Abraham Lincoln's Religion

7/23/2019 Abraham Lincoln's Religion

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/abraham-lincolns-religion 1/3

33

T H E O U T L O O K

7 Ju n e

even disregard ino; nec essities. Shall we or

shall we not grasp the marvelous opportunity

we now have to extend our t rade throug hout

the world ? Th is oppo rtunity will not wait .

Already w e hav e lost invaluable t ime ; we

have lost gro und we can nev er recover. W e

mu st mov e swiftly if we are going to tak e

the place in the wo rld's mark ets which som e

of our leading industrial comp etitors hav e

been forced to aba ndo n. If we do it now ,

we can establish ours elve s so firmly tha t we

cannot be dislodged upon the return of peace.

A B R A H A M L I N C O L N ' S R E L I G I O N

BY LYMAN ABBOTT

M

R. H E N R Y ' B . R .VNKLX, o f

Springfield, Illinois, at eighty years

of age , has written •• Per son al

Reco llections of A bra ha m Lincoln " ((r. P.

Pu tnam 's Sons) . T he ti tle correct ly descr ibes

the book, which is comp osed of scenes and

incidents i l lustrative of Mr. Lincoln's charac

ter based on ei ther the auth or 's personal

knowledge or on informat ion der ived from

thos e who were personally familiar with M r.

Lincoln dur ing the earlier years of his l ife.

It deals, ther efo re, with M r. Lincoln as a ma n

rath er than as a politician, and throw s light

on his pub lic car eer chiefly be cau se of the

light which it throws on his personal charac

ter. It is perso nal, familiar, intimate , and to

lovers of Lincoln is a valuable addition to the

volumes which have been wri t ten about him.

T he cha pte r entit led •• W hat Religion Mea nt

to Ab raha m Lincoln " has a pecul iar value,

becau se i t corrects a widely spread misapp re

hension resp ectin g M r. Lincoln's early

religious views. Mr. W. H . He rnd on , Mr.

Lincoln 's law par tner and his devoted and

inrimate friend, in his " Life of Lincoln," has

given curren cy to a story in confirmation of

the s ta tem ent that p r ior to M r. Lincoln 's

election to the Presidency he was an avowed

disbeliever in Christianity. M r. R an kin 's

acc ou nt of the origin of this story not only

banishes i t to the limbo to which such legends

as Washington 's " l i t t l e ha tch e t" have been

dep orte d, but also furnishes app aren tly

trustworthy informat ion respect ing Mr. Lin

coln's early religious ed ucation, im bibed from

his mother before her death, and his spiritual

faith as well as his ethical standards.

W hat we may call the H ern do n story was

that Mr. Lincoln as a 'yo ung man wrote an

article against Christianity, that he read it to

a friend, w ho took it from him and threw it

into the fire. Th is story was used against

him in a polit ical campaign in 1846, in which

Peter C^artwright, a famous Methodist minis

ter , was his compet i tor for Congress , and

was overw helmingly defea ted. T he polit ical

canard which (^artwright accepted without

investigation was so far discredited at the

time that i t op erate d ag ainst, rath er th an for,

Cartwright . He subsequent ly denied i ts

trut h and affirmed M r. Lin coln 's Christian

cha racte r. T he origin of this story affords

a curious il lustration of how polit ical canards

somet imes grow.

A certain .Mr. Hill wroite to his former

partner, Mr. McNeil, a long letter, giving

the reasons for Mr. Hi l l 's abrupt terminat ion

of the partn ersh ip, in which letter he m ade a

violent personal attack upon his former part

ner for beco mi ng a successful rival in a suit for

the hand of a certain yo ung lady. Th is letter,

accompanied with some invoices of goods,

was drop ped on the road, picked up by a

boy, and given to Abraham Lincoln, who was

a special favorite with the boys and was their

confidant. Mr. Lincoln took it to M r. Hill ,

who " flew into a towe ring rag e ov er the

disclosure of his private busin ess affairs,"

snatched the packag e from M r. Linco ln 's

han ds, and threw it into the fire. By wh at

unfortunate or malicious mischance this inci

dent b ecam e co nnec ted with a religious

man uscript, which M r. Lincoln had written

ten or twelve years before, Mr. Rankin does

not explain. This manuscript is described by

a friend of Mr. Lin coln's, to wh om he read

it , as an arg um en t in defe nse of universal

salvation . Says the writer of this letter, M r.

Menter ( r ra ha m: " I rem emb er well h is

argum ent . H e took the p assag e, ' As in

Ad am all die, even so in Christ shall all b e

mad e alive,' and followed u p with the pr opo

sition that whatever the breach or injury of

Adam's t ransgression to the human race



1916

A B R A H A M L I N C O L N ' S R E L IG I O N

331

was,

which n o do ubt was veiy grea t, i t was

ma de jus t and right b}' the ato ne m ent of

Chr i s t ."

