Tag: Second Inaugural

The Oscars are over, and Daniel Day Lewis won the best actor award for his portrayal of our 16th President in “Lincoln.” Somewhere over the Atlantic, I treated myself to the movie, thoroughly impressed at how it captured a period that has always fired my imagination. (Bill O’Reilly’s Killing Lincoln was one of my favorite reads from last year, a book my dad and mom enjoyed and that kept me up until 2 a.m. one morning when visiting them).

Most of us know at least part of the famous “Gettysburg Address.” Far fewer are familiar with the majestic cadences of Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. Delivered on March 4, 1865, the speech is now engraved on the right wall of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. After climbing the long stairs leading up to the shrine, I snapped this shot of the speech:

All 699 words of the address can be found here.

As I stood in the March chill reading its words, I came away with a conviction:

This speech is deeply theological, designed for listeners who appreciate theology.

What does Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address tell us about God? What does it teach us about ourselves? 

Let’s look at a handful of passages from the speech to answer these questions. Continue reading “On theology and humanity: Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address” →