Lincoln and Christian Doctrine

The following letter appeared in our mailbox, addressed to Jon.  I take the liberty of offering an answer of my own. 

There are many things about Lincoln that I admire.  I'm curious, though, as to his commitment to Christ.  He spoke in general about God, but there is little evidence that he was a regular church attender, which is one of the marks of a Christian.  Obviously, many people attend for the wrong reasons, but I'm still curious as to what you have found.  Rev. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church has claims evidence that Lincoln truly was a Christian.

In my opinion, his second inaugural address was his greatest speech ever.

don

Thanks for the note, Don.  I have never been able to say what is Lincoln's greatest speech, since so many of his addresses crowd other great pieces of American rhetoric out of the top ten.  But I suspect that this letter includes his clearest statement on his faith, or lack thereof.

To the Voters of the Seventh Congressional District.

FELLOW CITIZENS:
A charge having got into circulation in some of the neighborhoods of this District, in substance that I am an open scoffer at Christianity, I have by the advice of some friends concluded to notice the subject in this form. That I am not a member of any Christian Church, is true; but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general, or any denomination of Christians in particular. It is true that in early life I was inclined to believe in what I understand is called the "Doctrine of Necessity" -- that is, that the human mind is impelled to action, or held in rest by some power, over which the mind itself has no control; and I have sometimes (with one, two or three, but never publicly) tried to maintain this opinion in argument. The habit of arguing thus however, I have, entirely left off for more than five years.  And I add here, I have always understood this same opinion to be held by several of the Christian denominations. The foregoing, is the whole truth, briefly stated, in relation to myself, upon this subject.

I do not think I could myself, be brought to support a man for office, whom I knew to be an open enemy of, and scoffer at, religion. Leaving the higher matter of eternal consequences, between him and his Maker, I still do not think any man has the right thus to insult the feelings, and injure the morals, or the community in which he may live. If, then, I was guilty of such conduct, I should blame no man who should condemn me for it; but I do blame those, whoever they may be, who falsely put such a charge in circulation against me.

A. Lincoln

July 31, 1846

This is a fine example of Lincoln's rhetorical genius.  He vehemently state that he has never denied the truth of the scriptures, or spoken with "intentional disrespect of religion in general."  But he does not tell us whether he accepts the one or participates in the other.  He does acknowledge private conversations where he argued for the "doctrine of necessity."  Some of his readers would have associated this with the teaching of religious determinism: that all things are exactly determined in all their actions by God.  But of course the doctrine of necessity has its nontheistic forms as well, as those who believe that all events in the universe are determined by blind physical necessity.  We cannot know which doctrine Lincoln once argued, but has, by 1846, ceased to argue, or whether he still believes it or not. But he says that this doctrine is "also held by several Christian denominations," which indicates that Lincoln's doctrine was not, itself, a a religiously inspired doctrine. 

If Lincoln were a believing Christian in any sense, surely it would have been easier just to say so.  He was certainly never so coy regarding his views on the injustice of slavery.  I infer from this that Lincoln was not, in fact, a believing Christian.  On the other hand, I know of no evidence whatsoever that Lincoln was an atheist.  He clearly understood that open respect for religion is a requirement for statesmen in a largely religious republic.  That is good enough for me.