T he H ern do n story and its refutat ion

would hardly be wo rth recording here were

it not for the fact that i t has furnished M r.

Ra nk in with the occasion for a description of

a conversat ion betw een Mr. Lincoln and M r.

Rankin 's mother , which furnishes the clearest

exposition of M r. Linc oln's religious views

we have ever seen . M rs. Ra nkin was a

fr iend both of Peter Cartwright ahdof Abra

ham Lincoln. A s the result of the ch arge s

of infidelity brought against him in the Con

gressional camp aign, she asked Lincoln as to

his religious views. After a few mo m en ts of

hesitation, he replied by saying that he would

make no publ ic denial of the charge preferred

again st him. " I will n o t, " he said, "dis cu ss

the character and religion of Jesus Christ on

the s tump T ha t is no place for it , thoug h

my op po ne nt, a minister of his (iospe l, thinks

it is ." But he was willing to give his answ er

to Mrs. Rankin, wi th the understanding that

his reply was not to be qu ote d nor the subject

introduce d by his f r iends in the pen ding

Congress iona l campaign . Mr . Ran kin then

gives the entire statement of Mr. Lincoln as

repo rted to him by his mo ther . Mr. Lincoln

said :

" A t the time you refer to I was hav ing

ser ious quest ionings about some port ions of

my form er implicit faith in the B ible. T he

influence that drew me into such doubts were

strong ones—m.en having the widest cul ture

and s t rongest minds of any I had known up

to tha t t ime. In the mids t of thos e shad ow s

and questionings, before I could see my way

clear to decide on them, there came into my

life sad events and a loss that you were close

to and you knew a grea t deal about how hard

they were for me, for you were, at , the t ime,

a m utua l friend. T ho se days of troub le found

me tossed amidst a sea of cjuestionings.

Th ey pi led big upon me, experiences that

brou ght with them great s t rains upon my

emo tional and m enta l life. Th ro ug h all I

groped my way unt i l I found a s t ronger and

higher grasp of thought , one that reached

beyond this l ife with a clearness and satisfac

t ion I had nev er know n before. T he Scrip

tures unfolded before me with a dee per and

more logical appeal , throu gh these new expe

riences, than anything else I could find to

turn to, or ever before had found in them.

" I do no t claim tha t all my do ub ts we re

rem oved then, or s ince th at t ime have been

swep t away. Th ey are not . Probab ly i t is

to be my lot to g o on in a twilight, feeling

and reasoning my way through l i fe , as ques

t ioning, doub t ing Th om as did. Rut in my

poor maimed, withered way. I bear with me

as I g o on a see kin g spirit of desire for a

faith tha t w as with him of th e olden time ,

who, in his ne ed, as I in mine, excla im ed:

' H elp thou my unbelief. . . .

" I d ou bt the possibility or p rop riety of

settl ing the religion of Jesus Christ in the

models of man -mad e creeds and dogm as. I t

wa s a spirit in th e life th at he laid stre ss on

and tau gh t, if I read ar ight. I know I see

it to be so with me.

" T h e fundamenta l t ru ths repor ted in the

four Go spels as from the lips of Je su s Ch rist ,

and that I first hea rd from th e lips of my

mother , are set t led and f ixed moral precepts

with m e. I hav e conclud ed to dismiss from

my mind th e d ebatable wrangles that once

perplexed me with dis t ract ions that s t i r red

up ,

b ut nev er absolutely setded any thing.

I have tossed them aside with the doubtful

differences which divide denominat ions—

sweeping them all out of m y mind am ong the

non-ess entials. I have ceased to follow suc h

discussions or be interested in them.

" I can not w ithout men tal reservat ion s

assent to long and complicated cree ds and

catechism s. If the Ch urc h would ask simplj-

for assent to the Saviou r 's s tatem ent of the

sub stan ce of the law : ' Th ou shalt love the

Lord thy God with all thy heart , and with all

thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy

neighbo r as thyself '— tha t C hurc h would I

gladly unite with."

If Mr. Ra nkin had rend ered no othe r

service by his book, we should be grateful to

him for giving us this information at almost

f i rs t hand respect ing the character and expe

r ience of Abraham Lincoln, an experience in

which a spiritual faith was combined with an

intellectual hon esty and a spirit of reve rential

reticenc e, a com bination which furnished on e

of the secrets of his power as a leader of

men in a great National crisis.



