Sunday, August 31, 2025

Did Thomas Jefferson Believe In Some Form Of Theistic Evolution?

 




In a previous blogpost, I cited a section of a letter that Thomas Jefferson had written back to John Adams in April of 1823 in which he stated how impossible it was for someone, upon the study of nature, to not reach the conclusion that we are an act of creation that we owe our existence to a Creator [1] but in that letter he also mentioned something very curious which led me to wonder if Thomas Jefferson believed in some form of theistic evolution.  For in that letter he claimed that God is not only a Creator but a sustainer and that the means by which He sustains life was a mechanism that while permitting all forms of life to exist in their present forms, He also regenerated them into “new and other forms” [2] further stating that without this restoring power that all life should perish. [3]
 
In as much respect that we may have for Thomas Jefferson, the knowledge and wisdom that he possessed, and his accomplishments from which our nation benefits, I must disagree with Jefferson on the manner in which God upholds and sustains the creation if indeed a form of theistic evolution is what he is ascribing to God as his response letter to Adams seems to indicate for what we must understand about evolution is that it requires the extinction of one set of life forms to make way for others and if we are to ascribe such an inefficient and wasteful process to God, then what does that say about the God who made us?  What does that say about His attributes and character? A God who resort to an inefficient and wasteful process such as evolution might be perceived as either weak in His attributes at best or at worst, a cruel deity who takes pleasure in a perpetual cycle of death and destruction who creates things only to eventually destroy them for the purpose of making way for new creations whereas a kind and loving God who takes pleasure in life and not death and in creation and not destruction would enable all life forms He creates to be able to peacefully coexist with one another.  He would see no need to wipe out the therapsids to make way for the dinosaurs nor would He see the need to eliminate dinosaurs to make way for birds and mammals or to render off any existing forms of life to make way for man.  A God worthy of our trust, adoration, and worship would be to enable all forms of life to exist peacefully together.
 
As I read the letter, I found in some ironic twist Jefferson rightly pointing out how five point Calvinism maligning the character of God stating:
 
 
 
I can never join Calvin in addressing his god. he was indeed an Atheist, which I can never be; or rather his religion was Dæmonism. if ever man worshipped a false god, he did. the being described in his 5. points is not the God whom you and I acknolege and adore, the Creator and benevolent governor of the world; but a dæmon of malignant spirit. it would be more pardonable to believe in no god at all, than to blaspheme him by the atrocious attributes of Calvin. [4]
 
 
 
But he never seemed to take time to think how attributing evolution to God maligned His character as well for if Jefferson had taken time to consider this, then perhaps he would have had the integrity to also reject the evolutionary philosophy of his day which was being propagated by figures such as Jean Baptiste Lamarck, best know for his work,  Philosophie zoologique, ou Exposition des considérations relatives à l'histoire naturelle des animaux, which is translated as Zoological Philosophy: Exposition with Regard to the Natural History of Animals [5] and Erasmus Darwin known for his two volume work, Zoonomia[6] and who was also the grandfather of Charles Darwin; both of whom, along with the works of geologist Charles Lyell, [7]

 would inspire and shape Charles Darwin in his thinking and which would play an important role in his writing, compiling, and publishing of his infamous works, most notably, On The Origins Of The Species [8] and since both Lamarck and Erasmus Darwin had lived around the same time as Thomas Jefferson, it is not unreasonable to suspect or assume that Jefferson may have known of their works, may have even acquired and read them, and found himself influenced by them.
 
