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Abraham Lincoln : Theologian of American Anguish
Many writers have explored Lincoln's leadership; others have debated Lincoln's ambiguous religious identity. But in this classic work, Christian philosopher and statesman Elton Trueblood reveals how Lincoln's leadership skills flowed directly from his religious convictions—which explains how the president was able to combine what few leaders can hold together: moral resoluteness with a shrewd ability to compromise; confidence in his cause while refusing to succumb to the traps of self-righteousness or triumphalism; and a commitment to victory while never losing sight of his responsibility for—or the humanity of—his enemy. These rich meditations offer deep wisdom and insight on one of the most effective leaders of all time.
- GenresBiography
149 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 29, 2024
I read this book after it was loaned to me. I had not asked for it or otherwise shown any interest. A friend I had not seen in thirty years brought it along to lend me the first time we saw each other after decades apart. Richard Folse said, “this book made me think of you,” or something similar.
I made a joke about my looking something like the 16th president.
But actually, the book was a great choice. Strangely, I felt I could relate so deeply to the internal and external struggles Lincoln faced during the Civil War. In 2024, I face no such struggles, obviously. Any onlooker would assume my life floats along as gently as a toy boat. But like Lincoln, I struggle to reconcile disparate things. America is the “last best hope” on earth, filled with wonderful, sincere, devout people. Yet many of the most devout are taken in (or willingly give themselves over) to half-baked ideas being promoted on podcasts and TikTok videos. There are genuine, sincere people on both sides of our starkly divided country. There are God-fearing, praying, scripture-reading people on both sides. Yet, not only the extremists, but the rank-and-file on both sides consider anyone on the other side not merely a person with different opinions, but an enemy. I have been branded an enemy by old friends for questioning the leaders of my own political party. (Do we now live in a world in which we cannot ask questions?) People far too smart for that, far too educated, have chosen ignorance and at times, willful blindness. We are too smart to believe in a flat earth, and yet that and a dozen other hair-brained conspiracy theories are deluding and deceiving more and more of us every day. Suffice it to say, I found myself commiserating with Mr. Lincoln.
This is a great book both for its content and its length. At 140 pages, it’s a quick read. It is well-written and scholarly (a combination difficult to find), with footnotes to sources on every page. The book builds a careful argument and moves toward a satisfying conclusion. I enjoyed the ride very much. I ought to read it again! Perhaps next time, I will buy my own copy. After all, because this was Richard’s book, I could not write in it, or circle things, and I felt handicapped. Reading is a different experience if I cannot use a pen!
Some quotations:
Nothing short of infinite wisdom could have devised and given to man this excellent and perfect moral code.
-Lincoln on the Bible.
***
“It is a momentous thing to be the instrument, under Providence, of the liberation of a race.” --Abraham Lincoln.
***
Political idealists on all sides must face the reality: no one making political decisions can do so in the vacuum of idealism. We are not writing a utopian novel but trying to improve on the situation we have inherited, with all its fools and flaws. Lincoln understood that, as did the founders. Both are criticized for doing too little or waiting too long to decisively address slavery. But they faced complexities the Monday-morning historian in his easy-chair cannot imagine.
Lincoln looked back at the nation's founding and understood that, in the words of Elton Trueblood:
"An uncompromising stand against existent slavery in 1776 would have had no important effect except that of eliminating the possibility of creating a nation at all."
Lincoln himself says when the nation began, "We had slavery among us. We could not get our constitution unless we permitted [slaveholding states] to remain in slavery. We could not secure the good we did secure if we grasped for more."
Trueblood continues: "Choices are made not in some ideal or abstract situation, but in the realm of the real. The BEST, consequently, must always be the best UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, i.e., in light of actual alternatives."
--Elton Trueblood, ABRAHAM LINCOLN: THEOLOGIAN OF AMERICAN ANGUISH.
***
No matter who wins, this will be my Facebook post for Wednesday, November 6, 2024 (the day after the election):
“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, as quoted in ABRAHAM LINCOLN: THEOLOGIAN OF AMERICAN ANGUISH, by Elton Trueblood.
