THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Any discussion about Lincoln’s religious beliefs is problematic.  We do know that in his early life he was not a member of any church.  He flirted with transcendentalism and even consulted mediums.  In his early election campaigns, his opponents labeled him an “infidel” who denied the truth of Scripture.  But after he became president, his entire perspective began to change.  When his 11-year old son, Willie, died in February 1862, he and his wife consulted a medium, but Lincoln was unimpressed—even making fun of the medium.  But he did begin meeting with Phineas Gurley, pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church.  He began attending that church regularly on Sundays, even attending occasional Wednesday evening prayer meetings.  Lincoln continued to struggle with depression and mental anguish and the brutality of the Civil War enhanced both.  But, he found solace in prayer and in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  There is no certainty of the exact time of Lincoln’s conversion.  Several contemporaries cited different events and different circumstances that drove Lincoln to Christ.  But we do have this personal testimony.  Lincoln told a crowd in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois:  “When I left Springfield, I asked the people to pray for me.  I was not a Christian.  When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian.  But when I saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ.  I do love Jesus.”  Some suggest that this refers to the graves at Gettysburg, although this is not certain.

During his presidency, Lincoln developed a deep understanding of God’s providence.  No better evidence of that conviction exists than his 2nd inaugural address:  “Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty scourge of war might speedily pass away. . . . Yet if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man’s two hundred years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid with another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago so still it must be said, ‘the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.’”  Lincoln was a great president because he preserved the Union, abolished slavery and changed the course of this nation’s history.  What we also know is that his personal faith grew during his presidency.  His faith sustained him and encouraged him.  He never claimed to speak for God as leader of the North, but he did learn to trust America’s destiny to that God’s providence.  Such humility and faith are needed today!

See Marvin Olasky, World (9/16 February 2008), pp. 52-55 and Our Daily Bread (18 February 2008). 

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