The American Humanist Association is distributing a new Jefferson Bible

From the press release:

What Thomas Jefferson did for the Bible, the American Humanist Association (AHA) did for the world’s other major religious texts—in Jefferson’s words, separated “the gold from the dross.”

A Jefferson Bible For the Twenty-First CenturyA Jefferson Bible for the Twenty-First Century includes Jefferson’s famously edited version of Christianity’s holy text, but this updated offering also includes similarly edited versions of the Hebrew Bible, the Qur’an, the Bhagavadgîtâ, the Buddhist Sutras, and the Book of Mormon. In addition, selections of the “dross” have been included alongside the “gold” for each.

The book, being released by the AHA’s publishing house Humanist Press, is being delivered free of charge to President Obama and all members of Congress. The ebook is being delivered immediately; printed copies will also be delivered in the coming days.

“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 added. (Free copies were delivered to each new member of Congress for the next fifty years, until the supply ran out.) “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.”

The book concludes with American Humanist Association’s Humanism and Its Aspirations, a statement of humanist principles.

While I doubt many of the intended recipients will actually read it, it would be awesome if they did. I’m very glad to see that the American Humanist Association is at least giving them the opportunity.

If you’d like to take a look, you can buy the electronic version from HumanistPress.com as well as other sources.