***
"Our judges are as honest as other men, and not more so. They have, with others, the same passions for party, for power, and the privilege of their corps."
--Abraham Lincoln quoting Thomas Jefferson. From ABRAHAM LINCOLN, by Elton Trueblood.
***
“Lincoln’s greatest interest in the Bible, and the spur to his steady reading of it, was the hope of finding light on the social and political problems which faced the nation. He was looking for light and by his perusal of the Scriptures he hoped he might find it … Though he did not admire preachers who used their pulpits for political pronouncements, he saw the Biblical faith as something which influenced his own decisions. God, he believed, was directing the social order through finite individuals who were His instruments.”
--Elton Trueblood, ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Theologian of American Anguish.
***
THE MATURE LINCOLN WAS NOT THE SKEPTIC HE MAY HAVE BEEN IN HIS YOUTH. (Looks like he had no objection to "extra-Biblical revelation.")
“That the Almighty does make use of human agencies, and directly intervenes in human affairs, is one of the plainest statements of the Bible. I have had so many evidences of his direction, so many instances when I have been controlled by some other power than my own will, that I cannot doubt that this power comes from above. I frequently see my way clear to a decision when I have no sufficient facts upon which to found it. But I cannot recall one instance in which I have followed my own judgment, founded upon such a decision, where the results were unsatisfactory, whereas, in almost every instance where I have yielded to the views of others, I have had occasion to regret it. I am satisfied that when the Almighty wants me to do or not to do a particular thing, he finds a way of letting me know it. I am confident that it is his design to restore the Union. He will do it in his own good time.”
--ABRAHAM LINCOLN, by Elton Trueblood.
I made a joke about my looking something like the 16th president.
But actually, the book was a great choice. Strangely, I felt I could relate so deeply to the internal and external struggles Lincoln faced during the Civil War. In 2024, I face no such struggles, obviously. Any onlooker would assume my life floats along as gently as a toy boat. But like Lincoln, I struggle to reconcile disparate things. America is the “last best hope” on earth, filled with wonderful, sincere, devout people. Yet many of the most devout are taken in (or willingly give themselves over) to half-baked ideas being promoted on podcasts and TikTok videos. There are genuine, sincere people on both sides of our starkly divided country. There are God-fearing, praying, scripture-reading people on both sides. Yet, not only the extremists, but the rank-and-file on both sides consider anyone on the other side not merely a person with different opinions, but an enemy. I have been branded an enemy by old friends for questioning the leaders of my own political party. (Do we now live in a world in which we cannot ask questions?) People far too smart for that, far too educated, have chosen ignorance and at times, willful blindness. We are too smart to believe in a flat earth, and yet that and a dozen other hair-brained conspiracy theories are deluding and deceiving more and more of us every day. Suffice it to say, I found myself commiserating with Mr. Lincoln.
This is a great book both for its content and its length. At 140 pages, it’s a quick read. It is well-written and scholarly (a combination difficult to find), with footnotes to sources on every page. The book builds a careful argument and moves toward a satisfying conclusion. I enjoyed the ride very much. I ought to read it again! Perhaps next time, I will buy my own copy. After all, because this was Richard’s book, I could not write in it, or circle things, and I felt handicapped. Reading is a different experience if I cannot use a pen!
Some quotations:
Nothing short of infinite wisdom could have devised and given to man this excellent and perfect moral code.
-Lincoln on the Bible.
***
“It is a momentous thing to be the instrument, under Providence, of the liberation of a race.” --Abraham Lincoln.
***
Political idealists on all sides must face the reality: no one making political decisions can do so in the vacuum of idealism. We are not writing a utopian novel but trying to improve on the situation we have inherited, with all its fools and flaws. Lincoln understood that, as did the founders. Both are criticized for doing too little or waiting too long to decisively address slavery. But they faced complexities the Monday-morning historian in his easy-chair cannot imagine.
Lincoln looked back at the nation's founding and understood that, in the words of Elton Trueblood:
"An uncompromising stand against existent slavery in 1776 would have had no important effect except that of eliminating the possibility of creating a nation at all."