And like Jefferson, there be many believers in God, including many professing Christians that find no problem in believing that God used evolution to bring forth all the different forms of life we see today in the world, including ourselves, as a way to harmonize with scripture a philosophy that is diametrically opposed to the Genesis account of creation and the reason why they do this is because they feel there is no other solution for, like the unbelieving world, they have been led to believe to accept evolution as a fact that is not to be questioned and have placed an unquestioning trust in those figures of authority, influence, and purported credentialed expertise who have demanded that they do because they have made the mistake of relying on their own understanding and trusting in faulty worldly wisdom instead of calling upon the God from whom comes the wisdom that is pure and uncorrupted and are so very blind to the ramifications of philosophies like evolution and to the ramifications to the futile attempt to harmonize a philosophy that teaches that death has always been a part of the cycle of life and that it is necessary at some point for some life forms to be removed to make way for others with a faith that teaches that death was never intended to be a part of the cycle of life but exists in this world as a consequence for a fateful transgression that was committed against God by our first two ancestors and from which we suffer to this very day due to the sin that entered into them being passed down to the rest of us who descend from them and having descended from them, we inherit their very nature (Rom. 5:12) which was made corrupt and twisted by the sin that entered into them when they ate of that forbidden fruit that they were warned of God to not eat from lest in the day that they ate of it, they would surely die (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3) and when they ate of that forbidden fruit, the sentence of death was pronounced upon them (Gen. 3:19) to which they eventually succumbed but the consequences of their disobedience did not stop there, but because the sin that entered into them was passed down to us, we too are subject to death because we sin and fall short of the glory of God in some form or fashion; (Rom. 3:23) some more so than others.
 
If we attribute any evolutionary processes to God as a creative mechanism, then we are stating that God intended for death to be a part of the cycle of life and not a consequence for a fateful act of disobedience and when death is placed before sin, then what is there to be redeemed from? And not only that, if God would remove one set of life forms such as the dinosaurs to make way for mammals and man, then what is to prevent him from eliminating presently existing creatures, including ourselves, to make way for others?
 
But if death is a consequence of sin and not initially intended of God, then it is something that is not meant to be but must be eliminated which requires an act of redemption and deliverance and if the God who made us is a God of love, mercy, compassion, kindness, and forgiveness as the Bible says He is, then He, in His mercy, has also provided a means of redemption for the sinner, the eventual deliverance of humanity from death, and the liberation of creation from the taint of sin from which death receives its power and not only that but restoration as well.
 
Those who insist on holding to a compromised view of the Genesis account of creation are going to have a difficult time explaining to skeptics and doubters as to how a good and loving God could create or allow a world filled with the death and suffering in it that we see today because they have been led to believe that death was intended to be a part of the natural process but for those who hold to a more literal view of the Genesis account of creation, they will be able to have an easier time explaining why the world is filled with so much death and suffering as their answer will be that the death and suffering that we see in the world today was not what God initially wanted, but is instead a consequence of that one act of disobedience by our first ancestors and will have an easier time persuading the lost of their need for redemption and to come repentance that they might then look to a new and better world to come but if death has always been a part of God’s design and His desired design, then what reason is there to believe that anything is going to change.  As far as anyone would be concerned, things will just simply go on as they have been, but with an uncertainty because if God had seen fit to extinguish from the earth previous life forms, then it is only a matter of time before He decides to extinguish the forms of life presently existing, including us, to make way for new creations for if God had used such a violent, tumultuous, inefficient, and wasteful process filled with struggle, hardship, cataclysms, catastrophes, pain, and suffering to produce life, then how can He be called good or loving? He couldn’t be because a good and loving God would not implement a process such as evolution to produce life because evolution requires a series of deaths and eliminations of some life forms in order to preserve others and to make way for new forms of life.
 
If we cannot imagine loving parents casting out their children to make way for more children, then how can we imagine the God who made us doing the same to the creatures that He has made to make way for new creations?
 
