Talk:Religious views of Abraham Lincoln

Latest comment: 8 years ago by Rjensen

"Saviour of the world" edit

"We further say, that with however much care selections may be made, there will be some unfaithful and dishonest in both classes. The experience of the whole world, in all by-gone times, proves this true. The Saviour → of the world chose twelve disciples, and even one of that small number, selected by superhuman wisdom, turned out a traitor and a devil. And, it may not be improper here to add, that Judas carried the bag---was the Sub-Treasurer of the ← Saviour and his disciples."

The above quote is from a Lincoln speech about the Sub-Treasury, 12/26/1839, the text of which is found at http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=lincoln;cc=lincoln;type=simple;rgn=div1;q1=Saviour;singlegenre=All;view=text;subview=detail;sort=occur;idno=lincoln1;node=lincoln1%3A193#hl1. It's in the UMich "Collected works of Abraham Lincoln".

In this case, the Saviour of the world can only refer to Jesus.

never made a standard profession edit

Although there is no evidence that Lincoln became an official church member, his Christian profession was rather explicit in his writings and declarations: AbrahamLincolnOnline has collected a sample of these that makes the case clear http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/faithquotes.htm

Lincoln's 1864 account of his conversion and his profession "I do love Jesus" are about as standard a profession as one can ask for. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hilltoppers (talkcontribs) 22:56, 12 February 2014 (UTC)Reply

the 1864 account of his conversion and his profession "I do love Jesus" first appeared in a sermon by a Wisconsin Baptist minister who never knew Lincoln. No one ever claimed to have heard Lincoln make such a statement. In his authentic statements Lincoln almost never mentions Jesus. See Paul F. Boller Jr, and John George They Never Said It: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, and Misleading Attributions: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, and Misleading Attributions (Oxford University Press, 1989.) p 91 looks at the evidence and concludes, "It is highly unlikely that Lincoln ever said anything like it." Rjensen (talk) 05:59, 25 June 2015 (UTC)Reply