Lincoln himself says when the nation began, "We had slavery among us. We could not get our constitution unless we permitted [slaveholding states] to remain in slavery. We could not secure the good we did secure if we grasped for more."
Trueblood continues: "Choices are made not in some ideal or abstract situation, but in the realm of the real. The BEST, consequently, must always be the best UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, i.e., in light of actual alternatives."
--Elton Trueblood, ABRAHAM LINCOLN: THEOLOGIAN OF AMERICAN ANGUISH.
***
No matter who wins, this will be my Facebook post for Wednesday, November 6, 2024 (the day after the election):
“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, as quoted in ABRAHAM LINCOLN: THEOLOGIAN OF AMERICAN ANGUISH, by Elton Trueblood.
***
"Our judges are as honest as other men, and not more so. They have, with others, the same passions for party, for power, and the privilege of their corps."
--Abraham Lincoln quoting Thomas Jefferson. From ABRAHAM LINCOLN, by Elton Trueblood.
***
“Lincoln’s greatest interest in the Bible, and the spur to his steady reading of it, was the hope of finding light on the social and political problems which faced the nation. He was looking for light and by his perusal of the Scriptures he hoped he might find it … Though he did not admire preachers who used their pulpits for political pronouncements, he saw the Biblical faith as something which influenced his own decisions. God, he believed, was directing the social order through finite individuals who were His instruments.”
--Elton Trueblood, ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Theologian of American Anguish.
***
THE MATURE LINCOLN WAS NOT THE SKEPTIC HE MAY HAVE BEEN IN HIS YOUTH. (Looks like he had no objection to "extra-Biblical revelation.")
“That the Almighty does make use of human agencies, and directly intervenes in human affairs, is one of the plainest statements of the Bible. I have had so many evidences of his direction, so many instances when I have been controlled by some other power than my own will, that I cannot doubt that this power comes from above. I frequently see my way clear to a decision when I have no sufficient facts upon which to found it. But I cannot recall one instance in which I have followed my own judgment, founded upon such a decision, where the results were unsatisfactory, whereas, in almost every instance where I have yielded to the views of others, I have had occasion to regret it. I am satisfied that when the Almighty wants me to do or not to do a particular thing, he finds a way of letting me know it. I am confident that it is his design to restore the Union. He will do it in his own good time.”
--ABRAHAM LINCOLN, by Elton Trueblood.
November 19, 2012
A deeply moving book, emotionally, morally, and weltanschauung-ly, assuredly due to my awe of the subject, the man, Lincoln! Trueblood validates such reverence: his appreciation is deserved, but that's not the plain point of the book. Perspective is necessary and Trueblood offers it in showing us the soul of Lincoln! Well documented and written with head and heart and generous use of Lincoln's own written and remembered words. A must read for the total biographic picture.
May 21, 2018
Gotta say, the title alone intrigued me. Considering the title, I actually didn't get into this book for any Christian reasoning. I looked at it as another sort of history book. And it did not disappoint!
I had the Carl Sandburg Lincoln books when I was a kid {sadly, they got ruined while in storage at my parents' place years ago :-( but had never come across this title before. This copy I have now was actually in a box of books one of my friends had pulled from a house that he helped clear out. He nearly threw them in the dumpster but then remembered he had a reader friend!
At only 141 pages, this is a pretty easy, entertaining read -- easily done in an afternoon or evening lounging at home (if you're so lucky to have those :-D ). I didn't find the writing overly preachy but definitely informative, regardless of your faith. Some of the cool stuff Trueblood discusses:
* Lincoln was the first President to establish an officially / federally recognized Thanksgiving Day. Lincoln originally encouraged 4 nationwide fasting and reflection days throughout the year but upon suggestion from a Quaker friend, decided one nationally recognized holiday for everyone was the way to go -- Lincoln wanted the day to be non-denominational, just a day where everyone could stop, collaborate and listen... jk.. couldn't resist... nah, he wanted people to stop, reflect, and be thankful and humble for their blessings, acknowledge their misguided actions but appreciate the lessons learned from them.
