Skip to content
Shawords

Quote#Wisdom

The substance and essence of Christianity, as I understand it, is…

Quote byJohn Adams · 1735–1826

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Letter to Thomas Jefferson (23 January 1825), published in Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams (UNC Press, 1988), p. 607.

English (original)

The substance and essence of Christianity, as I understand it, is eternal and unchangeable, and will bear examination forever, but it has been mixed with extraneous ingredients, which I think will not bear examination, and they ought to be separated.

— John Adams

More from John Adams