The one thing that must be acknowledged and admitted to is that there are without dispute variations and speciation within each respective kind of plant and animal which may serve to preserve each respective kind but this does not necessarily require the removal of one variation or species in order to make way for another (i.e. wolves need not be eliminated to make room for dogs, neither do foxes need to be done away with to make way for jackals nor must lions become extinct so that leopards might live and neither must the lynx be rendered off for the sake of housecats) as all variants within each respective kind of life form can peacefully coexist together and if the wolf can exist along side dogs and the Bighorn sheep alongside the Barbados and Barbary sheep species, then bison are able to coexist alongside antelope and bears are able to coexist alongside the boar and the tiger and there was a time when dragons had once peacefully coexisted alongside other animals; there was no need for one set of animals to be discarded for another for it is written that when God had created all things He had made all things to be good.  He never intended for any animals to go extinct.
He never intended for there to be natural disasters, cataclysms, and pestilence.
He never intended for there to be droughts and famines,
He never intended for things to kill and destroy one another.
He created the world to be a place of perfect harmony between all living things and in which there was an unhindered and uninterrupted fellowship between God and man, but that all changed when the first man Adam and Eve who was the first woman and Adam’s wife did something that God had warned them not to do and that was the eating of a certain fruit forbidden from them that came from a tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, having been warned that in the day that they ate thereof of they would surely die (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3) but instead heeding the warning, they listened to another voice and a lying voice which falsely assured them that they would not surely die if they ate of that forbidden fruit, but that instead, they would become more enlightened and even divine (Gen. 3:4-5) and after having eaten of that forbidden fruit (v. 6) instead of becoming more enlightened as that lying voice had told them, they only became enlightened to a shame that came over their nakedness (v. 7) and instead of becoming gods, they were reduced to a mortal state and a status inferior and lower than the one in which they were made, and as warned, the sentence of death was pronounced upon them (v. 19) as they had been warned but the sentence of death did not stop with Adam and Eve for it was sin which entered into them that brought death to them and the sin that entered into them and brought to death to them was then passed down to all of mankind because it is from Adam and Eve all mankind descend and because we are all descended from them, we have also inherited from them the very sin that entered into them (Rom. 5:12) and just as they died because of sin, so we all die because of sin; (Rom. 6:23) sin being defined not by just our actions, behavior, conduct, and what we say, but as the inwardly corrupt condition of our nature that not only influences our outward acts and what we say, but also our very thoughts, motives, and the attitude of the heart which is why it is written that we are not defiled from without but from within (Mt. 5:11, 17-20) but the consequences of the transgression that brought sin into the world and death with it did not confine themselves to man but spread to all creation which is why it is written that the creation groans and travails in pain to this day (Rom. 8:19-22) and it is the reason why suffering, pain, misery, and hardship of every sort and severity abound in the world today and why creation itself is dying a very slow death which means when a plant or animal goes extinct, it is never replaced and when a star burns out or explodes, no new ones are forming.  It is also the reason why we have earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, and forest fires, extreme and even unnatural weather conditions and as sin and the darkness of this present world increases, so it should be expected that all of creation itself should respond to the increase of wickedness in the world with an ever increasing negativity because creation itself is becoming less and less tolerant of the burden of sinful man and the day is coming when it will no longer be able to withstand or bear the taint and blight of sin and it is for the cause of the ever increasing amount of suffering and pain in the world that a day is coming in which God must punish the sin of man lest sin should by the power of death and decay destroy all. 
 
