We had a great crowd last night for Dr. Howard Miller’s lecture “Religious Conversion in Ben-Hur and in the Life of Lew Wallace.” We also streamed the lecture on Facebook Live, which was a popular option for those who couldn’t be with us in person. If you were unable to […]
Christianity
5 posts
In 1876, Lew was on a train headed for a reunion of Union soldiers. Also on the train was Robert Ingersoll, a noted agnostic. During the trip, the two men began a conversation on the divinity of Christ and other religious issues. In his efforts to sway Lew with his […]
When Lew Wallace courted Susan Elston in the late 1840s and early 1850s, he was pursuing a daughter of one of the richest men in Indiana. By all accounts, Susan adored Lew and was thrilled by his attention. Her very business-like father, however, was not so enamored. Lew had something […]
We here at the Museum like to monitor what’s being said about Lew Wallace around the internet, and most of what we find is accurate and interesting. One of the more prevalent fallacies, however, is the story that General Wallace was an atheist who wrote Ben-Hur to disprove Christianity. Here is my […]
We frequently receive questions by e-mail relating to Lew Wallace, and I received one today asking whether or not Lew Wallace wrote Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ on a bet. Lew Wallace’s motivation to write Ben-Hur has been the subject of many discussions, beginning during his lifetime. Wallace answered […]