ 6.11. He calls Timothy man of God ?νθρωπε
το? θεο?, 2. Tim. 1. 6. ‘stir up the gift of god, which is in thee, by
the putting on of my hands ‘?πιθεσεω?
των χειρων’ but ante c. 4. v. 14, he said it was by the hands of the
presbytery. This imposition of hands then was some ceremony or custom
frequently repeated, & certainly
is a good proof that Timothy was ordained by the elders (&
consequently that they might ordain) as that it was by Paul. 1. 11. Paul
calls himself ‘a preacher,’ ‘an apostle,’
‘a teacher.’ ‘?ηρυξ, ?αι αποστολο? ?αι διδασ?αλο?.’ Here he designates
himself by several synonims as he had before done Timothy. Does this
prove that every synonim authorizes
a different order of ecclesiastics. 4. 5. ‘do the work of an
Evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry’ ?ργον ποιησον ε?αγγελιστου,
την δια?ονιαν σου πληροφορεισον.’ Timothy
then is called ‘επισ?οπο?, δια?ονο?, ευαγγελιστο?.’ αν?ρωπο? ?εου.’
4.11. He tells Tim. to bring Mark with him, for ‘he is profitable to me
for the ministry.’ δια?ονιαν. Epist.
to Titus. 1. 1, he calls himself ‘a servant of god’ δουλο? θεου.’ 1.5.
‘for this cause left I thee in Crete that thou shouldst set in order the
things that are wanting, and
ordain (?αταστησ??) elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.’ If
any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not
accused of riot or unruly, for a
bishop must be blameless as the steward of god &c. Here then it
appears that as the elders appointed the bishops, so the bishops
appointed the elders, i. e., they are synonims. Again
when telling Titus to appoint elders in every city he tells him what
kind of men they must be, for said he a bishop must be &c., so that
in the same sentence he calls elders bishops.
3.10 ‘a man that is an heretic after the first & second admonition,
reject, ‘α?ρετι?ον.’ James 5. 14. ‘is any sick among you? Let him call
for the elders (πρεσβυτερο?) of the church, & let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the lord.’
Another
plea for Episcopal government in Religion in England is it’s similarity
to the political governmt by a king. No bishop, no king. This then with
us is a plea for government by a presbytery which resembles republican government.
The clergy have ever seen this. The bishops were alwais mere tools of the crown.
The
Presbyterian spirit is known to be so congenial with friendly liberty,
that the patriots after the restoration finding that the humour of
people was running too strongly to exalt
the prerogative of the crown promoted the dissenting interest as a
check a and balance, & thus was produced the Toleration Act.
St.
Peter gave the title of clergy to all god’s people till Pope Higinus
& ye. succeeding prelates took it from them & appropriated it to
priests only. 1 Milt. 230.
Origen,
being yet a layman, expounded the scripchures publickly & was
therein defended by Alexander of Jerusalem & Theodotn of Cæsarea
producing in his behalf divers examples that the
privilege of teaching was antiently permitted to laymen. The first
Nicene council called in the assistance of many learned lay brethren.
ib. 230.
[Pg. 4]
Bishops
were elected by the hands of the whole church. Ignatius (the most ant.
of the extant fathers) writing to the Philadelphians sais ‘that it
belongs to them as to the church of
god to chuse a bishop.’ Camden in his description of Scotld sais ‘that
over all the world bps had no certain dioces till pope Dionysius about
the year 268 did cut them out, & that the bps of Scotld extd their function in what place soever they came, indifferently till temp Malcolm 3. 1070.’
Cyprian,
epist. 68. sais ‘the people chiefly hath power either of chusing worthy
or refusing unworthy bps the council of Nice contrary to the African
churches exorts them to chuse orthodox bps in the place of the dead.’ 1 Milt. 254.
Nicephorus
Phocas the Greek emperor Ann. 1000 first enacted that no bps shd be
chozen without his will. Ignatius in his epistle to those of Tra
[mutilated] confesseth that the presbyters
are his fellowsellers & fellow henchers & Cyprian in the 6. 4.
52. epst. calls the presbyters, ‘his com-presbyters’ yet he was a bps.–A
modern bps to be moulded into a
primitive one must be elected by the people, undiocest, unrevenued,
unlorded. 1 Milt. 255. From the dissensions among sects themselves
arises necessarily a right of chusing & necessity
of deliberating to which we will conform, but if we chuse for
ourselves, we must allow others to chuse also, & to reciprocally.
This establishes religious liberty.