BY T H E W A Y

Ju n e i s t h e m o n th wh en b y f a r t h e l a r g es t

nu m be r o f b i r ds o f a l l spe c ie s a re ra is ing the i r

. y o u n g , " Am er i ca n Fo r e s t r y " t e l ls i t s r e ad e r s .

I t i s a lso the mo nth when the la rge st nu m be r o f

b i r d s p e r i sh . T h e f l ed g l in g s a r e k i ll ed b y

s to r m s , b y b o y s wi th s l i n g sh o t s o r g u n s , an d b y

m ar au d in g ca t s . T h e i r wo r s t en em y is t h e ca t.

Every owner o f a ca t should see tha t i t i s kep t

sec lu d e d a t t h i s t im e , an d ca t s w i th o u t o w n e r s

shou ld be merc i fu l ly ex te rm ina ted . Only in th is

way can o u r n a t iv e b i r d s b e co n se r v e d an d

a t t r ac t ed to o u r g a r d en s .

M au n a L o a , t h e g r ea t e s t a c t iv e v o lcan o in t h e

wo r ld , i s ag a in in e r u p t i o n . N in e y ea r s ag o th i s

H a w a i i a n v o l c a n o p r o d u c e d w h a t , i s d e s c r i b e d

as the m ost re m ark ab le d i sp l ay of n io l ten " f ire

wo r k s " o f m o d e r n t im es . T h en , a s o n th e

pre sen t o cca sion , the re was l i t t le o r no loss o f

l i fe ,

Mauna Loa ' s e rup t ions in th is respect d i iTer -

ing no ta b ly from the ou tb re ak s o f less er vo lca

n o es su ch a s Ve su v iu s an d M o n t Pe l ee .

" Su d d en ly th e awf u l t h in g h ap p en ed B e f o r e

m y ey es R av an e l , t o wh o m I was r o p ed , was

sl id ing — sl id ing s lowly bu t sure ly o ff the roc ks

i n t o e t e r n i t y " S o e x c l a i m s M i s s D o r a K e e n

in the " Sa tur da y E ve nin g Po st " in te l l ing of a

p e r i l o u s a s c e n t o f t h e " S h a r k ' s T o o t h " i n t h e

A l p s .

" Al l a t once I saw h im wheel ab o u t ; he

gave a mighty heave of h is ax as fo r h is l i fe and

d r o v e i t i n to th e sn o w ab o v e h i s h ead . T h e a x

h e ld . H e h ad sav ed h im se lf an d u s . " Mis s

K e e n f o u nd t h i s a " d e e p s p i r i t u a l e x p e r i e n c e , "

bu t most readers wi l l b rea the a s igh of re l ie f

wh en th e p a r ty g e t s sa f e ly b ack to t h e h o te l , an d

wo nde r w hy they ever le f t i t to go on suc h an

u n n ecessa r i l y p e r i l o u s ex p ed i t i o n .

C o o ln e ss an d r e so u r ce in d an g e r can b e f o u n d

in ind us tr ia l l ife as well as in wa r. L. H . Be ck,

o f B e r k e ley , C a l i f o r n i a , a s r ep o r t ed , was cau g h t

in so m e r ev o lv in g m ac h in e r y . F in d in g h im

se l f be i ng d ra gg ed s lowly in to the cogs , he

se ized a kn i fe and seve red h is ma ngled foo t , thus

f ree ing himself. H e t h e n a p p l i e d a t o u r n i q u e t

an d d i r ec t ed h i s t r a n sp o r t a t io n b y l au n ch an d

h an d - ca r t o a h o sp i t a l .

Mis s E m i ly M cC o y , t h e d au g h t e r o f t h e Go v

e r n o r o f P i t ca i r n I s l an d , i s i n Am er i ca s tu d y in g

m e th o d s fo r h e lp in g h e r p eo p le , wh o so m e t im e

ago we re af fl icted wi th the typ hu s p lag ue . Pi t

ca i r n I s l a n d , i t w i l l b e r em em b er ed , was se t t l ed

b y th e m u t in ee r s o f t h e sh ip B o u n ty , wh o , w i th

a n u m b er o f T a h i t i an wo m en , we n t t o t h a t r e

mo te i s land in 1789 and rem ain ed und isco vere d

by the Br i t i sh au t ho r i t ies t i l l 1814 . T he ir de

scen d an t s n o w n u m b er ab o u t 1 7 0 .