And if that same lying voice who led Adam and Eve into eating that forbidden fruit which brought sin and death into the world through them cannot convince you that there is no God and that we are only products of time and random processes, then he is not against attributing a cruel, wasteful, and inefficient process like evolution to an all-loving, omnipotent, omniscient, and all-merciful God because in doing so, he convinces men that all that which was before the curse that fell upon the world because of sin came before sin and death and in doing so causes people to question the entire basis for redemption.  For if death came before sin and death is not a consequence of our sin, then from what do we need to be redeemed and from what does creation itself need to be liberated from? And with the lie of evolution, that lying voice then destroys the entire basis for the Gospel message in the minds of many including those who profess to follow Christ for if he can succeed in causing the account of origins to be doubted, then he can also succeed in casting doubt upon all of scripture and even the Gospel message itself even to the overthrowing of the faith of some and before this lying voice became the voice of lies, he had once served at the throne of God in Heaven as a covering cherub named Lucifer until the day that he became so lifted up in pride that he thought he could make himself equal to God but the Lord God cast Lucifer and all who sided with him from their places in Heaven (Is. 14:11-21, Ezek. 28:12-19) and it was in that day that he became better known as Satan or the Devil and it was he who crept into the world in the form of a serpent and told the very first lie ever known which brought sin, death, and the curse through sin into the world and which earned him the title of the father of lies (Jn. 8:44) and which made him not only a liar, but also a murderer (Jn. 8:32) and a thief and destroyer (Jn. 10:10) for not only by a lie did Satan bring death into the world through sin which entered into Adam and was then passed down to all of his descendants being all of humanity but also by that same lie, he caused the dominion over the earth that had initially been given to man (Gen. 1:26) to be diminished and then claimed lordship over the kingdoms and nations of the world (Mt. 4:8-9, Lk. 4:6-7) which is why he is called the prince of this world (Jn. 12:31, 16:11) but his dominion will not last forever because God, in His mercy and in His love for mankind, is not willing that any should perish and be eternally damned but that all would come to repentance and be redeemed out of their sins, (2 Pet. 3:9) and for our redemption, He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ into the world to take away from the sins of the world (Jn. 3:16) which He did by offering Himself up to death; the sinless Christ (2 Cor. 5:21, Heb. 4:15) dying on behalf for sinful, thereby serving as that needed perfect sacrifice (Heb. 7:26-27) needed to purchase our redemption which was purchased by the death of Christ upon the cross on which He was crucified  and after having purchased our redemption by His death, He was raised again from the dead so that we by our faith in Him would be justified in Him (Rom. 4:25) so that any calling upon Him for the forgiveness of sins in sincere faith and repentance would be justified before God the Father by Him and in Him (Rom. 10:13) and with the redemption of our souls comes a transformation (2 Cor. 5:17) that causes us to no longer desire to follow after selfish and worldly pursuits but after those things that pertain to the Kingdom of Heaven, (Mt. 6:33)
to no longer take pleasure in those things that are evil and displeasing in the sight of the Lord, but in that which is good, right, and pleasing in His sight,
to no longer desire to walk in the lies of this present world, but only in the truth that comes from Christ Almighty, (Jn. 14:6) no longer placing our hopes in the things of this present world, but looking forward to that new and better world to come, (Rev. 21-22)
to no longer rely on worldly resources, men, or even our own power, abilities, skills, and wisdom for our needs and provision but upon God who is able to meet all of our needs, (Mt. 6:25-33) recognizing that the resources of this world and even the people He brings into our lives are but instruments and vessels through which God meets our needs and that the skills, power, knowledge, and wisdom by which we might acquire our provision are provided and instilled in us by God,
to no longer fear what men can do to us, but rather fearing the God before whom we will have to one day give an account for how we lived our lives, (Mt. 10:28)
to no longer look to corruptible institutions within our society for direction and order in our lives but to God who, by His written Word has given us laws and precepts to be applied to our lives and which serve to produce and maintain an ordered life, and who, by His Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within us upon repentance, establishes in our lives a course and direction in our lives to pursue for His glory,
to no longer seek our own glory but the glory of God,
to no longer rally behind corruptible men, but instead behind the incorruptible God in Heaven bearing in mind that those men and women God raises up for our edification are but instruments and servants of His for that respective purpose to which He has called them,
to no longer seek to align ourselves with the things of darkness but only with the things of the light,
to no longer trust in the wisdom of the world but only on the wisdom and knowledge that comes from above, nor depend on corruptible earthly authorities to swiftly administer justice, but only in the power of God to deliver us from evil.
 
And we look forward to the day that, just as our souls have been redeemed and delivered from eternal damnation, when we shall also be delivered from bodily death when that which is sinful is made sinless and that which is corruptible is transformed into that which is incorruptible (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) for wherein dwells no sin there is no death and finally, creation itself will also be liberated from the curse that has come upon it because of sin when the adversary of our souls faces his final defeat and receives his final sentence when he and all who have sided with him are forever cast away into a lake of fire which burns forever and ever (Rev. 20:10-15) and after that has been done, the creation will be made anew, and it will be a creation in which there will dwell no death, no decay, no evil, no darkness, no grief, no sorrow, and no misery, and no hardship, but only light, life, happiness, peace, contentment, and joy before the Lord God Almighty for all eternity. (Rev. 21-22)
 
If you desire to be a part of a new and better world to come and have not done so already, then I urge you reader to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus who is the source of all truth for the forgiveness of sins.  It is but a sincere prayer of repentance away.
 
