Lincoln's Christianity

After listening to Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address, many of the audience were stunned. Instead of a positive message about the coming Union victory, the president implicated the entire country in the faults and responsibility for slavery. Using Old Testament references, Lincoln explained that God was punishing them with a bloody civil war.These were surprising words for a man who belonged to no church and was known to have publicly and privately questioned some of Christianity's core beliefs. Biblical quotations soon entered many more of his speeches, but it is unclear whether his use of scripture was a signal that American politicians should openly embrace religion, a rhetorical tool to manipulate his audience, or the result of a personal religious transformation."Lincoln's Christianity" examines the entire history of Lincoln's interaction with religion to reveal a man who did not believe in orthodox Christian precepts, but was a person and politician who truly embodied Christian teachings.