By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – The newest thing — well, actually, it’s not new at all — at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield a Bible given to President Lincoln in 1864.
In unveiling the newly donated artifact Thursday morning, museum director Alan Lowe said, “This Bible can tell a lot of stories: the story of Lincoln’s beliefs. Their evolution over time is a fascinating one that tells us much about how he viewed himself, the world around him, and the future of our nation.”
Lincoln was not a churchgoer; in fact, even though the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield still displays a “Lincoln family pew,” he was never a member of any church and was said by some to be a “skeptic,” perhaps even an atheist.
Still, state historian Samuel Wheeler says the King James Bible can still be viewed as a suitable gift to Lincoln: “At this time in his life, he’s increasing using Biblical rhetoric, he’s quoting from the Bible; he is on the eve of giving his second inaugural address, which – folks at the time recognized – didn’t sound like a political speech; it sounded more like a sermon.”
Lincoln received the gift during a visit to a fair in Philadelphia. After his death, Mary Lincoln gave it to a friend who was a Baptist minister, and the minister’s descendants donated it to the museum.
The Bible is on display in the museum’s Treasures Gallery until the end of this year.
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]
