Obama chooses Lincoln’s Bible for inauguration
President-elect Barack Obama will use the same Bible at his inauguration that Abraham Lincoln used for his swearing in. Obama will be the first president since Lincoln to use that Bible, part of the collection of the Library of Congress. ”President-elect Obama is deeply honored that the Library of Congress has made the Lincoln Bible available for use during his swearing-in,” Presidential Inaugural Committee Executive Director Emmett Beliveau said in a statement Tuesday.
via Obama chooses Lincoln’s Bible for inauguration – Inauguration- msnbc.com.
Lincoln forged a new America in his presidency. He did not merely prevent its collapse, but drew together a new nation. In his Gettysburg Address, he called upon the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution, to argue that “all men are created equal.” In his Second Inaugural Address, he called upon scripture to explain the nation’s sin. And in his death, he demonstrated a great compassion for the people. What emerged was not an untroubled nation. It would be nearly a 100 years before the “dream” would begin to be realized, but Lincoln beheld it, and he offered it to America.
As Obama places his hand on Lincoln’s Bible, he swears not only to the Constitution, but to a legacy of freedom. Let us remember the oppressed, the poor, the persecuted, the dispossessed. Let us reflect that it is not his task alone to champion freedom, but all of ours.
As Martin Luther King Jr. once cried, “Let freedom ring,” let it grow.
Related stories:
Lincoln’s Bible at the Library of Congress
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The Times: Obama to take oath of office on Lincoln Bible (full news story)
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