Abraham Lincoln's Religion

by Madison Clinton Peters

There was not a day, nay, not an hour of Lincoln's life but was devoted to some good work, some act of charity, some message of consolation or comfort or mercy to the miserable and the suffering; in short, Abraham Lincoln carried his religion into daily life; it accompanied him everywhere and on all occasions.

Every phase of his character was a demonstration of the Golden Rule. From boyhood to manhood, from manhood to fame, honesty was his distinguishing trait. As a lawyer all his transactions were above suspicion. He would not take a case to which there could possibly be attached any stain of falsehood or foul-dealing. To a man who once offered him a case of which he could not approve, he gave this explanation, quoted by his partner, Herndon, who vouches for it: "There is no reasonable doubt that I can gain your case for you. I can set a whole neighborhood at loggerheads, I can distress a widowed mother and her six fatherless children, and thereby get you $600, which rightly belongs, as it appears to me, as much to them as it does to you. I shall not take your case, but I will give you a little advice for nothing,—you seem to be a splendid, energetic man,—I would advise you to try your hand at making $600 in some other way."

Here is an example of how he brought his religion into politics. When he was in the legislature and the caucus sought to get him into schemes that were not creditable, in a discussion which lasted until midnight, contending that the end would justify the means, Lincoln closed the debate and defined his own position by saying, "You may burn my body to ashes and scatter them to the four winds of heaven; you may drag my soul down to the regions of darkness and despair, to be tormented forever, but you will not get me to support a measure which I believe to be wrong."

Judged alone by his actions Lincoln was a Christian of the very highest type; his principles were founded upon the teachings of the Master. He was gentle, kind, loving, thoughtful, tender, his big heart overflowed at the sight of suffering and he alleviated it when he could. His sympathies went out to the poor in their afflictions. He tempered the harshness and severity of the great war by words of comfort and acts of mercy. He denied himself at the White House to no one, the poorest woman being as courteously received as the most distinguished statesman. On one occasion a heartbroken mother came to plead for the life of an only son who had forfeited it by some breach of discipline in the ranks. She was sent away rejoicing. Turning to her male companion on leaving the White House she indignantly exclaimed: "You said the President was an ugly man,—why, he's the handsomest man I have ever seen."

Both by act and word did Lincoln try to emulate the Man of Galilee. Indeed few, if any, of the world's leaders followed so closely the precepts and example of the Saviour. He adopted the Golden Rule as his standard of conduct and lived up to it in every particular. He acted on "the square" to every man, so that he gained for himself the soubriquet of "Honest Abe," which was fondly applied to him all through his public career. He was just in his dealings with his fellow-men and never once was guilty of deception.

If the character of this man is to be estimated by the words of Jesus Himself, "By their fruits ye shall know them," then Abraham Lincoln was one of the highest types of Christian gentleman that ever trod the earth.

During the four terrible years of the war he carried the sorrows of the people on his own shoulders and displayed the true qualities of a noble man and a Christian. He placed himself at this time absolutely in the hands of a higher power. Hear him make this confession: "I should be the most presumptuous blockhead upon this footstool, if I for one day thought that I could discharge the duties which have come upon me since I came into this place without the aid and enlightenment of One who is stronger and wiser than all others."

The light of Holy Writ was the beacon star that guided him through the darkness of trying days; not alone were the Holy Scriptures a guide for his actions, but they served as a model for his literary style. His education was defective, yet at times few of the great masters of literature could equal him in purity of language. High critics declare his second inaugural address to be one of the greatest masterpieces of English prose. Here are a few of the closing sentences: "Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray that the mighty scourge of war may pass away, yet if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be paid by another drawn by 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.' With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

Apart from the beauty and diction of the language there is a deep spirit of faith and dependence on God breathed throughout the whole of the address.

Surely the most sceptical must be convinced of the sincerity of Lincoln's religious belief from his words, from his actions, from his principles, from his prayers, from his confessions, in a word, from the rectitude of his life, and admit that he was, not only a fervent believer, but a practical Christian of the best kind, though he knelt at no denominational altar.