Baptized in his youth, Jefferson became a governing member of his local Episcopal Church in Charlottesville, which he later attended with his daughters. Influenced by Deist authors during his college years, Jefferson abandoned "orthodox" Christianity after his review of New Testament teachings. In 1803 he asserted, "I am Christian, in the only sense in which wished any one to be." Jefferson later defined being a Christian as one who followed the simple teachings of Jesus. Jefferson compiled Jesus' biblical teachings, omitting miraculous or supernatural references. He titled the work "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth", known today as the "Jefferson Bible". Peterson states Jefferson was a theist "whose God was the Creator of the universe ... all the evidences of nature testified to His perfection; and man could rely on the harmony and beneficence of His work."