Abraham Lincoln, atheist

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In Lincoln's very words...

"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma." - Abraham Lincoln

http://voices.yahoo.com/twenty-atheist-quotes-some-surprising-historical-750917.html

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Type: Discussion • Score: 8 • Views: 4,468 • Replies: 37

[+4] - Setanta - 08/12/2012I don't know why some atheists are always to eager to say that this or that person was an atheist. Saying that you hold the same opinions as someone bright doesn't make you bright.

@Rickoshay75,

in Lincoln's very words... he didn't address the matter of theism

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@Rickoshay75,

Lincoln was a complicated man. I don't think he was devotionally a Xtian, but I don't think he was devotionally and athiest either.

Personally, the one thing I've found over the years--the more intelligent a person is, the mor likely their thoughts and perspective will change with new evidence. IOW only the bindly stupid will never change their mind, and Lincoln wasn't stupid.

Rap

1 Reply

Lincoln was actually very clever about appeals to religious sentiment (such as the Thanksgiving holiday), and using scriptural figures in his speeches. Basically, Lincoln was one of the cleverest politicians in our history.

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I don't know why some atheists are always to eager to say that this or that person was an atheist. Saying that you hold the same opinions as someone bright doesn't make you bright.

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@Setanta,

amen

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@Rickoshay75,

A President, an Atheist And a Vampire Killer? . .... What a guy.

1 Reply

@eurocelticyankee,

I always thought of Steven O Douglas and George McClellan as bloodsuckers.

Rap

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Lincoln never let himself get pinned down on the question, from the reading I have done. Not that I am an expert.

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@edgarblythe,

All I needed to remember about Abe was his honesty; it proves his character with or without religion.

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@raprap,

raprap wrote:

Lincoln was a complicated man. I don't think he was devotionally a Xtian, but I don't think he was devotionally and athiest either.

Rap

Lincoln, like all politicians, only took positions to placate his voters, and being a
Christian was vital in those days. Whether he was or not is speculative.

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@Rickoshay75,

he didn't address the matter of theism .lincoln said

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@edgarblythe,

Makes me wonder how he'd do against today's media machine

1 Reply

@thack45,

The media in his own time was not all that sympathetic much of the time.

1 Reply

@edgarblythe,

People seem to forget that.

Rap

1 Reply

@raprap,

http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/cartoon/images/monkey.jpg

http://www.retronaut.co/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Artist-unknown.-The-Rail-Candidate-1860.jpg

http://www.worthpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/political-cartoon-lincoln.jpg

http://media.ancientfaces.com/images/photos/watermark/1/1/1165073.jpg

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@Rickoshay75,

That he was or wasn't a christian is no evidence at all that he was an atheist. That he were an atheist would not be evidence of the excellence of athism. I'm an atheist. I don't need to believe that anyone else was or is an atheist to justify what i refuse to believe.

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@Setanta,

Setanta wrote:

I don't know why some atheists are always to eager to say that this or that person was an atheist. Saying that you hold the same opinions as someone bright doesn't make you bright.

In my opinion, many atheists are practicing hypocrites, since they get their children baptized, and they marry in a Church. So, saying "that this or that person was an atheist" might just ameliorate the feeling of being a hypocrite? In other words, associating oneself with an accomplished person, that also professes atheism, might make one feel that that justifies one's hypocrisy? "Justify" might not be the correct word/thought, but I think you know what I mean, being an intelligent atheist!

1 Reply

@Foofie,

Foofie wrote:

In my opinion, many atheists are practicing hypocrites, since they get their children baptized, and they marry in a Church.

They would only be hypocrites if they did those things for religious reasons, not social/cultural reasons.

1 Reply

@rosborne979,

rosborne979 wrote:

Foofie wrote:

In my opinion, many atheists are practicing hypocrites, since they get their children baptized, and they marry in a Church.

They would only be hypocrites if they did those things for religious reasons, not social/cultural reasons.

I don't agree, since many people believe one should live by one's beliefs, rather than cultural mores. Whether one can be condemned in the make-believe court of hypocrisy, does not equate to how one perceives one's actions.

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Abraham Lincoln, atheist

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