The Life and Teachings
of Jesus
A Restatement of the Gospels
Comments and Reviews
"Like The Jefferson Bible it sorts and rearranges material from the New Testament Gospels to achieve a more authentic and chronologically ordered story. It is very well done and the footnotes are helpful. The index is quite detailed and useful as a topical reference." — Meredith Sprunger, Retired Minister United Chruch of Christ; Chairman of the Liberal Arts Department, Indiana Institute of Technology
"The Life and Teachings of Jesus is a wonderful tool and will serve me well in Bible study at church. Thank you." — Elizabeth Bartley, Knoxville, TN
"It will be most useful to a student interested in the life and teachings of Jesus, only without the extraneous material. Congratualtions for an outstanding contribution to religious scholarship and literature." — Duane Faw, Brigadier General, USMarine Corps, Retired; Professor of Law Emeritus, Pepperdine University
Such a work is truly a labor of love. I plan to give the book to my family at Christmas time." — Gard Jameson, Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Board Member, North American Interfaith Network
Review from Amazon.com
This book is based on and was inspired by the Jefferson Bible.
I think that if Thomas Jefferson were still alive today, I am very sure that he, himself would buy this edition!
I want to personally thank Preston Thomas for writing this book. Because he wrote this book, I can now once again read the words of Christ and I can read about his life and the events which took place.
Jesus taught that what is necessary in order to obtain salvation is to believe in him. This book will give you an excellent chance and opportunity to do just that as you read about Christ and his life, his words and his teachings, as they are supposed to be, in pure and direct form without all the "extra" fairy tale like information added in, such as has been done with the Bible.
This book is really really easy to read, and I can enjoy reading it every night before I go to sleep. This book is short, simple and direct to the point about the life of Christ. You could consider it as a condensed and streamlined version of the New Testament, but it's more than that. So much more.
I come from a Christian background, and I attended a mainstream Christian church for almost 20 years, but for me, the Bible, as it is written, just never did work for me, it never happened for me, it just never "clicked" for me, and it taught me that God is an angry, wrathful, and revengeful God who enjoys bloodshed by the bucketfulls and who will take immense pleasure in torturing humans forever in a lake of eternal burning fire. If anything, the Bible always raised more questions than there were answers. Large parts of it seemed illogical and seemed to defy the laws of science and nature as we know them, not to mention, all the numerous contradictions found within.
Other parts of the Bible sometimes read like a fairytale, or a science fiction novel. For me, in my own personal opinion, the way and the form in which Preston Thomas wrote this book is very direct, clear and concise and it makes more logical sense for me, written this way, than does the New Testament, but yet it contains all the same exact teachings as the New Testament contains.
I enjoy reading this book more than I do the New Testament, and it's alot easier for me to understand and comprehend than the New Testament, and it allows me to know Christ, and his life and his words and his teachings and most of all, this book allows me to have a deep and personal relationship with Christ, which for along time, the Bible just never did that for me.
So, just for that alone, I will always be grateful to Preston Thomas for a most wonderful book which he has published and the great purpose which it fulfills for me. This book is a long time overdue.
For others, who may have the same feelings or sentiments as me, or who can identify with me on some kind of level, I feel that for the same type of persons, they will also enjoy this book very very much and I recommend this book very highly.
Unlike mainstream Christianity, which is a religeon ABOUT Jesus, Preston Thomas, through his book, shows you and reveals to you, the loving religeon OF Jesus, as Jesus taught and lived his life when he was here.
May this book bring you the same pleasures and blessings as it has for me. Happy Reading! and may God always bless you.
Review from Amazon.com of The Jefferson Bible by Thomas Jefferson:
If you like the Jefferson Bible as much as I do, then here is another highly recommended version of it that I think you will also enjoy just as much. Its called "The Life and Teachings of Jesus A Restatement of the Gospels" and it is written by Preston Thomas. This book was produced and based on and inspired by the Jefferson Bible, and Preston Thomas in his forward to his book, quotes from and also reprints part of the forward from the Jefferson Bible. Preston Thomas stays true to the spirit of the Jefferson Bible and preserves the legacy and the purpose of why Thomas Jefferson created his own Bible.
The Preston Thomas version is really a very wonderful reproduction of the Jefferson Bible. This version is more complete, detailed, and thorough than the Jefferson Bible. It contains perhaps alot of parts which Jefferson never included in his own version. This version includes all the details of the life of Jesus and his teachings, starting from his birth, and following all the way through to his resurrection and final appearances. The text of this version is very easy to read and is in modern English. Preston Thomas also provides ample and thorough detailed explanations and footnotes on each page. This version also is written in a chronological order of events that happened in the life of Jesus. Each section is concise, short and contains all the information and details that you need to know, without overdoing it with too much information or too many details
It's a sheer Joy to read and is a wonderful way to end each day as you read some before you turn off the light to go to sleep. Please check out this version for yourself and see what you think.