Why
require those things in order to eccliastical communion which Christ
does not require in order to life eternal? How can that be the church of
Christ which excludes such persons from its communion as he will one day receive into the kingdom of heaven.
The
arms of a religious society or church are exhortations, admonitions
& advice, & ultimately expulsion or excommunication. This last
is the utmost limit of power.
How far does the duty of toleration extend?
1. No church is bound by the duty of toleration to retain within her bosom obstinate offenders against her laws.
2. We have no right to prejudice another in his civil enjoiments
because he is of another church. If any man err from the right way, it
is his own misfortune, no injury to
thee; nor therefore art thou to punish him in the things of this life
because thou supposeth he will be miserable in that which is to come—on
the contrary accdg to the spirit of the gospel, charity, bounty, liberality is due to him.
Each
church being free, no one can have jurisdn over another one, not even
when the civil magistrate joins it. It neither acquires the right of the
sword by the magistrate’s coming
to it, nor does it lose the rights of instruction or excommunicn by his
going from it. It cannot by the accession of any new member acquire
jurisdn over those who do not
accede. He brings only himself, having no power to bring others.
Suppose for instance two churches, one of Arminians another of
Calvinists in Constantinople, has either any
right over the other? Will it be said the orthodox one has? Every
church is to itself orthodox; to others erroneous or heretical.
[Pg. 5]
No
man complains of his neighbor for ill management of his affairs, for an
error in sowing his land, or marrying his daughter, for consuming his
substance in taverns, pulling down
building &c. in all these he has his liberty: but if he do not
frequent the church or there conform to ceremonies, there is an
immediate uproar.
The
care of every man’s soul belongs to himself. But what if he neglect the
care of it? Well what if he neglect the care of his health or estate,
which more nearly relate to the
state. Will the magistrate make a law that he shall not be poor or
sick? Laws provide against injury from others; but not from ourselves.
God himself will not save menagainst their wills.
If
I be marching on with my utmost vigour in that way which according to
the sacred geography leads to Jerusalem straight, why am I beaten &
ill used by others because my hair
is not of the right cut; because I have not been dresst right, bec. I
eat flesh on the road, bec. I avoid certain by-ways which seem to lead
into briars, bec. among several
paths I take that which seems shortest & cleanest, bec. I avoid
travellers less grave & keep company with others who are more sour
& austere, or bec. I follow a guide crowned with a mitre & cloathed in white, yet these are the frivolous things which keep Xns[Christians] at war.
If
the magistrate command me to bring my commodity to a publick store
house I bring it because he can indemnify me if he erred & I thereby
lose it; but what indemnification can he give one for the kdom of heaven?
I
cannot give up my guidance to the magistrates, bec. he knows no more of
the way to heaven than I do, & is less concerned to direct me right
than I am to go right. If the Jews
had followed their Kings, among so many, what number would have led
them to idolatry? Consider the vicissitudes among the Emperors, Arians,
Athana &c. or among our princes. H. 8. E. 6. Mary. Elizabeth. Locke’s Works 2d vol.
Why persecute for diffce in religs opinion?
1. For love to the person.
2. Because of tendency of these opns to dis[[Editor: illegible word.
]]
1.
When I see them persecute their nearest connection & acquaintance
for gross vices, I shall believe it may proceed from love. Till they do
this I appeal to their own conscences if they will examine, wh. ye do nt find some other principle.
2.
Because of tendency. Why not then level persecution at the crimes you
fear will be introduced? Burn or hang the adulterer, cheat &c. Or
exclude them from offices.
Strange
should be so zealous against things which tend to produce immorality
& yet so indulgent to the immorality when produced. These moral
vices all men acknowledge to be
diametrically against X.[Christ] & obstructive of salvation of
souls, but the fantastical points for which we generally persecute are
often very questionable; as we may
be assured by the very different conclusions of people. Our Savior
chose not [Pg. 6] to propagate his religion by temporal punmts or civil
incapacitation, if he had, it
was in his almighty power. But he chose to extend it by it’s influence
on reason, there by shewing to others how they should proceed.
The commonwealth is ‘a Society of men constituted for protecting their civil interests.’
Civil
interests are ‘life, health, indolency of body, liberty and property.’
That the magistrate’s jurisdn extends only to civil rights appears from
these considns.
1. The magistrate has no power but wt ye people gave.
The
people hve nt givn hm the care of souls bec. ye cd not, ye cd not,
because no man hs right to abandon ye care of his salvation to another.
