While some have asserted that Napoleon Bonaparte was a Christian, from everything I have read and researched, while he appears to have great respect for the person of Jesus Christ he falls short of being saved. Of course, only the Lord knows a person’s heart but it appears from his exploits that “ambition was the idol monster to which he sacrificed millions of human beings.”1 But according to historian Philip Schaff on the flip side: “he had too profound an intellect ever to be an atheist.”2 Perhaps his beliefs are, therefore, somewhere in the middle between believing in God, but not a personal God.
At any rate one of the most powerful statements ever made concerning the Bible has been attributed to Napoleon and is cited on many websites. The question is did Napoleon ever say the following: “The Bible is no mere book, but it’s a living creature with a power that conquers all who oppose it.”3 While it is well documented that Napoleon frequently read the Bible is it possible he believed in the Bible’s unique power? I, at first, thought that this statement couldn’t have been made by Napoleon but the more I researched the statement the more I feel confident he did indeed make it.
I base my findings on a translation of a French tract into English – Tract No. 477 by the American Tract Society in which we see an extensive discussion by Napoleon on religion. In this gospel tract Napoleon states the following: “The gospel possesses a secret virtue, a mysterious efficacy, a warmth which penetrates and soothes the heart. One finds, in meditating upon it, that which one experiences in contemplating the heavens. The gospel is not a book: it is a living being, with an action, a power, which invades everything that opposes its extension. Behold! it is upon this table: this book, surpassing all others [here the emperor deferentially placed his hand upon it], I never omit to read it, and every day with the same pleasure.”4
In this quotation by Napoleon, we see that the part that really resembles: “The Bible is no mere book, but it’s a living creature with a power that conquers all who oppose it,” is: “The gospel is not a book: it is a living being, with an action, a power, which invades everything that opposes its extension.” I would hasten to say that this is where we get his famous quote on the Bible.
Whether Napoleon believed in following what he read in the Bible is certainly questionable but he like many other famous people who don’t even read the Bible realized that it is a unique and powerful book. My only prayer is that before Napoleon took his last breath, he made his peace with Jesus.
1 Napoleon Bonaparte. (biblehub.com)
2 Napoleon Bonaparte. (biblehub.com)
3 Napoleon in Exile – The Bible Is No Mere Book – SELF-EDUCATED AMERICAN (selfeducatedamerican.com)