“During the New Salem and Vandalia years, Lincoln had been rather desultorily searching for a viable philosophy of life. He had not found it. Neither had he felt much of a need to do so. Because of this increasingly secular outlook, Eddie’s untimely death now came as almost a knockout blow.
The Reverend Dr. James Smith, pastor of Springfield’s First Presbyterian Church, conducted the funeral for little Eddie. The brokenhearted parents listened intently to every word, searching for a life raft of hope. And while May might have responded to emotion, her husband would not.
After the funeral, Lincoln sought out the pastor and questioned him as to his own personal journey. He was intrigued to discover how open and honest the pastor was. Smith admitted to once having strong doubts about God and, unwilling to accept pat answers, he had determined to put God to the test. Over time, with the help of prodigious study, one by one he had been able to put his doubts aside. Not content with this, he had even written a ponderous defense of Christianity, entitled The Defence of Christianity [sic]. Lincoln asked if he could borrow it.
Back home, Lincoln pondered ever every word in the book challenging each assumption, reading the text painstakingly as he would were he preparing a brief for an important legal trial. When he’d finished, he leaned back in his chair and breathed a giant sigh of relief. At long last the simple faith in the Bible he’d had as a child was validated by his logical mind: he could now rest in the faith that the Bible was truly the inspired word of God.”
Joe Wheeler, Lincoln: A Man of Faith and Courage
