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+--- Thread: Gettysburg Address ... easy question? maybe (/thread-3576.html)
RE: Gettysburg Address ... easy question? maybe - L Verge - 03-15-2018 05:52 PM
Do you think that Lincoln's idea of God was based more on the God of the Old Testament? Could that be a reason for his acceptance (that's not exactly the word I want to use, but...) of Jewish tenets and advice from Jewish men during his administration?
Also, if he did not have some appreciation for the Bible, how could he place his hand on it during both inaugurations? And, refresh my memory - did the inaugural oath include the word "God" in 1861 and 1865?
I semi-answered my question with this online fact: " There is no law that requires Presidents to use a Bible or to add the words 'So help me God' at the end of the oath. Historian John R. Alden maintains that Washington himself added the phrase to the end after administration of his first oath."
Now, since it is not required, have there been any presidents who chose not to invoke the help of God in their oaths over the centuries?
BTW: I learned that Madison and George Mason are credited with writing the bulk of the oath - only two phrases were changed by the committee. Ironically, in the case of Lincoln, he was uttering an oath created by two Southerners...
RE: Gettysburg Address ... easy question? maybe - RJNorton - 03-16-2018 04:14 AM
(03-15-2018 05:52 PM)L Verge Wrote: Do you think that Lincoln's idea of God was based more on the God of the Old Testament?
Ed Steers writes, "He (Lincoln) was a Deist who relied heavily on the teachings of the Old Testament. Just as Lincoln considered the Declaration of Independence to be the defining document of the nation, he believed the Old Testament to be the defining word of God...References to Jesus Christ are uncommon among Lincoln's writings and speeches. It is the God of Abraham that Lincoln most often cites."
RE: Gettysburg Address ... easy question? maybe - Gene C - 03-16-2018 10:50 AM
There is a thin line on that viewpoint that I will politely disagree with Ed on, when it comes to Lincoln's view of God. I may be misunderstanding the point Ed is making.
The teachings emphasized in the New Testament (which come from God) are frequently used in Lincoln's writing and speeches. The fact that Lincoln uses more Old Testament passages doesn't necessarily mean he had deist theology all through his life, those passages he quotes just might have been more appropriate to add emphasis to the point he was making and be familiar to his audience.
For example, Lincoln's "house divided" speech based upon a phrase used by three different writers of the gospels in the New Testament.
Matthew 12:25
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
Mark 3:25
If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
Luke 11:17
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.
Lincoln refers to many passages of the Bible in his speeches and conversation, both from the New and Old Testament. The Old Testament has more poetry (the Psalms and Proverbs) and action stories with principles to them, which Lincoln seemed to enjoy and use to emphasize a point. Lincoln's many comments and personal example of forgiveness is a biblical principle mentioned in both Old and New Testaments, and more strongly emphasized (IMO) in New Testament teaching.