(RNS) On the eve of the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, a long-lost letter has surfaced that describes President Abraham Lincoln's belief in God.
The Raab Collection of Philadelphia plans to sell a recently discovered letter written in 1866 by William Herndon, a Springfield, Ill., lawyer and Lincoln confidant.
"Mr. Lincoln's religion is too well known to me to allow of even a shadow of a doubt; he is or was a Theist & a Rationalist, denying all extraordinary -- supernatural inspiration or revelation," wrote Herndon of the nation's 16th president.
Monday, April 18, 2011
We Haven't Even Gotten Into Lincoln's Faith
But the term "theistic rationalist" may aptly describe it. From a new article:
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2 comments:
The term likely fits Lincoln, although it's difficult to say for sure that the war didn't change him.
You also have to deal with the recent bio, "A. Lincoln," which pretty clearly spelled out a traditional faith, and Lincoln's regular attendance and preference for an "Old School" Presbyterian Church.
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