Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-02-12

House to give expression of conf
dence to him, Mr.. Lincoln always
very positively declared his faith in
God and invoked Gods blessing on
the churches. To Mrs. Gurney, the
wife of an eminent Quaker preacher,
he wrote: II am much indebted to
the good Christian people of the
country for their constant prayers
and consolations.'
Believed in the Lords Day.
He went so far even as to differ
with those people who believed Sun
day to have been instituted for the
lease of creation" Lincoln believed
it was the Lords Day. On Novem-
ber IS, 1862, he promulgated the fol-
lowing military order: THE Presi-
dent. -. desires and enjoins the
orderly observance of the Sabbath
by the officers and men in the mill
tary and naval service, and due re-
gard for the Divine will, demand
that Sunday labor in the army and
navy be reduced to the measure of
strict necessity. The discipline and
character of the national forces
should not suffer, nor the cause they
defend be imperiled, by the profan-
alton of the day or name of the Most
High"
He Believed I'm the Bible and Divi-
nifty OF Christ.
To the colored men of Baltimore
who presented him with a Bible Mr..
Lincoln said I'm regard to the
Great Book, ! have only to say that
it is the best gift which God has
given to man. All the good from the
Saviour of the world is communi-
Gated in this book" What an eX-
quisite epitome of the inspiration of
the Scriptures and the Atonement!
And six months later in his second
inaugural address, see how he bor-
rowed the words of the Son of God
to illustrate the justice of the
Father. Woe unto the world be-
cause of offenses." General Coils
said to Ingersoll, From all this 1t
appears that you can no more eqaily
make Lincoln a Deist than l Van
make Voltaire a Christian. Mankind
will estimate the life of Abraham
Lincoln for what it was, and not for
what you or 1 would have it," Surely
not by a scintilla of evidence can it
be made to appear that Abraham
Lincoln's religion was the religion
of Tom Paine and Voltaire. Only a
man like Colonel Ingersoll could
venture to say such thing.
rum opTlHBlelu, lll.s 10 II OFu =
Theater in Washington, in all that
Mr.. Lincoln said or wrote can a SEN
tence or a word he traced that would
incline any one to think that he ever
had even for a moment entertained
the religion of Paine or Ingersoll.
1t was all the other way, of which
there is abundant evidence.
THE Atonement"! What did he
mean by the expression "the Saviour
of the world?" THE aspiration of
the Biblen Was he fooling the
negroes of Baltimore when he called
the Great Book Gods best gift to
mani"
Abraham Lincoln holds too large
a place in the history of the world
and affections of men to be affected
by the accusations of Ingersoll or
helped by my defense, yet ephemeral
as is what one may say of him
wrongfully, no one has the right to
| take a liberty with his character
simply because his illustrious ex-
ample would be useful to him in
making converts. The memory of
the dead may be libeled just as
grossly as the reputation of the liv-
| ing.
No man can make mankind be-
lieve that Abraham Lincoln was n
hypocrite and unless they do, an as
sertion that "his religion was the
religion of Voltaire and Tom Paine"
is of no Importance.
THE divinity of Christ! Did Mr..
Lincoln go to DR.. Gurley's Presby-
terfan Church for four years for
mere appearance?"