A tall, dignified man stepped to the podium and, after taking his oath with his hand on the Bible, he began to speak. “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in…”
These famous closing words to Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address in 1865 eloquently capture how all of us should proceed with our lives, our calling, our mission. And it is a wonderful sentiment for directing ourselves into a new year!
Let’s focus for a minute on Lincoln’s statement “…with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right…” Here, especially in context with the rest of his speech, we see the humble recognition that man is limited in his understanding; that comprehension of truth is ongoing. We see in Lincoln’s words an emphasis on being steadfast in the revealed truth that we have – walking and talking with love while standing firmly for truth and right.
And think about it, over the last 60 + years, creation science has illuminated new detail in the Biblical revelation! God has “given us to see the right” in a way that previous generations were not privileged to. This is because modern science, even mixed up as it is with pseudo-science like evolution, has informed our faith. As we carefully and directly observe scientific evidence and interpret it starting from the true history given in the Bible, scientific observations have shed more light, exposing more detail about the truth of the Bible, God’s infallible word. This includes hydrogeology, paleontology, medicine, biochemistry, physics, and archeology, among other sciences.
Consider how hydrogeology has bolstered the Biblical history of the great flood of Noah. Even secular scientists have had to change their scenario for the formation of the Grand Canyon from a uniformitarian story of slow, steady erosion over eons to one of catastrophic change from the bursting forth of flooding.
We could go on to talk about how the modern observations of fossils have failed to show the graduated change from natural selection postulated by Charles Darwin over 160 years ago. Evolutionists have had to adapt their theory using “punctuated equilibria”, proposing that species have developed through huge leaps of mutation in large step-changes rather than gradual progression of natural selection. Modern fossil studies simply do not show that progression, and their theory is now more untestable than ever! The old mischaracterized and fraudulent ape-men held up as icons of evolution to parents, grandparents, and great grandparents have been debunked as our science and understanding of the facts have improved.
And in fact, evolutionists have continually tried to adjust their theory as scientific observation has shown them wrong. They have had to abandon, for example, their “evolutionary tree of life” illustration (replacing it with a very bushy-bush at best) as genetic science does not confirm the similarities from anatomical features which they have used to draw the branches of their tree.
Indeed, what all Christians can and should do at this juncture in history is use modern science in a better capacity to see more of God’s revealed truth! The intimidation which Christians have felt from evolutionary science is a tool of the devil, and needs to be resisted through spiritual warfare as well as through sound creation science and Bible doctrine. Thankfully, these past 60 + years of the modern creation science movement have seen such science and doctrine develop so that we can stand with “firmness in the right,” as Lincoln put it.
As in so much of his conversation, there is Biblical imagery here in Lincoln’s words. They call to mind “standing firm against the wiles of the devil” (Eph 6) – a passage that reminds us we are in a spiritual battle, wrestling not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of wickedness. Concessions and compromise by the church are completely unnecessary and in fact have been damaging to the Christian witness, because they have given-in to certain “wiles of the devil” and undermined God’s word – just as Satan sought to do with Adam and Eve in the Garden.
At an address in New York City on Feb 21, 1859, the same year which saw the publishing of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, Lincoln said, “let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us dare to do our duty”. Note the contrast with Darwin’s thesis and legacy, which came to be summarized as “might makes right”, the exact opposite of Lincoln’s wisdom. Abraham Lincoln learned Biblical wisdom from an early age and used it to guide himself and the country through its greatest crisis. He is known to have said, “In regards to this great Book (the Bible), I have but to say it is the best gift God has given to man.”
Blessings to you all in this new year of 2026!
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