In February 1777, Thomas Jefferson helped establish an evangelical church. What? Yes, that Thomas Jefferson. It was called the Calvinisitical Reformed Church of Charlottesville. And it met in the local courthouse. Why, that’s enough to give the ACLU apoplexy. 

This was less than a year after he wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence.

It’s important to understand that the early Thomas Jefferson was much more faithful to his professed Christian faith than we are led to believe.

Yes, he harbored serious doubts later in life. But the early Jefferson who wrote that “all men are created equal” and who referenced God in our nation’s chief founding document was, by all outward appearances, a believing Christian.

This is important to grasp because for the last century or so, Thomas Jefferson has often been portrayed as some sort of lifelong skeptic. And that is not true.

About a decade ago, I coauthored with Dr. Mark Beliles the book Doubting Thomas, about the faith or lack thereof of our third president. Just in time for America at 250, soon we plan to release a condensed version, entitled Jefferson and the God Who Gave Us Liberty (Morgan James).

The title is based on Jefferson’s statement that “God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.” You’ll find it chiseled in stone at the Jefferson........

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