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This is a mere footnote for now until someone figures out how to integrate it into the too-brief main Abraham Lincoln article. I found this at [1]: |
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Was Abraham Lincoln a Christian? I found this at [1]: |
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I found a couple other sources on the Web. [1] seems partisan [positiveatheism.org] but well-researched. [2] reviews Allen C. Guelzo's book, Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President and has this to say: :Numerous biographers tried to twist Lincoln into what the public wanted in the martyred president, "a true Christian." They suggested that he was a closet Christian, who secretly attended prayer meetings, that he had been secretly baptized or had been converted after the death of his son Willie or after Gettysburg. :Guelzo concluded none of those stories was true. Lincoln, he said, was influenced by remnants of his Calvinist upbringing, which he had rejected long before he became president, and his belief in divine providence as life's guiding force. This issue is a fascinating example of how historians attempt to reconstruct an individual's character from mere artifacts. I've only spent a handful of minutes researching this on the Web, and already I see how complex and unsatisfying the evidence is. I still think [3] offers the strongest piece of evidence, but I'd like to see the entire letter in which Lincoln says, "I then and there consecrated myself to Christ," before adding it to a Wikipedia article. <>< tbc |
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