Fraternity-Testvériség, 1965 (43. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1965-02-01 / 2. szám

2

FRATERNITY

HONEST ABE’S RELIGION

That Abraham Lincoln was a deeply religious man has been amply demonstrated. — No one familiar with his many famous sayings with their frequent biblical references and highly Christian character can come to any other conclusion.

Why, then, his repeated refusal to join any of the organized religious denominations?

Mrs. Lincolns family was Episcopalian, though after her marriage she usually attended, a Presbyterian church, both in Springfield (III.) and later in Washington. She was frequently accompanied by her husband, who maintained cordial relationships with his wife's pastors, and rented family pews.

Yet, there are numerous references to Mrs. Lincoln’s domineering temperament, and many have wondered that, peaceable and considerate a man as he was, Lincoln should have failed to respond to a wife’s natural desire that he should formally enroll as a regular church member.

When questioned about his objections to becoming a particular church member, Lincoln replied frankly in words which have been best summed up in one of his most widely quoted

phrases: “I have never united myself with any Church, because I have found difficulty in giving my assent to the long, complicated and questionable statements of Christian doctrine which characterize their articles of belief . . . When any Church will inscribe over its altar as its sole qualification for membership the Master’s condensed statement of the Substance of both the Law and the Gospel: ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with

all thy heart, soul, mind and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself, that Church will I join with all my heart . . .”

If Lincoln could not wholly accept any of the organized church denominations of his day, was there any theologian whose influence on him was predominant?

Detailed research reveals that a number of Lincoln’s intimate friends were among the pioneer followers of the “Swedish Aristotle”, Emanuel Swedenborg. Seeking background to this line of thought, we consulted The Swedenborg Foundation, Inc., 150 Fifth Avenue, New York City — an autonomous publishing body independent of any organized, church —■ which kindly placed its records at our disposal.