Author's Note: All previous volumes of this series are here. The first 56 volumes are compiled in the book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible." "Part Two," featuring volumes 57-113, was published in December 2022

Thanks for joining our study today. As part of Townhall’s 250th-anniversary coverage, we are discussing President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, known for its biblical quotations and Christian themes. The address is so revered that it is carved into a marble wall at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Built in 1922, the memorial opened 57 years after his death by assassination on April 15, 1865. Only 42 days earlier, on March 4, Lincoln gave this now-famous, sermon-like 701-word inaugural address to a war-torn nation. The address focused on three themes:

First, the Civil War was caused by slavery in the South. (Later, “states' rights” came into vogue as an equal cause, but Lincoln clearly stated that the cause was slavery.)

The second theme was that the war was a divine punishment for the entire nation that benefited from the economic wealth generated by slavery. 

Third, with the Confederates’ surrender on April 9, 1865—unbeknownst to Lincoln, just 36 days away—the president advocated for healing and reconciliation with the South.

Let’s examine the long third paragraph in which Lincoln used biblical quotes to convey those three themes. For our purposes, we treat these as separate paragraphs, and I flag the biblical quotes or add a comment. We begin the third paragraph of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address with his words always in italics:

“Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained.” (True, since both sides fully expected a short victory.)

“Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph and a result less fundamental and astounding.” (Meaning: slavery ended, but the war continues. Effective on January 1, 1863, Abraham........

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