Mr . Ke en e Ab b o t t t e l ls in " H a r p e r ' s Mag a

z in e " so m e sec r e t s o f t h e O m a h a I n d ian h o u se

wi f e ' s f o od su p p ly an d h e r l ab o r - sav in g m e th o d s

in ge t t in g i t . T h e tu be rs o f the pond- l i ly a re

333

d e l i c io u s w h e n r o a s t e d ; t h e m u s k r a t l i k e s t h e m

raw, and she r i f les h is h oa rd ; she g e ts the

wo o d - r a t ' s c ach e o f w i ld p lu m s , g r a p es , an d

chok e-che r r ies , t he vo le ' s ha l f -bushe l o f wi ld

b ea n s an d h aze l - n u t s , an d th e s h r e w ' s s to r e o f

wi ld pea s and ar t ic ho ke s . Al l thes e go in to the

c lay po t o f the tepee-dwel ler , " and a lso the tuber

o f a ce r t a in sed g e , t h e d e l ec t ab le g r o u n d - n u t

wh ich m ay ev en tu a l ly b eco m e a s p o p u la r a s

th a t o th e r n a t iv e v eg e tab le , t h e p ean u t . "

. Au n t Po l ly , t h e " L a d ie s ' H o m e Jo u r n a l "

s a y s ,

d id n o t c a r e t o m ix p o l i t i c s w i th b u s in ess ,

and her exam ple m ay be p rof i tab le to som e per

s i s t en t t a lk e r s d u r in g th e co m in g c am p a ig n .

Sh e was mi lk ing in the cow lo t , and her po l i t i

ca l ly exci te d son foun d he r the re . " M aw ,

you 're a D em oc ra t, ain ' t you .'" ' he asked._ Sh e

m ad e n o an swer , b u t h e p e r s i s t ed : " Say , M aw ,

a in ' t y o u a g o o d D em o c r a t ? " F in a l ly sh e sa id ,

em pha t ica l ly : " I ha i 'n ' t no th in ' . I 'm a wo ma n

ni i lk in ' a cow.

.

Yoi i go in the hous e and sh u t

u p "

• • ; : ; : , '

A g r o u p o f t h i r ty p r i so n e r s a t S in g S in g h av e

b een t r a in ed b y th e p h y s i ca l d ep a r tm en t o f t h e

W es t S id e Y . M. C . A . o f N ew Y o r k to a c t a s

tea che rs o f physic a l cu l tu re to the i r fe llow-con

v i c t s .

G r e a t b e n e f i t i s e x p e c t e d f r o . n l t h i s w o r k ,

f o r m en wh o h av e ab u n d an t p h y s i ca l ex e r c i se

of a w hole som e k ind are fa r less l ike ly to be

come v ic ious , su l len , o r despera te than i f they

are requ ired to s i t inac t ive in the i r ce l l s .

I l l u s t r a t in g R u s s i an d e l ib e r a t io n in b u s in es s

a ff a ir s, R . W . C h i l d in " E v e r y b o d y ' s " s a y s

th a t an Am er i ca n b u s in e ss m a n wen t t o Pe t r o -

gra d to sel l war goo ds wh ich were bad ly nee ded .

I n s t ea d o f o r d e r s h e r ece iv ed in v i t a t i o n s to

dinner, f irst f rom one high off icial , then another .

Af ter a week of th is he sa id to the bu re au cra t

wh ose word wa s f inal , " Loo k here , th is m a yb e

the R us si an way ; I will indul ge in i t if you wish ,

b u t t h e Am er i ca n way i s t o ch a r g e th e co s t o f

p r o d u c t io n an d sa l e s t o t h e p r i ce . My ex p e n ses

are la rg e . E ac h da y f rom now on I wi ll add

th ese ch a r g es to t h e p r i ce . " H e was a s g o o d

as h is word , an d c ha rg ed JS400 a da y ex t ra t i l l

t h e n eg o t i a t io n s we r e co m p le t ed , t en d ay s l a t e r ,

wh en h e g o t h i s co n t r ac t .

An E n g l i s h p l ay wr ig h t ap o s t r o p h ize s t h e G e r

m a n a d m i r e r s of S h a k e s p e a r e t h u s : " O h , w e ll

h a v e y o u c h o s e n ' M a c b e t h ' f o r y o u r F e s t i v a l ,

( }e r m an p l ay g o e r s . . . Po n d e r h im d eep ly ,

n o w th a t a t l a s t t h e s lo w, im m i t ig ab l e m ig h t o f

E n g lan d h as b eg u n to en c o m p as s y o u " T o

wh ich an u n ex p ec ted ly c l ev e r G e r m an r ep ly

co mp are s the E ngl ish Lion to tha t of " Mid

s u m m e r - N i g h t ' s D r e a m : "

Sm ug : H ave you the l ion 's par t wr i t ten ? Pr ay you. if

i t be, give it nie, for I am slow of stu dy .

Quince; You may do i t extempore , for i t i s nothing but

r oa r i ng .

Documents

Abraham Lincoln's Religion