James P. Byrd, professor of American religious history and chair of the graduate department of religion divinity school at Vanderbilt University, will be the guest speaker for the Jan. 11 Cumberland Mountain Civil War Roundtable.
His presentation will be on the importance of the Bible and the Christian faith as it pertains to President Lincoln’s assassination.
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church at 481 Snead Dr., Fairfield Glade.
Roundtable participants met Byrd in June 2022, when he presented Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood, which highlighted the importance of the Bible and the Christian faith by both the North and the South during the Civil War.
During the upcoming presentation, Byrd will give a preview of his forthcoming book by focusing on the topic Our Beloved Martyred President: The Assassination and Sacred Legacy of Abraham Lincoln.
In the wake of the Lincoln assassination, many Americans looked to their religious faith for consolation, explanation, vengeance and more.
Lincoln’s admirers looked for some message from God amid the tragedy. For them, the timing of the assassination signified the sacred meaning of their president’s life and death.
Five days separated Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox and Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theatre.
For Christians, it was Holy Week: Lee surrendered on Palm Sunday; Booth shot Lincoln on Good Friday.
For those of the Jewish faith, it was Passover, and Booth shot Lincoln on the Sabbath.
In response to the assassination, countless Americans called Lincoln a martyr, and that sacred legacy endures.
When speaking of Lincoln’s reputation in recent years, historians have used terms like “moral exemplar” and “saintly,” words not often applied to American presidents.
Lincoln certainly has detractors as well, and of course Lincoln haters are nothing new. After all, he was assassinated, the first American president to meet this fate, and that tragic death increased his stature and sealed his legacy in American history.
This was the case because, whether they loved Lincoln or hated him, Americans often described the assassination as having a divine purpose.
Byrd’s presentation will focus on religious views of the Lincoln assassination – a cataclysmic event that held deep spiritual meaning for innumerable Americans.
Byrd received his B.A. in 1988 from Gardner-Webb College, Boiling Springs, NC, with a double-major in religion and English, and a minor in classical languages.
He received his master’s degree in 1991 from Duke University in Durham, NC,, and his Ph.D., M.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1999, 1997 with his major in American religious history and minor in theological ethics.
He has authored several books which highlight the religious impact on conflict and war.
They include “The Challenges of Roger Williams: Religious Liberty, Violent Persecution, and the Bible,” “Jonathan Edwards for Armchair Theologians,” “Sacred Scripture, Sacred War: The Bible and the American Revolution” and “A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood: The Bible and the American Civil War.”
Byrd has written many articles and served on many panels to discuss American religion along with his responsibilities at Vanderbilt University.
He has earned many honors and is a member of various professional associations.
One of several over the years, Byrd was assistant executive secretary of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion, 1998-2017.
He and his family live in Franklin, TN.
The Cumberland Mountain Civil War Roundtable welcomes the public to this presentation.
First-time visitors are admitted free; a $5 donation is requested from repeat non-members.
Annual Roundtable memberships are available for $25 per person or $35 for couples.
Civil War books will be on display for purchase.
Information will be presented about the upcoming April 2024 Field Trip to the Shiloh National Military Park and the July 10 Bobby Horton musical concert which will be presented at the Palace Theatre in downtown Crossville.
The Cumberland Mountain Civil War Roundtable is an organization of American Civil War enthusiasts.
The group is in Fairfield Glade and is open to all residents of Cumberland County.
Presentations from authors, college professors, historians are presented on the second Wednesday of the month at Christ Lutheran Church in Fairfield Glade.
The purpose of the Roundtable is to educate, discuss and bring to focus the events and historical facts concerning the American Civil War.
Go to Facebook or call Ken Patton at 901-292-9312 or Dennis Flynn at 913-948-3499 for more information.