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Abraham Lincoln stands as a towering figure in American history. He is, of course, as the saying goes, the president who freed the slaves.

He also was president during the bloodiest years of the civil war.

And, of course, his assassination is something that really the country still remembers.

Now, his religious faith is a little more murky.

He was raised in a religious family, but he was at times accused of being an infidel,

that is, an unbeliever by his political opponents. Did anything change for him later in his life

during his presidency to give us an indication that Lincoln was, in fact, a Christian?

Welcome back to Issues, Cedar, joining us to talk about the religious beliefs and

practices of Abraham Lincoln, born on this day in 1809. Pastor Timothy Good,

associate pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Springfield, Illinois, previously served as a superintendent

for the National Park Service, including work at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site.

He's author of the books Lincoln for President, an underdog's path to the 1860 Republican nomination, the Lincoln Douglas

debates, and the making of a president, and we saw Lincoln shot 100 eyewitness accounts.

Pastor Good, welcome. Hey, thanks, Todd. It's great to be here with you. Why does the religious

faith of the president matter in general, but for Lincoln in particular? Well, from an overall

perspective, for some historians, they're particularly interested in Christianity in America,

...