September 30th, 2024
And There Was Light:
Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle
“Successive generations have variously depicted Lincoln as a secular saint, the savior of the Union, and the Great Emancipator; as a grasping tyrant; or as a calculating political creature imprisoned by public opinion and white prejudice. The truth is more complicated.”
-Jon Meacham
I love biographies, but I hate authorized biographies. Authorized biographies depict a person as they would like to be depicted – not as they truly are. Social media and the internet already depict people as they would like to be depicted. We don’t need biographies for that. When I read a biography, I look for nuance. I look for a complicated or even confusing depiction of a person – because people are complicated and confusing.
Jon Meacham has done a stellar job of writing a complicated, and at times confusing, biography of Abraham Lincoln. Was Lincoln a national hero? A political creature? A man of modern racial sentiments? A racist? Meacham’s work suggests that at times, he was all of these things and more.
Lincoln was complicated – just like you and I are. Yet God undoubtedly used Lincoln to alter the course of history. God has a funny habit of using complicated people to do amazing things in this world. And that’s good news – because that means he can use you and me.
For these reasons and many others, I encourage you to pick up Meacham’s work. It’s full of wisdom and insight into human nature and God’s working in this world.
Your Pastor and Friend,
John Knox Foster
Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle
“Successive generations have variously depicted Lincoln as a secular saint, the savior of the Union, and the Great Emancipator; as a grasping tyrant; or as a calculating political creature imprisoned by public opinion and white prejudice. The truth is more complicated.”
-Jon Meacham
I love biographies, but I hate authorized biographies. Authorized biographies depict a person as they would like to be depicted – not as they truly are. Social media and the internet already depict people as they would like to be depicted. We don’t need biographies for that. When I read a biography, I look for nuance. I look for a complicated or even confusing depiction of a person – because people are complicated and confusing.
Jon Meacham has done a stellar job of writing a complicated, and at times confusing, biography of Abraham Lincoln. Was Lincoln a national hero? A political creature? A man of modern racial sentiments? A racist? Meacham’s work suggests that at times, he was all of these things and more.
Lincoln was complicated – just like you and I are. Yet God undoubtedly used Lincoln to alter the course of history. God has a funny habit of using complicated people to do amazing things in this world. And that’s good news – because that means he can use you and me.
For these reasons and many others, I encourage you to pick up Meacham’s work. It’s full of wisdom and insight into human nature and God’s working in this world.
Your Pastor and Friend,
John Knox Foster
Posted in From The Pastor\\\'s Bookshelf
Recent
Archive
2024
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
2023
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
No Comments