Was Abraham Lincoln a Christian?

Question

"The Bible is not my book and Christianity is not my religion. I could never assent to the long complicated statements of Christian dogma." - Abraham Lincoln

SOURCE: The Oregonian & cafepress.com

Here's a link for an aray of quotes from Abe.

http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/lincoln.htm

Answer 1

Um ... yes ... and no ...

In response to the alleged claim that Lincoln was a Christian EDIT: based on this passage

"When I left Springfield, I asked people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. Yes, I do love Jesus."

-- This quotation, which has not been found anywhere in Lincoln's recorded writings or speeches, appears to have originated in a book by O. H. Oldroyd, who admitted that he couldn't remember where the quotation came from. (See the discussion in Paul F. Boller & John George, They Never Said It, Oxford Univ. Press, 1989, p. 91)
(http://www.geocities.com/peterroberts.geo/Relig-Politics/ALincoln.html)

To explore this question, I would refer one to the section on Abraham Lincoln in "Six Historic Americans" by John E. Remsburg
(online at: http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/john_remsburg/six_historic_americans/chapter_5.html)

Introduction

Was Abraham Lincoln a Christian? many confidently believe and earnestly contend that he was; others as confidently believe and as earnestly contend that he was not.

Before attempting to answer this question, let us define what constitutes a Christian. A Christian is one who, in common with the adherents of nearly all the religions of mankind, believes, 1. In the existence of a God; 2. In the immortality of the soul. As distinguished from the adherents of other religions, he believes, 1. That the Bible is a revelation from God to man; 2. That Jesus Christ was the miraculously begotten son of God. He also believes in various other doctrines peculiar to Christianity, the chief of which are, 1. The fall of man; 2. The atonement.

Those who in nominally Christian countries reject the dogmas of Christianity are denominated Infidels, Freethinkers, Liberals, Rationalists, unbelievers, disbelievers, skeptics, etc. These Infidels, or Freethinkers, represent various phases of belief, among which are, 1. Deists, who affirm the existence of a God and the immortality of the soul; 2. Atheists, who deny the existence of a God, and, generally, the soul's immortality; 3. Agnostics, who neither affirm nor deny these doctrines.

The following are the religious views Lincoln is said to have held as presented by those who affirm that he was a Christian:

He believed in the existence of a God, and accepted the Christian conception of this Being.
He believed in the immortality of the soul, and in the Christian doctrine of the resurrection.
He believed that the Bible is a revelation from God -- the only revealed will of God.
He believed in the divinity of Christ -- believed that Christ is God.
He believed in the efficacy of prayer, and was accustomed to pray himself.
He believed in the doctrine of experimental religion, and had experienced a change of heart.
Although he never united with any church, he was contemplating such a step at the time of his assassination.
The church with which he would have united, we are led to infer, was the Presbyterian.


The following is a statement of the theological opinions of Lincoln as understood by those who deny that he was a Christian:

In regard to a Supreme Being he entertained at times Agnostic and even Atheistic opinions. During the later years of his life, however, he professed a sort of Deistic belief, but be did not accept the Christian or anthropomorphic conception of a Deity.

So far as the doctrine of immortality is concerned, he was an Agnostic.

He did not believe in the Christian doctrine of the inspiration of the Scriptures.
He believed that Burns and Paine were as much inspired as David and Paul.
He did not believe in the doctrine of Christ's divinity. He affirmed that Jesus was either the son of Joseph and Mary, or the illegitimate son of Mary.
He did not believe in the doctrine of a special creation.
He believed in the theory of Evolution, so far as this theory had been developed in his time.
He did not believe in miracles and special providence. He believed that all things are governed by immutable laws, and that miracles and special providence, in the evangelical sense of these terms, are impossible.
He rejected the doctrine of total, or inherent depravity.
He repudiated the doctrine of vicarious atonement.
He condemned the doctrine of forgiveness for sin.
He opposed the doctrine of future rewards and punishments.
He denied the doctrine of the freedom of the will.
He did not believe in the efficacy of prayer understood by orthodox Christians.
He indorsed, for the most part, the criticisms of Thomas Paine on the Bible and Christianity, and accepted, to a great extent, the theological and humanitarian views of Theodore Parker.
He wrote a book (which was suppressed) against the Bible and Christianity.
His connection with public affairs prevented him from giving prominence to his religious opinions during the later years of his life, but his earlier views concerning the unsoundness of the Christian system of religion never underwent any material change, and he died, as he had lived, an unbeliever.

Answer 2

Was Abraham Lincoln A Christian

Answer 3

I don't know if he was or wasn't

In his annual message to Congress in December 1862, Lincoln said, "We cannot escape history. We...will be remembered in spite of ourselves.... In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free.... The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just -- a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless"

On September 5, 1864, the Committee of Colored People from Baltimore presented Lincoln with a Bible. Here's what Lincoln told them in his speech:

"In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, I believe the Bible is the best gift God has given to man. All the good Savior gave to the world was communicated through this Book. But for this Book we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it. To you I return my most sincere thanks for the elegant copy of the great Book of God which you present."

Answer 4

Perhaps nominally, he was a Christian, but basically he said
" when I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion ". ( Also quoted by the late Christopher Reeve in an 2004 interview in ESQUIRE Magazine )

Answer 5

Well I was going to say yes he was. And then I read Becki's answer so I agree with her Since she hit the nail on the head.

Answer 6

Acording to Christian Dogma as I comprehend it you need to not comprehend the answer to the question you have asked from the citation you have presented. There are a pair of matters with this question consisting of a million Who gets to make the alternative as to what defines a christian? some faiths belive that in case you have not been "blessed via the sprit" and "spoken in tongues" you're actually not a Christian. another faiths belive that in case you have been baptised, and supply confession in simple terms earlier your loss of existence, you would be ordinary via God as a Christian. 2 grew to become into Peter the apostle who claimed to not comprehend Christ three times or grew to become into it one among the different ones? grew to become into that apostle a Christian? Does asserting which you're actually not a Christian, make you not a Christian? isn't there a passage alongside the lines of "it particularly is not via your deeds or strikes, yet what's on your heart?" notice that Abraham would not say in the quote above that he's not a Christian, in simple terms that he would not think of of the bible as "his e book" and that he would not shop on with "Christianity" then is going directly to describe that the Christian Dogma is composed of to many long complicated statements. i might accept as true with him, i think of that via and massive Christianity has perverted the message of Christ, turning out to be the Pharisies of our situations, including rules and judgements, punishments and penalities that Christ might on no account have condoned. undergo in innovations if God is honest and in simple terms then anybody might desire to have the skill to come again to God, from babies, to the mentaly handicaped. For that to be possilbe the direction might desire to be elementary. And it fairly is, what's the summation of all Gods rules Love (i don't call myself a Christian as a results of fact i don't choose to be linked with what looks to me to be particularly hypocritical behaviour of lots of the people who do) undergo in innovations Christ reported "call no guy father yet in elementary terms brother" and walk your individual direction.

Answer 7

i thought abe was a jewish name.