 
 
"Lord Jesus I need you.
 
 
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of your standard of Moral perfection.
 
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
 
 
Amen."
 
 
Know that God is not concerned with the words that you use to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of your heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive you of your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in nothing else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
 
 
 
End Notes:
 
 
 
1.  Thomas Jefferson To John Adams, April 11, 1823
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-19-02-0400#f2f56a8a-5249-4a58-b220-8b7c0d19872a
 
2.  Ibid.
 
3.  Ibid.
 
4.  Ibid.
 
5.  Jean Baptiste Lamarck, “Zoological Philosophy: An Exposition In Regard To The History Of Animals,” originally published in 1809; translated from French into English by Hugh Elliot in 1914
https://ia800801.us.archive.org/20/items/zoologicalphilos0000jean/zoologicalphilos0000jean.pdf
[The original title in the French is called: “Philosophie zoologique, ou Exposition des considérations relatives à l'histoire naturelle des animaux”]
6. Erasmus Darwin, “Zoonomia” Volumes 1 and 2, printed for J. Johnson in St. Paul’s Church-yard in London, 1796
https://dn720006.ca.archive.org/0/items/bim_eighteenth-century_zoonomia-_darwin-erasmus_1796_1/bim_eighteenth-century_zoonomia-_darwin-erasmus_1796_1.pdf
Zoonomia Vol. 2
https://ia902306.us.archive.org/26/items/bim_eighteenth-century_zoonomia-_darwin-erasmus_1796_2/bim_eighteenth-century_zoonomia-_darwin-erasmus_1796_2.pdf
 
7.  Charles Lyell, “Principles of Geology: Being An Attempt To Explain The Former Changes Of The Earth’s Surface By References To Causes Now In Operation Volume 1” Vols. 1-4; first and second volumes published in 1830, Volume 3 in 1832,  Volume 4 original publication date unknown as I was unable to find the original print. All published in London; John Murray Albemarle Street
https://ia601308.us.archive.org/4/items/principlesgeolo05deshgoog/principlesgeolo05deshgoog.pdf
 
[Principles of Geology Vol. 2
https://ia800700.us.archive.org/5/items/PrinciplesgeoloVol2Lyel/PrinciplesgeoloVol2Lyel.pdf
 
Principles of Geology Vol. 3
https://ia800404.us.archive.org/18/items/principlesgeolo00wellgoog/principlesgeolo00wellgoog.pdf
 
Principles of Geology Vol. 4; third edition (was unable to find the original volume 4)
https://ia801408.us.archive.org/12/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.222579/2015.222579.Principles-Of.pdf ]
 
8.  Charles Darwin, “On The Origin Of The Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life,” London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1859
https://books.google.nl/books?id=cAtfAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:cTzITBGxXssC&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
 
 
 
 
Scripture references:
 
 
 
1.  Romans 5:12
 
2.  Genesis 2:16-17, 3:3
 
3.  Genesis 3:19
 
4.  Romans 3:23
 
5.  Genesis 3:4-5
 
6.  Genesis 3:6
 
7.  Genesis 3:7
 
8.  Romans 6:23
 
9.  Matthew 15:11, 17-20
 
10.  Romans 8:19-22
 
11.  Isaiah 14:11-21, Ezekiel 28:12-19
 
12.  John 8:44
 
13.  John 8:32
 
14.  John 10:10
 
15.  Genesis 1:26
 
16.  Matthew 4:8-9, Luke 4:6-7
 
17.  John 12:31, 16:11
 
18.  2 Peter 3:9
 
19.  John 3:16
 
20.  2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15
 
21.  Hebrews 7:26-27
 
22.  Romans 4:25
 
23.  Romans 10:13
 
24.  2 Corinthians 5:17
 
25.  Matthew 6:33
 
26.  Revelation 21-22
 
27.  Matthew 6:25-33
 
28.  Matthew 10:28
 
29.  1 Corinthians 15:51-55, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

30.  Revelation 20:10-15


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