The immorality of slavery

   Once I was talking with a student in the CCU library about Abraham Lincoln with much enthusiasm.  The student then asked why I admired Lincoln so much.  My response paraphrased: Lincoln was a brilliant and logical thinker, unique, had a passion for living, and was a caring man.  On the other hand Lincoln made a few big mistakes and plenty of little ones.  Like the rest of us, Lincoln was human.  Yet the foundational reason why Lincoln is a hero for me is that through the brilliance and mistakes, Abraham Lincoln remained convicted that slavery is morally wrong.
   Many students find this statement to be mundane, since most people of the college age generation in the U.S. today think slavery is immoral.  Yet the courage of Lincoln becomes more evident when we learn how many people in the U.S. culture advocated the morality of slavery during the time of Lincoln.  To give some context, I give a miniscule overview, not promoting corporate judgment on this occasion on specific individuals in history.  Slavery has been a sin practiced in many places of the world at various times since ancient times; read Hammurabi’s Code for example.  The institution continued upon the foundation of the United States in the last quarter of the 1700’s, and both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves.  To be personal, the more I researched this subject, the more extensive I found the horror to be.  It was an American tragedy.
   For those who know me, you know I love the United States of America!  And I think the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are blessed governmental documents in world history.  Yet the big mistake in the Constitution originally was in Article I; Section 2, was a distinction was made between residents who were “free” and residents who were not “free.”  This section alone, where those who were not “free” were accorded three-fifths status for purposes of representation and direct taxation, allowed states to determine whether slavery was legal.  The result was that some states carried on with the legal protection of slavery, action which was in complete contradiction with the Declaration of Independence which stated “all men are created equal.”
   Slavery was so entrenched in the U.S. the three largest Christian denominations, the Baptist Missionary Convention, the Presbyterian, and the Methodist-Episcopal denominations split before the Civil War, in 1845, 1837, and 1843 & 1844 respectively.  Another denomination, the Episcopal denomination, split at the time of the war.  I recommend reading the details on this, which I consider a precursor to the Civil War, in "Broken Churches, Broken Nation," written by the editors of Christian History in Issue 33 (Vol.XI, No.1) 26-27.  There was a divisive dispute over what the Bible teaches concerning the issue of slavery.  Some said the Bible prohibits slavery; some said the Bible permits slavery.  The result was a tragedy within the Christian family, and contradictory messages were sent to the culture at large by those called to be a light for Christ to the culture.  The long term result was a mammoth corporate tragedy in U.S. history, the Civil War.
   The focus of this blog is the faith of Abraham Lincoln, and ultimately that faith was possible because of the glorious work of Jesus on the Cross, and the steadfast love by God for Abraham Lincoln in reaching out to him even before he was in relationship with Jesus, just as God does for all people.  Yet what does Lincoln’s conviction concerning slavery have to do with his faith?  The Bible reveals that God calls His children to love people by obeying the commands of Jesus as clearly taught in John 14:21.  Thus faith in Jesus is in harmony with moral behavior, which ultimately results in loving behavior.
   Regarding his moral conviction that slavery is wrong, on one hand, Lincoln once stated he had always felt slavery was wrong, stating he could not recall a time when he believed otherwise.[1]  He even referred to it as an “abstract judgment.”[2]  In using such a term, it is possible that a diplomatic mode of Lincoln was exhibited here, as was often exhibited, where he would present diplomatic discourse.  Yet he would still retain a logical argument and a pounding conclusion.  On the other hand, in a letter, Lincoln also presented a specific basis for his moral judgment.  Whether or not the “Golden Rule” taught by Jesus as recorded in Matthew 7:12 was an influence, we cannot know, yet it is possible.
   Abraham Lincoln wrote to a man: “…he who would be no slave, must consent to have no slave.  Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, cannot long retain it.”[3]  Brilliant.  God came into his dialogue more and more, to the point of his famous second inaugural address.
   Though sometimes wavering in arguments of how to deal with slavery, Lincoln always remained steadfast in his conviction that slavery is wrong.  Lincoln understood doing wrong brings trouble to people, and can even bring trouble to a country as a whole.  Abraham Lincoln increased in his advocation for doing what is right, right as is determined by God.
Hunter Irvine

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[1] Albert Bushnell Hart, ed., Selected Writings of Abraham Lincoln (New York: The Gregg Publishing Company, 1920), 299.

[2] Albert Bushnell Hart, ed., Selected Writings of Abraham Lincoln (New York: The Gregg Publishing Company, 1920), 300.

[3] Ralph G. Newman, ed., Lincoln For the Ages (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1960), 279-280.

