The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”
― G.K. Chesterton, What’s Wrong with the World
Photo by Jukan Tateisi on Unsplash
Thomas Jefferson had a Bible. It was a very private book
The reason it was so private was that Jefferson had created a Bible suited for himself. He had taken all of the miracles out of the Gospels and was left with a document showing Jesus as a man of morals.
This leaves you with an easier Christian life. No Virgin Birth to explain. No miracles to deal with. No death and resurrection to mess with your idea of the afterlife.
Just a book of moral teachings offering an easy Christian checklist on what you should do.
Except we don’t do it.
Christ was never meant to be easy. It was never about checklists. It was about things that stretch us, challenge us, frustrate us, capture us, change us, shape us.
It was about “Greater things than this you will do.” It was meant to be difficult apart from Christ.
So, you cut out what you don’t want.
And miss the point entirely.
