Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Lincoln as realist 1


Early in the war when a delegation of women visiting the White House asked Lincoln for a word of encouragement, he replied bluntly, ’I have no word of encouragement to give. Our people and our generals have not yet made up their minds that we are involved in an awful war. Our officers seem to think the war can be won by plans and strategy. That is not true. Only hard and tough fighting will win.’
- Abraham Lincoln

Monday, March 28, 2016

Lincoln and God 13

Lincoln, although he knew Scripture, although he loved his fellow man, was never baptized. He was a member of no Christian denomination.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Lincoln and God 12

'The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Lincoln and God 11

‘I cannot bring myself to believe that any human being lives who would do me harm.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Lincoln and God 10

'I do not consider that I have ever accomplished anything without God; and if it is His will that I must die by the hand of an assassin I must be resigned. I must do my duty as I see it and leave the rest with God.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Lincoln and God 9

'If I had been allowed my way this war would have ended before this, but we find it still continues; and we must believe that God permits it for some wise purpose of his own, mysterious and unknown to us; and though with our limited understandings we may not be able to comprehend it, yet we cannot but believe, that He who made the world still governs it.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Friday, March 18, 2016

Lincoln and God 8

'Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Lincoln and God 7

'Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Each looked for an easier triumph and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Monday, March 14, 2016

Lincoln and God 6

‘I never behold them [the heavens filled with stars] that I do not feel I am looking in the face of God. I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Lincoln and God 5

'May the Almighty grant that the cause of truth, justice, and humanity, shall in no wise suffer at my hands.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Lincoln and God 4

'I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Lincoln and God 3

'I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Lincoln and God 2

'I do not consider that I have ever accomplished anything without God; and if it is His will that I must die by the hand of an assassin I must be resigned. I must do my duty as I see it and leave the rest with God.'
- Abraham Lincoln

Friday, March 4, 2016

Lincoln and God 1


People close to Lincoln said he could quote whole chapters of Isaiah, the New Testament and the Psalms. He would sometimes correct a misquotation giving chapter and verse where it could be found.

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Lincoln and the power of words 22

Lincoln had turned his wizardry with words into a potent political weapon. In 1858 when Stephen Douglas, the powerful leader of the Democratic Party in the Senate, ran for re-election against Lincoln – victoriously, as it turned out – he knew he was up against a formidable opponent. ‘Every one of his stories seems like a whack upon my back,’ said Douglas. ‘… Nothing else – not any of his arguments or any of his replies to my questions –disturbs me. But when he begins to tell a story, I feel that I am to be overmatched.’