No
man has power to let another prescribe his faith. Faith is not faith
witht believing. No man can conform his faith to the dictates of
another. The life & essence of religion
consists in the internal persuasion or belief of the mind. External
forms of worship, when against our belief are hypocrisy & impiety.
Rom. 14. 23. “he that doubteth is damned, if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith, is sin?”
2.
If it be said the magistrate may make use of arguments & so draw
the heterodox to truth, I answer, every man has a commission to
admonish, exhort, convince another of error.
12.
A church is ‘a voluntary society of men, joining themselves together of
their own accord, in order to the public worshipping of god in such a
manner as they judge acceptable
to him & effectual to the salvation of their souls.’ It is
voluntary bec. no man is by nature bound to any church. The hope of
salvation is the cause of his entering into it. If he find anything wrong in it, he should be as free to go out as he was to come in.
13.
What is the power of that church. As it is a society it must have some
laws for it’s regulation. Time & place of meeting. Admitting &
excluding members &c. Must be regulatn
but as it was a spontaneous joining of members, it follows that it’s
laws extend to it’s own members only, not to those of any other
voluntary society, for then by the same rule some other voluntary society might usurp power over them.
Christ has said ‘wheresoever 2 or 3 are gatherd. togeth in his name he will be in the midst of them.’ This is his definition of a society. He does not make it essential that a bishop or presbyter govern them. Without them it suffices for the salvation of souls.
Compulsion
in religion is distinguished peculiarly from compulsion in every other
thing. I may grow rich by art I am compelled to follow, I may recover
health by medicines I am compelled to take agt. my own judgment, but I cannot be saved by a worship I disbelieve & abhor.
[Pg. 7]
Whatsoever
is lawful in the Commonwealth, or permitted to the subject in the
ordinary way, cannot be forbidden to him for religious uses: &
whatsoever is prejudicial to the
Commonwealth in their ordinary uses & therefore prohibited by the
laws, ought not to be permitted to churches in their sacred rites. For
instance it is unlawful in the
ordinary course of things or in a private house to murder a child. It
should not be permitted any sect then to sacrifice children: it is
ordinarily lawful (or temporarily lawful)
to kill calves or lambs. They may therefore be religiously sacrificed,
but if the good of the state required a temporary suspension of killing
lambs, as during a siege, sacrifices of them may then be rightfully suspended also. This is the true extent of toleration.
Truth
will do well enough if left to shift for herself. She seldom has
received much aid from the power of great men to whom she is rarely
known & seldom welcome. She has
no need of force to procure entrance into the minds of men. Error
indeed has often prevailed by the assistance of power or force. Truth is
the proper & sufficient antagonist
to error. If anything pass in a religious meeting seditiously and
contrary to the public peace, let it be punished in the same manner
& no otherwise than as if it had happened in a fair or market. These meetings ought not to be sanctuaries for faction & flagitiousness.
Locke
denies toleration to those who entertain opns contrary to those moral
rules necessary for the preservation of society; as for instance, that
faith is not to be kept with
those of another persuasion, that Kings excommunicated forfeit their
crowns, that dominion is founded in grace, or that obedience is due to
some foreign prince, or who
will not own & teach the duty of tolerating all men in matters of
religion, or who deny the existence of a god (it was a great thing to go
so far—as he himself sais of the parl. who framed the act of tolern but where he stopped short we may go on.)
He
sais ‘neither Pagan nor Mahomedan nor Jew ought to be excluded from the
civil rights of the Commonwealth because of his religion.’ Shall we
suffer a Pagan to deal with
us and not suffer him to pray to his god? Why have Xns.[Christians]
been distinguished above all people who have ever lived, for
persecutions? Is it because it is the
genius of their religion? No, it’s genius is the reverse. It is the
refusing toleration to those of a different opn which has produced all
the bustles and wars on account
of religion. It was the misfortune of mankind that during the darker
centuries the Xn.[Christian] priests following their ambition and
avarice combining with the
magistrate to divide the spoils of the people, could establish the
notion that schismatics might be ousted of their possessions &
destroyed. This notion we have not yet
cleared ourselves from. In this case no wonder the oppressed should
rebel, & they will continue to rebel & raise disturbance until
their civil rights are fully restored to them & all partial distinctions, exclusions & incapacitations removed.
[The
Works of Thomas Jefferson Collected and Edited by Paul Leicester Ford
Volume II G.P. Putnam’s Sons New York and London The Knickerbocker Press
1904. The Online Library Of Liberty edition published by Liberty Fund, Inc.]