Dr. Ronald Rietveld and the primary source

   As incredible as the 1864 sermon by Isaac E. Carey is, it is not a primary source.  The person who talked with Lincoln is not even named.  Yet there is a primary source.  I have not read it, yet I know someone who has: Dr. Ronald Rietveld, Professor Emeritus of History, and full time professor for forty years at California State University, Fullerton.  Dr. Ron Rietveld is a honored Lincoln scholar.
   On February 16, 2009, Dr. Rietveld spoke at Colorado Christian University on the faith of Abraham Lincoln.  It was one of the best talks I have ever heard.  His thesis was that the faith in God by Abraham Lincoln was a long growth process involving seeking, with valleys and peaks over time, which then culminated in a commitment to Christ.  In my four and a half special years at CCU, that night was one highlight, because as a person who has long considered Lincoln a hero, I had an interest in the Christian faith of Abraham Lincoln.  And here Dr. Rietveld gave a talk on the subject as if he and Lincoln had been friends for many years.  Because of Dr. Rietveld’s talk, I started researching with a passion.
   The entire talk captivated me, yet the grand pinnacle of Dr. Rietveld’s talk was the fact he had held in his hands a letter from Abraham Lincoln to a pastor, and I did not catch who that pastor was, where Lincoln gave a statement of Christian conversion similar to the one in Isaac E. Carey’s sermon.  Wow.
   After his talk, I had the privilege to talk with Dr. Rietveld, though it was a rushed conversation since there were several other people who wanted to talk with him.  I asked him where he had read the conversion testimony letter by Lincoln, and he said it had been in an archive maintained by New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C., the church where Lincoln worshiped at the time of his death.  Though I did not find it there, as I will go on to explain, my search quickly led to finding the unexpected sermon in the Freeport Weekly Journal of 1864!
   Regarding the letter Dr. Rietveld spoke of, after correspondence and conversations with some historians and archivists affiliated with the church, including Wilson Golden, Dan Stokes, and Dr. Elaine Foster, I learned none of the three were aware of the letter even existing, let alone being aware it was in the archives of New York Avenue Presbyterian Church.  I add that Dr. Elaine Foster was extremely kind, and she emailed the text of some key Lincoln letters.  And though getting the unique opportunity to visit New York Avenue Presbyterian Church for one day after flying to D.C. from Denver in the summer of 2009, there was a death in a family of one of the historians which obviously made it necessary to cancel our meeting.  And I ended up not getting to even search through any archived material.  My day planned far in advance to view the archived material at that church came up empty, which was disappointing.  Yet it was not a total loss, since I did get an extensive private tour of Lincoln’s church which I am thankful for, and I got to sit in his pew which is preserved there.  That was super cool.
   I have continued to do some research regarding that letter, to no avail.  I still have hopes that as more and more information is scanned and made available on the Internet, that this primary source will be found and made available for public viewing.
   I note that for a long time in the 20th century, the main reference for the conversion testimony was the clear statement published by Osborn H. Oldroyd in 1882.[1]  Considering that he mentioned an Illinois clergyman, his source was probably Isaac Carey, though he did not get the quote completely correct, nor the source.  And a book by William Jackson Johnson (whose name on the cover is Johnstone, which is an incorrect spelling of his actual name), in 1913, was also often cited.[2]  But Johnson's source is actually Mr. Oldroyd's book, and nothing more.  This book was proudly shown to me when I was given a tour of New York Avenue Presbyterian Church.  We can be thankful for Osborn Oldroyd's recording of the testimony, because before the Internet, published books were far more effective preservers of history for the masses than periodicals, which have always been a challenge for library storage and retrieval.  The digital age has changed that.
   I close by saying I totally believe Dr. Ron Rietveld, thus I am convinced the letter exists irregardless of the fact I have yet to see it for myself.  I will always be grateful to Dr. Rietveld for his talk at Colorado Christian University.  It was a blessing!
[Edited on 2/22/19]

Hunter Irvine

Image is Public Domain from The Lincoln Memorial: Album-Immortelles [3]

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[1] Osborn H. Oldroyd, ed., The Lincoln Memorial: Album-Immortelles (New York: G.W. Carleton and Co. Publishers, 1882), 366.

[2] William J. Johnson (Johnstone), Abraham Lincoln The Christian (New York: Eaton and Mains, 1913), 172.
[3] Osborn H. Oldroyd, ed., The Lincoln Memorial: Album-Immortelles (New York: G.W. Carleton and Co. Publishers, 1882).

Is the 1864 Thanksgiving sermon of Isaac E. Carey reliable?

