Joshua Speed was a close friend of Abraham Lincoln, a skeptic when both were young men. He later published a small volume called Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln, which includes a story from 1864 when he visited Lincoln in Washington:'I have often been asked what were Mr. Lincoln's religious opinions. When I knew him, in early life, he was a skeptic. He had tried hard to be a believer, but his reason could not grasp and solve the great problem of redemption as taught. He was very cautious never to give expression to any thought or sentiment that would grate harshly upon a Christian's ear. For a sincere Christian, he had great respect. He often said that the most ambitious man might live to see every hope fail; but, no Christian could live to see his fail, because fulfillment could only come when life ended. But this was a subject we never discussed.
The only evidence I have of any change, was in the summer before he was killed. I was invited out to the Soldier's Home to spend the night. As I entered the room, near night, he was sitting near a window intently reading his Bible.
Approaching him, I said, "I am glad to see you so profitably engaged."
"Yes," said he, "I am profitably engaged."
"Well," said I, "If you have recovered from your skepticism, I am sorry to say that I have not."
Looking me earnestly in the face and placing his hand on my shoulder, he said "You are wrong, Speed. Take all of this book upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a happier and better man."'
"...he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wing." James 1:6
Amen to that. Don't I know it. Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone..
z
24 comments:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Z,
I hope and pray this is a good and special day for you. You deserve it.
Your post today is important in my eyes, as I have come to the place of knowing how meaningful faith is. Without it, I believe our scope of life is limited, and it need not be that way.
Again, may you have a wonderful Birthday, friend.
Pris
Perhaps Lincoln came to know the Lord after he was elected President.
thank you, Pris, so much.
AOW, apparently...would that that happens now. :-)
some wonderful news is that the woman who gave me the Bible I reference in my post just had a granddaughter born this morning, on my birthday!
I wish I could tell you the details..suffice it to say this is a momentous day in her family.
Please pray for them!
Happy 24th birthday, Z!
Happy Birthday Love!
Beamish! You guessed it! (as if!) :-)
Elbro..thanks, my dear buddy. xxx
I could offer you flowers for your birthday but flowers only fade and are soon gone.
I would offer you wine for when properly nurtured only improves with age.
So my birthday wish for you today is that you be properly nurture.(Loved, Cared for, and pampered).
Happy Birthday...Z
Happy Birthday Z!!
thanks, everybody.
I hope you got something from LIncoln's quote, ..it meant a lot to me.
xxx
Happy birthday Madame Z, many happy returns to you. I'm still shocked by the awful shooting of Congresswoman Gifford and the others who were killed. It's just horrible. Of course the liberals are pointing the finger at we conservatives for ''hate speech''. Honestly, can they get any lower? A good Sunday to all. Johnnymac.
thanks, Johnnymac...the shootings were just awful and it's amazing that Giffords might come out of this pretty well, GOd willing.
yes, the typical anti-right stuff began minutes after the shootings....lefties blaming Beck and Palin in the ARizona media, according to Elmer's Brother. It never stops.
I keep wondering what will happen to this perp and why Bill Ayers isn't sitting in a jail somewhere for the murders he committed. wonders never cease.
Thanks for this post, Z. I needed it. :)
Happy Birthday, already?!?
Brooke.."I needed it".. is why I do my SUnday Faith Blog. I hope people are reading that Lincoln quote and just not commenting. Thanks for that, it made my day.
"already?" Ya, one a year! :-) Trust me, that's ENOUGH!!!
Would have been a good day to pray we come to grips with what happened in Arizona.
You deserve a magnificent birthday! I hope you had one.
Very nice, Z. Lincoln did seem to be a man of faith. Seems he said something once to the effect of, he could understand how a man could look down in the mud and not believe in God, but that he didn't see how anyone who gazed up at the stars could.
I always loved that depiction of Lincoln with Tad, too.
"Would have been a good day to pray we come to grips with what happened in Arizona."
Ducky, how do we come to grips with a nutcase? Maybe you can tell us what you mean by "come to grips with it"? It's a horrible act and no one in his right mind would not be horrified at this tragic attack.
The left couldn't wait one day, before politizing this, which is beyond shameful.
Don't these people ever stop? It seems only their political agenda supercedes even a murderous rampage. How can they be so cold, and so hateful as to propagandize even this.
Today is a proper day to pray for the families of those who died, and for those other victims who are fighting for their lives.
Pris
As a fellow Carpricorn, I wish you the best.
Every honest person doubts, I'm sure, but smart people do everything in their power to cultivate faith.
How could anyone doubt the existence of Spirit when intangible, unquantifiable, immeasurable qualities such as decency, respect, affection, intelligence, sincerity, honesty, character, reliability, imagination, joy, delight, bliss, seriousness, erudition, sorrow, kindness, generosity, charity, courage, boldness, daring, understanding, wit, style, charm, principle, graciousness, reliability, conscience, awareness, consciousness, subtlety, etc. have such tremendous bearing on our lives?
I'm not sure what Lincoln's personal beliefs really were. From what I've read he was not a regular churchgoer, but that doesn't mean the Bible was not very important to him. Until fairly recently the Bible was the primary basis of learning and culture.
~ FreeThinke
PS: Hope your birthday was in some way pleasant, Z. I know it's hard to celebrate when you're not feeling well. A bad case of the chicken pox destroyed my tenth birthday. My parents had gotten us tickets to see Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus at [old] Madison Square Garden. The big thing then was The Flying Wallendas. I remember being to sick even to care that I was missing this very big deal. It was "unfortunate," but I got over it. It's harder when we're older-- believe me, I should know. - FT
Joe, thanks so much, that's very nice of you.
Karen, what a great quote about the mud/stars...I love that.
Pris, I have been praying the last 2 days, as have most decent Americans.....everybody's so eager to 'come to grips' so early, when the grief should be experienced, when we should be praying for the families, the perp's parents, too......it's a nightmare, isn't it.
Cube, I remember you're a Capricorn!! Good people :-)
FT...I had THE most lovely evening....Veuve Cliquot champagne and pizza and Napoleons! with candle light and good friends! And such wonderful presents!, including the lovely necklace/bracelet Pris sent me!
I'm so glad to hear you had a good time, Z. The food sounds heavenly. Good for you!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, INDEED!
~ FT
God Bless you & Happy Birthday Z!
Z, your signature quote from C.S. Lewis is the best an most succinct statement supporting the faith I've ever seen.
••• I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. •••
~ C. S. Lewis
AMEN!
~ FreeThinke
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