Lincoln's Battle with God: A President's Struggle with Faith and What It Meant for America

Lincoln's Battle with God will disappoint two kinds of readers: secularists and Christian nationalists, both of whom want to claim America's sixteenth president as wholly their own. He is neither, however. As Stephen Mansfield writes, "The silencing of Lincoln's faith by the secular and the exaggerating of Lincoln's faith by the religious have given us a less accurate and a less engaging Lincoln. We are poorer for the distortions." Indeed we are, which is all the more reason to appreciate the accomplishment of Mansfield's book.

That accomplishment is the mapping of Abraham Lincoln's religious journey. The journey began in 1809 in Kentucky, whose frontier religion was shaped by the camp-meeting revivalism of Cane Ridge (1801). Lincoln's parents, Thomas and Nancy, were Hard Shell Baptists. Their religion was primitive, emotional, and fervent. Lincoln loved his mother, who died when he was 10. Whatever spiritual sensitivity he had seems to have come from her. But when he was emancipated from his father at age 21, Lincoln disavowed both the man and his God.

As Lincoln struck out on his own in New Salem, Illinois, he fell in with a group of freethinkers, devotees of Paine, Volney, and Burns. He was known as an "infidel" who referred to Jesus Christ as a "bastard" and delighted to point out the Bible's seeming contradictions in public debate. He went so far as to write a "little book on Infidelity" that his freethinking friends had the foresight to burn. This is the Lincoln secularists love and the religious loathe.

But infidelity was not Lincoln's final take on religion. A change of view began when Lincoln moved to Springfield, the capital of Illinois. In 1846, in a hotly contested race against Methodist circuit rider Peter Cartwright for Illinois's 7th Congressional District, Lincoln published a handbill dishonestly disavowing his earlier infidelity. "I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general, or of any denomination of Christians in particular," he wrote, when in fact he had done precisely those things. His infidelity was softening, if for no other reason than political necessity. (Incidentally, he won the race.)

There may have been more going on, however. In 1849, having served his term in Congress, Lincoln moved briefly to Lexington, Kentucky, to settle the estate of his father-in-law, Robert Smith Todd. There, he came across The Christian's Defence, a work of apologetics by Rev. James D. Smith, who happened to be the pastor of Springfield's First Presbyterian Church. Upon returning to Springfield, Lincoln sought out Smith for conversation, and the Lincoln family began attending his church and supporting its ministries. When Thomas Lincoln lay dying, Lincoln wrote his stepbrother these words of comfort to convey to his father: "He [God] will not forget the dying man, who puts his trust in Him...but that if it be his lot to go now, he will soon have a joyous [meeting] with many loved ones gone before; and where [the rest] of us, through the help of God, hope ere-long [to join] them." Whether this is a heartfelt, orthodox Christian faith is uncertain. That it is not infidelity is quite clear, however. Lincoln was on a journey.

That journey took him physically to Washington DC. Spiritually, however, it took him into uncharted territory. The Civil War did not bring out the best in America's theologians, whose theologies predictably lined up with their respective political sympathies, whether Northern or Southern. Lincoln, of course, was for the Union, but his theology transcended his politics. In September 1862, Lincoln wrote himself this note:

***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 can not be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's purpose is something different from the purpose of either party--and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect His purpose. I am almost ready to say this is probably true--that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet. By his mere quiet power, on the minds of the now contestants, He could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds.***

What was God's will? Lincoln came to believe that God's purpose for him was to expand his war aims beyond merely preserving the Union (the cause Lincoln articulated in his First Inaugural Address). Now the additional purpose was freeing the slaves. According to Salmon Chase, secretary of the Treasury, Lincoln told his Cabinet, "I determined, as soon as it [the Confederate army] should be driven out of Maryland, to issue a Proclamation of Emancipation such as I thought most likely to be useful. I said nothing to any one; but I made the promise to myself and (hesitating a little)--to my Maker. The rebel army is now driven out, and I am going to fulfill that promise." In short, the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation was the fulfillment of a religious vow, as much as it was a military strategy or a war aim.

After Lincoln had been re-elected but before the Confederacy had been defeated, Lincoln declared his theological understanding of the war to the broadest possible audience in his Second Inaugural Address:

***Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses! For it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh!" [Matthew 18:7] If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope--fervently do we pray--that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether" [Psalm 19:9].***

An infidel doesn't speak this way. Were he to mask his politics behind civil religion, he would speak the argot of his supporters and fellow partisans. He would not transcend their politicized religion with a critique aimed at both sides equally. Nor would he promise "malice toward none...charity for all" as government policy. But Abraham Lincoln did. He was no infidel. Then again, an orthodox Christian wouldn't be caught dead in a theater on Good Friday, as Abraham Lincoln was on April 14, 1865, when felled by a single bullet to the back of his head. Lincoln was no orthodox Christian either.

