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
Before attempting to answer this question, let us define what
constitutes a Christian. A Christian is one who, in common with the
adherents of nearly all the religions of mankind, believes, 1. In the
existence of a God; 2. In the immortality of the soul. As distinguished
from the adherents of other religions, he believes, 1. That the Bible is
a revelation from God to man; 2. That Jesus Christ was the miraculously
begotten son of God. He also believes in various other doctrines
peculiar to Christianity, the chief of which are, 1. The fall of man; 2.
The atonement.
Those who in nominally Christian countries reject the dogmas of
Christianity are denominated Infidels, Freethinkers, Liberals,
Rationalists, unbelievers, disbelievers, skeptics, etc. These Infidels,
or Freethinkers, represent various phases of belief, among which are,
1. Deists, who affirm the existence of a God and the immortality of the
soul; 2. Atheists, who deny the existence of a God, and, generally,
the soul's immortality; 3. Agnostics, who neither affirm nor deny these
doctrines.
The following are the religious views Lincoln is said to have held as
presented by those who affirm that he was a Christian:
1. He believed in the existence of a God, and accepted the Christian
conception of this Being.
2. He believed in the immortality of the soul, and in the Christian
doctrine of the resurrection.
3. He believed that the Bible is a revelation from God--the only
revealed will of God.
4. He believed in the divinity of Christ--believed that Christ is God.
5. He believed in the efficacy of prayer, and was accustomed to pray
himself.
6. He believed in the doctrine of experimental religion, and had
experienced a change of heart.
7. Although he never united with any church, he was contemplating such a
step at the time of his assassination.
8. The church with which he would have united, we are led to infer, was
the Presbyterian.
The following is a statement of the theological opinions of Lincoln as
understood by those who deny that he was a Christian:
1. In regard to a Supreme Being he entertained at times Agnostic and
even Atheistic opinions. During the later years of his life, however, he
professed a sort of Deistic belief, but he did not accept the Christian
or anthropomorphic conception of a Deity.
2. So far as the doctrine of immortality is concerned, he was an
Agnostic.
3. He did not believe in the Christian doctrine of the inspiration of
the Scriptures. He believed that Burns and Paine were as much inspired
as David and Paul.
4. He did not believe in the doctrine of Christ's divinity. He affirmed
that Jesus was either the son of Joseph and Mary, or the illegitimate
son of Mary.
5. He did not believe in the doctrine of a special creation.
6. He believed in the theory of Evolution, so far as this theory had
been developed in his time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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