* Even though Lincoln was down for having a Thanksgiving Day, he actually pushed to keep legislation in session during Christmas. In fact, Lincoln had official work-related letters dated on Christmas Day! While he was a man of faith personally, he never outwardly subscribed to any one particular religion or followed any one church's religious holiday schedule. He found things he liked in several faiths. Even the night of his assassination, the night he was attending the theater with Mrs. Lincoln, was a Good Friday.
* Terms that are so commonly attached to American Government today, such as "Under God", recited by schoolchildren everywhere with the Pledge of Allegiance, and "In God We Trust" lead back to Lincoln. Trueblood talks of how "Under God" does not appear in the first draft of The Gettysburg Address, leading one to believe it was something Lincoln ad-libbed in the moment and added in later when it was reprinted in the papers of the day. And it was Lincoln's administration who popularized the phrase "In God We Trust", a phrase we instantly associate with the National Treasury now.
This book definitely had me thinking about the most recent presidential election. Think about how many people on either side of this election said that the opposing candidate winning would be the worst decision a voter could make. How many, on either side, said the opposing candidate would bring the country to ruination? Well, take a look at what was being said of Lincoln during one of his election years:
"Had we any respect for Mr. Lincoln, official or personal, as a man, or as President-Elect of the United States, his career and speeches on his way to the seat of government would have cruelly impaired it. We do not believe the Presidency can ever be more degraded by any of his successors, than it has been by him, even before his inauguration." ~ The Baltimore Sun
Or the 1864 New Year's edition of The Crisis:
The people of the North owe Mr. Lincoln nothing but eternal hatred and scorn. There are 500,000 new made graves; there are 500,000 orphans; there are 200,000 widows; there is a bottomless sea of blood, there is the Constitution broken; there are liberty and law -- liberty in chains and in a dungeon; thieves in the Treasury, provost marshals in the seats of justice, butchers in the pulpit -- and these are the things which we owe Mr. Lincoln.
WOW. Sound familiar? I'm recalling something about history and repetition... Imagine, Lincoln ever being considered the worst president in history! But in his time, there were people that honestly saw it that way. Just as now, there are people that things couldn't be worse. Trueblood makes a good point regarding the President and the press:
During his first year as President, Lincoln was faced with public criticism of a bitterness which is hard to believe. All men in public life are forced to bear abuse, but few have faced it as much as Lincoln faced it day after day. The writers in the newspapers could sound smart because they did not have the responsibilities of decision, and they could sound bold by enunciating extreme positions which they were not required to implement. Lincoln, by contrast, in order to maintain integrity had to reject extremes because he was sworn to be faithful to the welfare of the entire nation.
Reading about Lincoln, and how he solidified his stance on slavery (in part, finding support in the Bible verse Matthew 25:40 -- 'Inasmuch as ye have it done unto one of the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me'), it makes me ponder how Lincoln would view our president now. What would he say about the hateful, racist things said about the guy? What would be his words of wisdom to bring people together and pull their heads out of their asses? Would they listen? Regardless of what you might think of our president as a person or a leader, the amount of blatantly racist, uneducated, uninformed comments I've seen thrown his way just off of his race... I've found it utterly ridiculous that with all the information in the world now, people can still choose to remain so f-n stupid when it comes to race and respect for fellow human beings in general. But I was warmed by one story in particular in this book, regarding Lincoln and Quaker Eliza Gurney.
During the Civil War, Eliza Gurney became concerned for the mental health of Lincoln, what with the stress of brother versus brother out there killing each other and him being held largely responsible. Gurney rounded up three of her fellow Quakers (John M. Whithall, Hannah B. Mott and James Carey) and walked over to the White House to visit him -- back in the days when it was still cool to just walk up to the front door like you were taking over some mail that got mistakenly delivered to your house. Gurney explained that they were not there to request anything of the strained president, but instead offered their spiritual support and friendship. They came in, did a prayer circle with the president. They only intended to stay 15 minutes or so, but Lincoln found himself so lifted and refreshed by being given the opportunity to share the weight of his burdens with genuinely concerned friends that he asked them to stay longer, do some more praying, more talking. One of the Quakers later wrote that at one point, there was a moment of silent prayer where the tears were just rolling down Lincoln's face. Lincoln was so moved by the day and the generosity of these people that he asked Eliza to continue to write to him so that he may continue to talk out his fears and have a friend / Friend to pray over him (a sort of unofficial therapist, maybe?). You just don't hear these kinds of stories that often these days. But it was sweet to picture what a gift this must have been to Lincoln.
