11/03: Jefferson, Lincoln, and the Question of God
Category: General
Posted by: Tocqueville
First Things remains one of my favorite journals of scholarship and opinion. I have been a subscriber for the past 12 years. To my delight, the latest issue highlights the intersection of two points of interest to readers of this Blog: Religious Faith and the Presidency.
Was the Sage of Monticello an avowed agnostic? Was he a full-fledged Deist? Or were his religious views much more nuanced and complex than we have been led to believe? Steven Waldman argues that our 3rd President was on a personal spiritual journey that took him outside the mainstream.
Also, Andrew Ferguson scrutinizes the endless attempts of historians and politicians to claim Lincoln for some spiritual or religious cause. But, as Ferguson insists, "We will never know for sure whether Lincoln held orthodox Christian beliefs, whether he believed in the Trinity, the divinity of Christ or his resurrection, the life everlasting, the forgiveness of sins, the inerrant word of God as revealed in the Old Testament or the New."
Was the Sage of Monticello an avowed agnostic? Was he a full-fledged Deist? Or were his religious views much more nuanced and complex than we have been led to believe? Steven Waldman argues that our 3rd President was on a personal spiritual journey that took him outside the mainstream.
Also, Andrew Ferguson scrutinizes the endless attempts of historians and politicians to claim Lincoln for some spiritual or religious cause. But, as Ferguson insists, "We will never know for sure whether Lincoln held orthodox Christian beliefs, whether he believed in the Trinity, the divinity of Christ or his resurrection, the life everlasting, the forgiveness of sins, the inerrant word of God as revealed in the Old Testament or the New."
A Waco Farmer wrote:
While the following observation does not tell us too much about Thomas Jefferson the man of his time, I noticed that the inscriptions on the walls of the Memorial are very religious.
Again, while this does say anything definitive about his personal spiritual journey, it does say a lot about the culture of the United States during the 1930s that constructed the monument to Jefferson.
More on this at some point--but we were clearly a nation during that period who wanted to see our founding generation as God-fearing folks.
Why? We were God-fearing folks.
Walking around Washington, it is easy to see that the traditional division between religion and the state is extremely permeable when it comes to public space.