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
An article on Lincoln's religion written by Mr. Wm. Bissett, of Santa
Ana, Cal., and recently published in the _Truth Seeker_, contains
some evidence that deserves to be recorded. Mr. Bissett narrates the
following: "In the Spring of 1859 we moved into Livingston county, Mo.,
near Chillicothe. We at once became acquainted with a man by the name
of William Jeeter. Mr. Jeeter was a native of Kentucky, and if I mistake
not, was born and raised in the same part of the country that Mr.
Lincoln was but about that I am not sure. Mr. Jeeter told me that
Lincoln and himself settled in Illinois when they were young men, and
boarded together for a number of years. He says he knew every act of
Lincoln's life up to the time he (Jeeter) left Illinois, a few years
before Mr. Lincoln's nomination for the Presidency. I was helping Jeeter
build a house for himself when we received the news of Mr. Lincoln's
nomination; that is why we came to speak so particularly about him.
"Mr. Jeeter told me that Mr. Lincoln was not a believer in the Christian
religion; that is, he did not believe the Bible was an inspired work,
nor that Jesus Christ was the son of God. 'Nevertheless,' said Mr.
Jeeter,' he was one of the most honest men I ever knew. If I had a
million dollars I wouldn't be afraid to trust it to Lincoln without
the scratch of a pen, I know the man so well.' Mr. Jeeter was a strong
believer in the Christian religion and a mem-bier of the Cumberland
Presbyterian church, and a very fine and reliable man."
FREDERICK HEATH.
The following is from an article on Lincoln by Mr. Frederick Heath, of
Milwaukee, Wis.:
"Two years ago I was associated with Major Geo. H. Norris, a wealthy
orange-grower of Florida, in that state, and was in a degree his
_confidant_. In earlier years, while a lawyer in Illinois, Major Norris
(he was at one time mayor of Ottawa, Ill.) was quite closely associated
with Mr. Lincoln, and he gave me to understand that Mr. Lincoln was an
extreme skeptic. They were thrown together a good deal at Springfield,
where they were trying cases before the supreme court. Lincoln would
frequently keep them from sleep by his stories and arguments, and
frequently spoke of religious matters in a way that showed he was
convinced of the delusion of faith. I wish I could quote the Major's
words as to Lincoln's remarks on religion, but will not venture to frame
them, as this is a subject that demands truth and exactness."
REV. EDWARD EGGLESTON.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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