WAS JOHN QUINCY ADAMS A CHRISTIAN? HOW ABOUT ANDREW JACKSON?

      Our 6th President, John Quincy Adams, and our 7th President, Andrew Jackson, could not have had more dissimilar.
      Adams was the son of our 2nd President and his wife, Abigail- both of whom were strict, disciplined Congregationalists in most ways. John Quincy's life at home, then, was lived in the shadow of his reserved father and his rather controlling mother. Adams was an intelligent man who spoke fluent French, Dutch, Latin, and Greek. He was a diplomat for George Washington and Secretary of State for James Monroe. After his one-term as President, he served as a U.S. Congressman for 17 years, where he championed the anti-slavery cause and personally brought down the so-called "gag rule" which Congress had at the time concerning the issue of slavery. In fact, Adams became known as the "Hell-Hound of Slavery" and he defended 53 Africans accused of mutiny aboard the slave ship "Armisted." John Quincy Adams had "involuntary and agonizing doubts, which he could neither silence nor expel," but in the face of his doubts, he practiced his faith throughout his life, attending two worship services on the day he died. Adams and his wife, Louisa Johnson, joined the United First Parish Church of Quincy, and they shared a pew with his father and mother. In fact, all four of them are buried beneath this church, which began as a Puritan Congregational church and drifted more and more toward Unitarianism as the years passed. Adams read 2-5 chapters of the Bible, in its original languages, every day and he frequently attended two worship services on Sunday. Adams was vocal about his faith and he kept a personal dairy from 1779-1848. Thus, we know a lot about the faith that John Quincy Adams proclaimed. His dairy is filled with his distaste for "liberal" Unitarianism and "intolerant" Fundamentalism, both of which missed the mark in Adams' view, and the record shows that he offered these opinions over the years:
1.   "My hopes of future life are founded in the Gospel of Christ and I cannot quibble away the assertions- by Himself and his disciples- that he was God."
2.  "The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth."
3.  "For I believe there is a God who heareth prayer and (that) honest prayers to Him will not be in vain."
4.  "I have... been a sincere believer in the Supreme Creator of the World... and of the divine mission of the crucified Savior, proclaiming immortal life and preaching peace on earth..."
5.  In a letter to his son, dated 12/24/1814, he wrote, "You ask me what Bible I take as a standard- the Hebrew, the Samaritan, the Old English, or what? The Bible with the Sermon on the Mount- the New Testament- read in Greek, Latin,... or Luther's German- I take as my standard."
      Andrew Jackson, in contrast to Adams, was born to a family which was neither rich nor famous. His parents were Scottish immigrants and his father died three weeks before he was born. Two of his brothers died in the Revolutionary War and Jackson was taken prisoner by the British. He almost died
himself ... and his mother did die, while nursing prisoners-of-war back to health. In short, Jackson grew up tough and poor ... and throughout his life, he felt that the British had personally killed the member of his family. Unlike Adams, there is no record of Jackson being a regular church attendee and we know that he didn't join a church until 1838, when he became a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Nashville. Jackson credited the "hand of Providence" for giving him victory in the Battle of New Orleans and he noted that he has always been a "rigid Presbyterian" like his father was, but there is little evidence that he gave a faith journey much thought until he walked into a revival meeting in Nashville in October, 1818. According to the story, the evangelist said that Jackson was in need of salvation just like every other man, which embarrassed another minister in attendance who felt that Jackson had been offended. However, Jackson praised the evangelist whose name was Cartwright, noting that every "minister of Jesus Christ ought to love every one and fear no mortal man.
      As he aged, Jackson gave matters of faith greater attention and he never got over his intense grief over his wife's death. He pondered life and death... and perhaps the words that he had heard about trusting Jesus Christ at the revival he attended. The night finally came when he walked in his chamber in anguish and prayer. He did business with God that night, and when morning came, he announced his full conviction of sins, his confession, and the forgiveness he had received through "the blood of our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." Immediately, he instituted family prayer time and he was pleased to read through the Bible twice before he died.
1.  In May 29, 1845, Jackson said, "Sir, I am in the hands of a merciful God. I have full confidence in his goodness and mercy. The Bible is true- upon that sacred volume I rest my hope for eternal salvation, through the merits and blood of our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."
2.  On his dying day, June 8, 1845, Jackson said, "My dear children, do not grieve for me. It is true. I am going to leave you now. I have suffered much bodily pain, but my sufferings are as nothing compared with that which our blessed Redeemer endured upon the accursed Cross, that all might be saved who put their trust in Him. God will take care of you for me. I am my God's. I belong to Him. I go but for a short time before you, and I hope and trust to meet you all in Heaven, both black and white."
3.  Finally, among his last words were these, "That book, sir, is the rock upon which our republic rests."
      Well, there we have it. A well established New Englander and an immigrant's son from the country. An educated man who read the Bible in several languages and a self-taught man who didn't read the Bible at all until he got old. A man who became known has "Old Man Eloquent," and a man who was known as "Old Hickory." A man who was fought slavery, almost alone at times, and a man who owned slaves to his dying day. A man who was reared in the church and a man who came to know Jesus as his personal Savior. Which one was the better Christian? Which one was "saved?" Both? Neither?