tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147000415127454560.post1655669472441362269..comments2023-12-09T12:13:00.212-08:00Comments on AOL Journals 1st Old Hickory's Weblog: Confederate "Heritage" Month - April 24: Lincoln's religious insightsBruce Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05022449143502020665noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147000415127454560.post-59697696654306952992005-04-24T21:13:00.000-07:002005-04-24T21:13:00.000-07:00I've heard from a couple of sources that while...I've heard from a couple of sources that while Lincoln did infact believe in a higher power, it was the Deistic god, much like many of the Founding Fathers. He was reportedly heavily influenced by Thomas Paine and even went as far as to write a book on Deism, before having it destroyed by a friend who was afraid that such a book would destroy Lincoln's political career.<br><br>www.deism.org/lincoln.htm<br>www.positiveatheism.com (An atheist site, obviously, but it pays tribute to those who stand for freedom, whether a believer of a God or not, in the way of the Christian right, past and present.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147000415127454560.post-7652541404625732702005-04-25T21:17:00.000-07:002005-04-25T21:17:00.000-07:00I have a lot of respect for Marty, but I think he ...I have a lot of respect for Marty, but I think he sees Lincoln through the prism of his own beliefs. Of course, I do so also -- unlike Marty who is a Catholic, I am a former Catholic, now atheist. My view of Lincoln is that he was a Deist -- believed that there is a God but rejected revelation and religion. <br><br>I see Lincoln as among those Deists whose prayers of thanks and praise for God are offered without any belief in God's intervention in the affairs of men -- although there were occasions when he attributed events to the hand of God, I think these statements were more rhetorical than theological in nature.<br><br>Lincoln may have been a mystic, or been influenced by mysticism, but he was also a believer in the power of reason.<br><br>I see Lincoln as being in synch with the very best tradition of American thought as it relates to religion, and as the epitome of that tradition. We need to get back to that tradition, fast.<br><br>Neil<br> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com