The passage quoted from Dr. Barrows contains six specific affirmations.
1. "In the anxious uncertainties of the great war, he gradually rose to the hights where Jehovah became to him the sublimest of realities, the ruler of nations."
Collect all the utterances of Abraham Lincoln, all the letters he ever wrote, all the speeches he ever delivered, all the state papers he gave to the public; and from this full store of words that fell from his lips and flowed from his pen, I challenge Dr. Barrows to produce one word expressing a recognition of Jehovah. Jehovah was to him, not "the sublimest of realities," not "the ruler of nations," but a hideous phantom. He recognized a God, but his God was not Jehovah, the God of Dr. Barrows.
2. "When he wrote his immortal Proclamation, he invoked upon it not only 'the considerate judgment of mankind' but 'the gracious favor of Almighty God.'"
When he wrote his immortal Proclamation he did not invoke "the gracious favor of Almighty God." This instrument, as drafted by Lincoln, contained no allusion to God. The paragraph containing the words quoted was drafted by Secretary Chase and inserted in the Proclamation at his urgent request after it was printed and ready for delivery.
3. "When darkness gathered over the brave armies fighting for the nation's life, this strong man, in the early morning, knelt and wrestled in prayer with Him who holds in his hand the fate of empires."
A "Christian lady from Massachusetts" (name unknown), and a Christian gentleman from New York (Noah Brooks), declare that Lincoln was accustomed to pray. This declaration is echoed by Arnold, and reechoed by Barrows. If true, is it not strange that a hospital nurse and a newspaper reporter were in possession of the fact while his most intimate friends were entirely ignorant of it?
4. "When the clouds lifted above the carnage of Gettysburg, he gave his heart to the Lord Jesus Christ."
This is the fifth time that Lincoln gave his heart to Christ. The above statement is the vital one in Dr. Barrows's testimony—the keystone in the arch comprising "the religious aspects" of Lincoln's Presidential career. The others, even if true, only prove a Theistic belief. This statement affirms that he became a Christian—a statement evidently based upon the anonymous story of the "Illinois clergyman." Between the original presented by the "Illinois clergyman" at large, and that presented by the Illinois clergyman from Chicago, however, a grave discrepancy appears. From the time that "the clouds lifted above the carnage of Gettysburg" to the time that Lincoln visited its cemetery, a period of twenty weeks had elapsed. Now, did Lincoln give his heart to Christ when the battle ended on the 3rd of July, as stated by the one, or not until he stood upon the battle-field on the 19th of November, as asserted by the other? This is a question that we leave for the Illinois clergymen themselves to decide.
5. "When he pronounced his matchless oration on the chief battle-field of the war, he gave expression to the resolve that 'this nation, under God, should have a new birth of freedom.'"