I had the Carl Sandburg Lincoln books when I was a kid {sadly, they got ruined while in storage at my parents' place years ago :-( but had never come across this title before. This copy I have now was actually in a box of books one of my friends had pulled from a house that he helped clear out. He nearly threw them in the dumpster but then remembered he had a reader friend!
At only 141 pages, this is a pretty easy, entertaining read -- easily done in an afternoon or evening lounging at home (if you're so lucky to have those :-D ). I didn't find the writing overly preachy but definitely informative, regardless of your faith. Some of the cool stuff Trueblood discusses:
* Lincoln was the first President to establish an officially / federally recognized Thanksgiving Day. Lincoln originally encouraged 4 nationwide fasting and reflection days throughout the year but upon suggestion from a Quaker friend, decided one nationally recognized holiday for everyone was the way to go -- Lincoln wanted the day to be non-denominational, just a day where everyone could stop, collaborate and listen... jk.. couldn't resist... nah, he wanted people to stop, reflect, and be thankful and humble for their blessings, acknowledge their misguided actions but appreciate the lessons learned from them.
* Even though Lincoln was down for having a Thanksgiving Day, he actually pushed to keep legislation in session during Christmas. In fact, Lincoln had official work-related letters dated on Christmas Day! While he was a man of faith personally, he never outwardly subscribed to any one particular religion or followed any one church's religious holiday schedule. He found things he liked in several faiths. Even the night of his assassination, the night he was attending the theater with Mrs. Lincoln, was a Good Friday.
* Terms that are so commonly attached to American Government today, such as "Under God", recited by schoolchildren everywhere with the Pledge of Allegiance, and "In God We Trust" lead back to Lincoln. Trueblood talks of how "Under God" does not appear in the first draft of The Gettysburg Address, leading one to believe it was something Lincoln ad-libbed in the moment and added in later when it was reprinted in the papers of the day. And it was Lincoln's administration who popularized the phrase "In God We Trust", a phrase we instantly associate with the National Treasury now.
Abraham Lincoln was not a religious leader in the conventional sense. Certainly he was not professionally religious and he had no formal theological training. What he knew about prayer came not from books but from experience, much of it agonizing. He was no flaming prophet like John the Baptist, nor was he an ecstatic arouser of men's emotions, like the Mahdi. He was, instead, as Horace Greeley said, 'a plain, true, earnest, patriotic man, gifted with common sense.'"
This book definitely had me thinking about the most recent presidential election. Think about how many people on either side of this election said that the opposing candidate winning would be the worst decision a voter could make. How many, on either side, said the opposing candidate would bring the country to ruination? Well, take a look at what was being said of Lincoln during one of his election years:
"Had we any respect for Mr. Lincoln, official or personal, as a man, or as President-Elect of the United States, his career and speeches on his way to the seat of government would have cruelly impaired it. We do not believe the Presidency can ever be more degraded by any of his successors, than it has been by him, even before his inauguration." ~ The Baltimore Sun
Or the 1864 New Year's edition of The Crisis:
The people of the North owe Mr. Lincoln nothing but eternal hatred and scorn. There are 500,000 new made graves; there are 500,000 orphans; there are 200,000 widows; there is a bottomless sea of blood, there is the Constitution broken; there are liberty and law -- liberty in chains and in a dungeon; thieves in the Treasury, provost marshals in the seats of justice, butchers in the pulpit -- and these are the things which we owe Mr. Lincoln.