   Exactly 150 years ago to this day, on November 24, 1864, Isaac E. Carey gave a sermon in the First Presbyterian Church of Freeport, Illinois, on what would now be called Thanksgiving Day, called the day of National Thanksgiving in the paper.  A few weeks later on December 7th, that sermon was published on the front page of the Freeport Weekly Journal.  You can read the testimony portion of this sermon on the previous blog entry posted two days ago, 11/22/14.
   Reverend Carey's sermon proclaimed what he recognized as the increasing Christian victory as he saw the Union coming closer to prevailing in the war, which he identified as a fight over the moral issue of slavery.  This sermon printed by the Freeport Weekly Journal included the story of how Abraham Lincoln consecrated himself to Christ.
[Finding the witness of the conversion testimony from The Chronicle from November 3, 1864, which came from a Massachusetts Sunday School Teachers Convention, which you can read on the blog entry on February 18, 2019, I now think Reverend Carey learned of this witness from the reporting of that Massachusetts Sunday School Teachers Convention!]
   After research to track down this particular Freeport Weekly Journal, I learned it was on microfilm at the Hewes Library at Monmouth College.  A librarian there, Rose Dillard, copied it to paper for me.  When it arrived at the Colorado Christian University library, I was ecstatic.  Mrs. Dillard told me the microfilm is so old she could only make a sub-par copy.  There is bleeding of some print, especially from some advertisement logos from the other newspaper page.  And the print is super small.  Yet the bottom line is that most of the print is readable.  And the Christian testimony of Abraham Lincoln is embedded right in it.  I was elated.
   [When I first wrote this, I needed to question the integrity of Isaac Carey.  Not so now, since record of an earlier source of the testimony, and probably the source used by Reverend Carey, has been found in The Chronicle from November 3, 1864.  Yet I think information about Rev. Carey is still interesting.]  In doing some research in the summer of 2009, I found some possible background information for this Presbyterian minister.  I learned from the Beloit College Archives and Special Collections that Beloit had a professor named Isaac E. Carey during a time period that would fit this Isaac E. Carey.  Now it could be a different person, since the name was common, but considering the middle initial fits, the evidence weighs towards the fact it is the same man.  You can read this on Beloit College's website:

   Franklin W. Fisk was the valedictorian of the Yale class of 1849, of which the salutatorian was Timothy Dwight, now the president of Yale University; and Joseph Hurlbut who was for two years an instructor at Beloit, ranked with them, and Isaac E. Carey, who is also on the roll of our teachers, was close to them.[1]

   I consider it a privilege to have the opportunity to post this piece today on the 150th anniversary of this sermon, all thanks to one little piece of microfilm in the library at Monmouth College which I tracked down in the summer of 2009.

   [This piece was edited on 2/18/19.]

Hunter Irvine

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[1] Joseph Emerson, “The Early Faculty of Beloit College,” Semi-Centennial Anniversary Beloit College (1897; repr.,  Beloit College Archives and Special Collections), https://www.beloit.edu/archives/documents/archival_documents/early_faculty/  (accessed November 24, 2014).

The Christian Testimony of Abraham Lincoln from the "Freeport Weekly Journal" on November 24, 1864

 Freeport Weekly Journal

Freeport, Illinois. Wednesday, December 7, 1864

THE VICTORY OF TRUTH
A Discourse Preached on the day of National Thanksgiving, November 24^th, 1864, in the First Presbyterian Church of Freeport, Ills., by ISAAC E. CAREY

….. And let me say in this connection that we have a more touching occasion for thanksgiving in the fact, the significant fact, of the President’s personal conversion to Christ, since he was called to his present high position.  Thus the great and holy cause is most appropriately represented by a follower of Jesus.  “A gentleman, having recently visited Washington on business with the President, was, on leaving home, requested by a friend to ask Mr. Lincoln whether he loved Jesus.  The business being completed, the question was kindly asked.  The President buried his face in his handkerchief, turned away and wept.  He then turned and said, ‘..(Unreadable).. left home to take this Chair of State, I requested ..(unreadable).. pray for me, I was not then a Christian.  When my son died, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian.  But when I went to Gettysburg, and looked upon the graves of our dead heroes who had fallen in defence of their country, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ; I do love Jesus.’”

Or read it for yourself; I was able to scan in on a great scanner on 11/5/2015, so it is actually readable!!

Freeport Weekly Journal  Freeport, Illinois. December 7, 1864
Public domain image.


A special thanks to Ms. Rose Dillard, a librarian at the Hewes Library at Monmouth College, who worked to get a printout from extremely old microfilm containing this 1864 newspaper in the summer of 2009 for me.  Thank you Ms. Dillard!!   Hunter

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Was Abraham Lincoln a Christian?  Here we allow him to speak for himself.