This, then, is the outline of Abraham Lincoln's religious journey that Stephen Mansfield traces in Lincoln's Battle with God. There is much more, of course, especially regarding how religion soothed Lincoln's lifelong melancholy and helped him grieve the death of two sons. But the journey is there: from infidelity to something short of orthodox Christianity. Mansfield's book will disappoint secular and religious partisans. Those less interested in partisan (mis)uses of history will delight in the honesty and ambiguity of the story it tells.

I was thrilled with this book. I read it in 2-3 days. As a pastor, I like to creep away and read variety not necessarily entrenched in something theological or applicable. And I still got a little of both. This immediately struck me as intriguing. From what I've read & studied about Lincoln, this seemed to be a fair, honest, & balanced account of his faith journey. He left plenty on the table to let the reader decide much. What is clear, however, is that Lincoln was more than able to help lead a nation divided that reflected the yearnings, personal reflections & insight of division within himself. It seemed he had cultivated a pathway to something more solid & attainable by the time he worked his way into office. Yet still, we are not 100% clear where he stood in every aspect of an evangelical faith. And as the author clarified, that wasn't the book's intent. And I'm okay with that.

I largely resonated with "not rejecting God completely" but "rejecting the faith of his own father". One thing I found needling it's way through towards the end that I've personally dealt with is the idea that maybe he "wasn't questioning God...but questioning his own undestanding of God". Which is something that anyone who believes in God, will face.

I would urge anyone interested in Lincoln or American history to buy this. In the end, this book might appeal to Pastors, lay leaders, as well as skeptics.

What insight Stephen Mansfield provides into the brooding, searching sould of Abraham Lincoln. I think Americans tend to either go to far in painting the 16th president as a Christian - after all, look at the changes he championed that we cherish - or we see him as a moralist, a good man, with no clear indication of faith in the Living God. We now have a work that allows us to step back and see him as we must see most. He had the information needed to know God, but we can only hope and even choose to believe he took that next step. Thanks for a great read!

Lincoln's struggle with faith fascinates me and this book is the best analysis of Lincoln's faith (I own 49 Lincoln biographies and have read many more). The author accurately portrays Lincon's criticism of religion and even faith and then shows the transformation to the man who wrote the March 4, 1865 Inaugural address. Mr. Mansfield is fair to Lincoln takes him as he was on the question of faith and does not project his bias or hope for Lincoln. A masterful biography!

I’m a big fan of the historical and biographical work of Stephen Mansfield. His books are thoroughly researched, but they don’t read like scholarly works, but more have a more storytelling feel to them. This is especially true in his book Lincoln’s Battle With God.

I have read several biographies about our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, but this is one of the most innovative angles of this great leader’s life. Mansfield tells the story of Lincoln as a boy growing up in an overly-strict, hyper-Calvinistic home where religious observance was demanded and oppressive. Lincoln’s father was distant and didn’t have satisfactory answers for his young son when life was painful.

This contributed to Lincoln as a young man who, while searching for answers, went the opposite direction of his father’s faith, and became immersed in rationalism and even agnosticism. Through it all as Lincoln searched for answers, he and his friends had to cope with Lincoln’s “hypo” (his word for deep, almost debilitating, depression).

When rationalism didn’t help him discover the answers he so desperately desired, Lincoln came full circle to begin to explore the tenants of the Scripture once again. But this time he looked at the Bible through a different paradigm, being much more thoughtful and circumspect.

His journey to the White House where he had to deal with a nation torn apart by Civil War and the premature death of his young sons exposed him once again to events which would have caused the younger Lincoln to spiral into depression again. But his faith in God now had grown rock solid and sustaining.

This book is a fascinating journey through Lincoln’s spiritual struggle, and it’s one that I think many will benefit from reading. Those who are admirers of Abraham Lincoln, those battling depression, and even those searching for life’s answers will find a lot to learn in these pages.

This book is an indispensable supplement to Thomas DiLorenzo's books, "The Real Lincoln" and "Lincoln Unmasked." DiLorenzo proves incontestably what a tyrant and law-breaking bully Lincoln was, and how ignorant he was of basic economics; but Mansfield gives the spiritual background that explains how Lincoln became what he did, and provides another side of Lincoln that shows the internal contradictions that are typical of all human nature. None of us are perfect; but some, like Lincoln, are more imperfect than others.

This is a well told story of an early American president. Lincoln's life was so interesting and he's quite a character. I really enjoyed this book, the history, the background, just learning about his life and experiences. Stephen Masnfield does a great job telling this story and its well worth a read.

In a day when secularism and political correctness try to edit religious overtones and influences in our history, this book tells the true story of Lincoln's faith that often leaves a lot untold. Being a student of history, I know quite a bit of Lincoln's faith - his struggle with it and personal resolution to the sovereignty and will of God for him, his family, and the life of the nation. Highly recommend. For you who are religious doubters or scoffers, this story may or may not make sense to you, but it is the story of Lincoln's faith told in a truthful and scholarly way.

wow very interesting how Abe overcome problems during his struggling years and we never lose interesting stories/history about him, we want to know more about him in some other areas

I have purchased at least 20 copies for family and friends. Who have informed that they never knew this much about Lincoln and the American Civil War