It’s Still in My Bible

[Whoever] does not abide in the
doctrine of Christ does not have God.
                              —2 John 9

In 1820, ex-president Thomas Jefferson took a razor blade and sliced out portions of the New Testament that he found distasteful. He deleted all miracles—including the resurrection.

Jefferson defended religious rebellion. Religion is “a matter between every man and his maker, in which no other, & far less the public, [has] a right to intermeddle,” he wrote.

That viewpoint—especially on moral issues—got legs in the last quarter of the 20th century and became shrilly public in the 21st. “How I live my life is none of your business!” “Don’t judge me!” “Leave me alone!”

Many celebrities, politicians, courts—and yes, churches—have signed on as permissive defenders.

Check to see if Romans 1:24–27, 32, and 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 are still in your Bible. They are still in mine.

A cut-and-paste Bible is an insult
to the authentic Author.

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