I recently discovered the Jefferson Bible, which was an attempt by Thomas Jefferson (as if the guy didn't do enough already) to approach the teachings of Jesus Christ as a philosophy. In fact, his title for it was "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth."
This Founding Father, in his spare time, used a razor blade to cut up a New Testament and arrange verses into a new book. He cut out pretty much everything supernatural, only including the actual teachings of Jesus himself and accounts of his actions (even excluding the miracles performed by him). TJ believed that Jesus' teachings had been corrupted and that the miracles and theology in the Bible had been manipulated by the Church. If, Jesus returned from heaven, he certainly wouldn't recognize "Christianity" today. TJ exclaimed to a friend that he was a truer Christian than anyone else, because he focused exclusively on living life as taught by Jesus and cut out all of the extraneous trappings added by men.
As far as my personal beliefs, well, I am not willing to go as far as Jefferson, who obviously didn't believe in the infallibility of scripture amongst other things. I do believe that too much focus is placed on theological nitpicking and not enough is placed on how to live life day to day. In that regard, I have really enjoyed reading the Jefferson Bible, which consists completely of practical Christianity.
As a student of Stoicism, this work now reads much more like the Enchiridion or the Meditations. It is much shorter, more practical, and to the point. It is indeed a sort of Christian "handbook."
I have always believed that, in order for Christianity to survive and thrive in the world, the practical way of life that the religion teaches must be superior to that of the "philosophy" of the general population. Otherwise, what is there to attract someone to the Church? There is much too much handwringing and Pharisee style debate over points that have little impact on how we should live our lives. Isn't that exactly the sort of thing that Jesus railed against in his own teachings? How many stories are there in the Gospels of Jesus rebuking some religious "leader" for being blinded by legalism?
Do I believe that this version of the Gospels should supersede or replace the original texts? Absolutely not. But I love the idea of grabbing people by the hair and turning their heads away from the hieroglyphic symbolism of miracles and signs and wonders. Let them remember that there is indeed clear practical advice on how to live their lives sandwiched between all of the other events over which they love to debate.
http://uuhouston.org/files/The_Jefferson_Bible.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Bible
