Abraham Lincoln: Was He a Christian?Remsburg, John E. (John Eleazer)
Religion
Abraham Lincoln: Was He a Christian?
Remsburg, John E. (John Eleazer)
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Religion
This statement at first glance presents a Christian appearance, and the
reader is liable to infer that the writer aims to state that Lincoln was
a Christian. But he does not. He aims to state in the least offensive
manner possible that he was not--that he was simply a Deist. A person
may have a "deeply religious" nature, and not be a Christian. He may
have "faith in the eternal justice and boundless mercy of Providence,"
and yet have no faith whatever in Christianity. He may make "the Golden
Rule of Christ [or Confucius] his practical creed," and at the same time
wholly reject the dogma of Christ's divinity. The above statement is
substantially true as applied to Lincoln, and it would be equally true
if applied to that prince of Infidels, Thomas Paine. His nature was
deeply religious; he had faith in the justice and mercy of Providence;
and he, too, made the Golden Rule his practical creed.
PEOPLE'S LIBRARY OF INFORMATION.
Mrs. Lincoln was nominally a Presbyterian, and frequently, though not
regularly, attended the Rev. Dr. Gurley's church in Washington. Lincoln
usually accompanied her, not because he derived any pleasure or benefit
from the services, but because he believed it to be a duty he owed to
his wife who, in turn, generally accompanied him when he went to his
church, the theater. "The People's Library of Information" contains the
following relative to his church attendance:
"Lincoln attended service once a day. He seemed always to be in
agony while in church.... His pastor, Dr. Gurley, had the 'gift
of continuance,' and the President writhed and squirmed and gave
unmistakable evidence of the torture he endured."
THE WORLD'S SAGES.
In "The World's Sages," Mr. Bennett writes as follows concerning
Lincoln's belief: "Upon the subject of religious belief there is some
diversity of claims. All his friends and acquaintances readily admit
that in early manhood and middle age he was an unbeliever, or a Deist.
In fact, he wrote a book or pamphlet vindicating this view. His most
intimate friends that knew him best, claim that his opinions underwent
no change in this respect; while a certain number of Christians have,
since his death, undertaken to make out that he had become a convert
to Christianity" (World's Sages, p. 773). "When the contradictory
character of the evidence is taken into consideration, together with the
fact that his nearest and most intimate friends would be most likely
the ones to know of Mr. Lincoln's change, had any such taken place, the
incredibility of the asserted change is easily appreciated" (Ibid,
p-774).
THE EVERY-DAY LIFE OF LINCOLN.
In the Emancipation Proclamation appears the following paragraph,
which contains the only allusion to Deity to be found in this immortal
document: "And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice,
warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the
considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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