Robert E. Lee the Christian by W. Johnson - Article Example

As evidenced by the letters in this book, Lee’s character becomes greatly influenced by his strong faith, belief, and trust in God. In the letters, Lee gets viewed to be prayerful and believes in the work of prayer. The letters also provide insight into his trust in God. The book also provides correspondence and memoirs about Lee which point to his belief. In a letter to his sister, Lee prays for his sister and family. He prays that the Lord protects and guards her family. Lee also asks God to bless her family and shower them with abundant blessings.

In a letter to his son, he also prays that the Lord bless and provide him with happiness and prosperity (Johnson 32). Lee also prayed for his friends. When he hears that his friend Stonewall Jackson gets injured during a war, he prays for him and asks that Jackson should be made aware that Lee is praying for his recovery (Johnson 20). Lee also believed in prayer and fasting asking his soldiers to emulate this tradition. In an address to his soldiers, he stipulates August 21st be a day of fasting and prayer.

He asks his soldiers to adhere strictly to fasting and prayer since they needed to humble themselves before the almighty God. He tells them that God is their source of strength and refuge and in turn should give thanks to him as appreciation (Johnson 101). He asks them to confess their sins before God and ask for courage, patriotism and will from God. Lee also prayed with his soldiers and made them aware of his belief in God. In one excerpt from the book, Lee together with his soldiers prays while in a battle as enemies attacked with shells in the surrounding areas.

In Petersburg, Lee also knelt and prayed by the roadside as his soldiers marched by. In a letter to President Pierce, Lee prays that there be a day that slavery will end. He lets Pierce know that the abolition of slavery should be left upon the hands of Christ and they should only aid the process through prayer. In the letter to Pierce, Lee observes that there still existed mistakes even in Christian nations concerning slavery (Johnson 62). In a letter to his son, Lee gets viewed to pray daily since he points out to his son that he prays to God daily to present him with the best blessings and to provide him with happiness and prosperity.

According to correspondence, Lee also prayed for his enemies. Lee becomes quoted as having said that not a day would pass by without him praying for his enemies since the start of the war (Jonson 250).CONCLUSION This book shows that Lee was of strong faith and belief. It provides an insight into his Christian character through the collection of letters written by Lee himself and those he received. The book through its collection of correspondence, letters, and memoirs about Lee provides evidence about his belief, trust, and faith in God and his Christian character.