WOW. Sound familiar? I'm recalling something about history and repetition... Imagine, Lincoln ever being considered the worst president in history! But in his time, there were people that honestly saw it that way. Just as now, there are people that things couldn't be worse. Trueblood makes a good point regarding the President and the press:
During his first year as President, Lincoln was faced with public criticism of a bitterness which is hard to believe. All men in public life are forced to bear abuse, but few have faced it as much as Lincoln faced it day after day. The writers in the newspapers could sound smart because they did not have the responsibilities of decision, and they could sound bold by enunciating extreme positions which they were not required to implement. Lincoln, by contrast, in order to maintain integrity had to reject extremes because he was sworn to be faithful to the welfare of the entire nation.
Reading about Lincoln, and how he solidified his stance on slavery (in part, finding support in the Bible verse Matthew 25:40 -- 'Inasmuch as ye have it done unto one of the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me'), it makes me ponder how Lincoln would view our president now. What would he say about the hateful, racist things said about the guy? What would be his words of wisdom to bring people together and pull their heads out of their asses? Would they listen? Regardless of what you might think of our president as a person or a leader, the amount of blatantly racist, uneducated, uninformed comments I've seen thrown his way just off of his race... I've found it utterly ridiculous that with all the information in the world now, people can still choose to remain so f-n stupid when it comes to race and respect for fellow human beings in general. But I was warmed by one story in particular in this book, regarding Lincoln and Quaker Eliza Gurney.
During the Civil War, Eliza Gurney became concerned for the mental health of Lincoln, what with the stress of brother versus brother out there killing each other and him being held largely responsible. Gurney rounded up three of her fellow Quakers (John M. Whithall, Hannah B. Mott and James Carey) and walked over to the White House to visit him -- back in the days when it was still cool to just walk up to the front door like you were taking over some mail that got mistakenly delivered to your house. Gurney explained that they were not there to request anything of the strained president, but instead offered their spiritual support and friendship. They came in, did a prayer circle with the president. They only intended to stay 15 minutes or so, but Lincoln found himself so lifted and refreshed by being given the opportunity to share the weight of his burdens with genuinely concerned friends that he asked them to stay longer, do some more praying, more talking. One of the Quakers later wrote that at one point, there was a moment of silent prayer where the tears were just rolling down Lincoln's face. Lincoln was so moved by the day and the generosity of these people that he asked Eliza to continue to write to him so that he may continue to talk out his fears and have a friend / Friend to pray over him (a sort of unofficial therapist, maybe?). You just don't hear these kinds of stories that often these days. But it was sweet to picture what a gift this must have been to Lincoln.
April 23, 2021
While insightful in parts, there were moments where it kind of lost me in the writing. There was a lot of back and forth that could have been better done. I did appreciate the overall topic and learned a bit about this beloved President.
September 30, 2013
Abraham Lincoln: Theologian Of American Anguish by Elton Trueblood
This book is not only for those looking for theological reads. I approached it with a completely historical interest and still found it very informative, interesting, easy to read and not preachy at all. This book just basically looks at how Lincoln's personal views on faith influenced his decision-making as a man and as the President. It's also a quick read at only about 140 pages.
This book is not only for those looking for theological reads. I approached it with a completely historical interest and still found it very informative, interesting, easy to read and not preachy at all. This book just basically looks at how Lincoln's personal views on faith influenced his decision-making as a man and as the President. It's also a quick read at only about 140 pages.
April 26, 2010
Two great quotes:
From Lincoln: "If we could first know where we are and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it."
About Lincoln: "The basic question, Lincoln recognized, is not whether we should follow the will of God, but what the will of God really is."
Trueblood has done us a great favor in writing this book.
From Lincoln: "If we could first know where we are and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it."
About Lincoln: "The basic question, Lincoln recognized, is not whether we should follow the will of God, but what the will of God really is."
Trueblood has done us a great favor in writing this book.
Want to Read
January 27, 2008Read an excellent abbreviated version of this book in the form a small pamphlet entitled "Abraham Lincoln: The Spiritual Growth of a Public Man". I found the pamphlet so inspiring that I have placed the full version of the book on my reading list.
August 17, 2015
The best and most definitive book I've read about Lincoln's religiosity.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews