Strength for Anxious Days
Lincoln’s Spiritual Leadership
Twelve days ago, Americans were shocked and saddened when the news came that we had lost the Columbia—and all seven astronauts on board. Within hours, President Bush was offering solace, reminding us of the moving words of Isaiah: "Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing."
It was a comforting display of genuine presidential piety—and it echoes that of another U.S. president whose birthday we honor today: Abraham Lincoln.
Many Americans are not aware that Lincoln actually instituted many forms of the public recognition of God that we take for granted today. During his presidency, Lincoln declared more days of prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving than any president before or since. And few realize that our traditional Thanksgiving celebration became a national holiday only after Lincoln’s proclamation in 1863.
Yet, despite these pious acts, Lincoln was not actually committed to orthodox Christianity until close to the end of his life.
As a young man, he openly questioned the truth of Scripture. As Marvin Olasky writes in his book, The American Leadership Tradition, even after Lincoln became president, Lincoln’s "god in 1861 and 1862 was [the] Union," not the God of the Bible.
Then, in 1862, Lincoln’s life took a dramatic turn. The war was not going well for the Union; Lincoln was being savaged in both the Yankee and Confederate press; and then personal tragedy struck as well. His beloved son Willie died suddenly. Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd, turned to spiritism and séances—but her husband sought solace in the Bible. Confronted with the loss of little Willie, and yet another devastating Union defeat at the second Battle of Manassas, a humbled Lincoln finally embraced Christ. "My own wisdom … seemed insufficient," he wrote to a friend. He was, Lincoln confided, "driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I have nowhere else to go."
Lincoln then became a regular churchgoer. He became so impressed with the importance of corporate worship that he refused to permit some churches to be converted into badly needed hospitals.
Facing disunion and slavery, Lincoln saw no easy answers. He became convinced that blame for the war lay on both sides. Faced with the realities of the miserable conflict, he resigned himself to God’s providence.
It was the horrors of war that forced him to seek refuge in God; there, he found true peace. Lincoln’s words speak for themselves. He told a friend: "When everyone seemed panic-stricken, I got down on my knees before almighty God and prayed. … Soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul."
The heartbreaking loss of Columbia is the latest in a series of blows Americans have had to absorb over the last couple of years. But Lincoln’s birthday is a time to remember and to reflect—and to realize that our country has had to face huge challenges like this before, and we will face them again.
Abraham Lincoln offers an example of how we can find comfort during the terrors and tragedies of our own time: on our knees seeking God’s help, trusting His providence.
Staying Power efforts to end slavery in Great Britain would influence leaders and the course of history in America
Middle Aged People Who Came To Christ
Note: Music at the White House was a regular and inspirational event in Washington DC. After the death of their son, Lincoln's wife would not permit the music. Months later Lincoln's staff were able to get him to reinstate the music to boost morale and help bring the city along. PBS presentation on Music and the White House
BreakPoint with Charles Colson
Commentary #030217 - 02/17/2003
Are the Supremes Really Supreme?: Lincoln and Judicial Despotism
What would happen if the Supreme Court declared an act of Congress
unconstitutional -- and the president told the Court to go jump in a
lake? It actually happened once -- a hundred and forty-six years ago.
In 1857, the Supreme Court ruled on the case of a Missouri slave named
Dred Scott. Scott's master had taken him into the free state of
Illinois. Because of the Missouri Compromise and a law passed by
Congress, residents in free states could demand their freedom. So Scott
sued for his freedom.
Scott's owner, John Sandford, challenged the constitutionality of the
Missouri Compromise, arguing that slaves were private property
protected by the Constitution against deprivation without due process
of law. Therefore, Congress lacked the constitutional authority to ban
slavery in Illinois or anywhere else.
The Supreme Court ruled in Sandford's favor. It not only sent Scott
back into slavery, but also claimed he had never actually been free.
The Court also ruled that Congress lacked authority to forbid or
abolish slavery in federal territories -- meaning the Missouri
Compromise was illegal.
As legal philosopher Robert George writes in FIRST THINGS, "All of this
added up to a sweeping and profound ruling. The Court had massively
injected itself into the most divisive and morally charged issue of the
day." Instead of ending the conflict over slavery, as the Court
believed it was doing, it intensified it and heightened emotions.
Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday we celebrated last week, believed that
the DRED SCOTT decision was an outrage, not only because the Court had
come down on the wrong side, but also because it claimed authority to
decide for the other branches once and for all what the Constitution
required. In so doing, it placed the other two branches in a position
of inferiority and subservience. Note his second reason carefully.
And once he was president, Lincoln ignored the DRED SCOTT decision. His
administration treated free blacks as citizens, issuing them passports
and other documents. In open defiance of the ruling, he signed
legislation that restricted slavery in the western territories.
To his critics, George writes, Lincoln was a lawless ruler who had no
regard for the constitutional limits of his own power. But Lincoln saw
himself following in the footsteps of another president. Thomas
Jefferson also believed that the president and Congress were in no way
inferior to the Supreme Court. Jefferson told a friend the Constitution
"has wisely made all the departments coequal and co-sovereign within
themselves." In so doing, the founders took into account fallen human
nature. Both Jefferson and Lincoln believed the courts were quite
capable of violating the Constitution -- and undermining constitutional
government.
Today, we've become so accustomed to the idea that the Supreme Court
has supreme authority that we're shocked at the very idea that a
president -- or the Congress -- might stand up to the Court when it
abuses its power.
President's Day is a good time to remember that two of our greatest
presidents -- Jefferson and Lincoln -- understood the Constitution
differently -- and more accurately. They believed that, as Jefferson
put it, "the Constitution has erected no such single tribunal, knowing
that, with the corruptions of time and party, its members would become
despots" -- well said.
FOR FURTHER READING:
Robert George, "Lincoln and Judicial Despotism," FIRST THINGS, February
2003 (not yet available online).
http://www.firstthings.com
Read President Thomas Jefferson's writings on judicial review.
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1030.htm
Read President Abraham Lincoln's speech on the DRED SCOTT decision,
June 26, 1857 (courtesy of the Claremont Institute).
http://old.claremont.org/statesman/lincoln_dred.cfm
BreakPoint Commentary No. 030212, "Strength for Anxious Days: Lincoln's
Spiritual Leadership."
http://www.breakpoint.org/Breakpoint/ChannelRoot/FeaturesGroup/BreakPointCommentaries/Strength+for+Anxious+Days.htm
Michael Novak, ON TWO WINGS: HUMBLE FAITH AND COMMON SENSE AT THE
AMERICAN FOUNDING (Encounter, 2001).
https://www.pfmonline.net/str_donation.taf?Site=BP_Item&Item_Code=BKOTW
