Loved ones, for one hundred years, the sound of hammer on wood has echoed through a violent world. Noah, the “herald of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), has been building a massive vessel on dry land, a visible testament to his faith and a warning of things to come. Now, the construction is finished. The pitch… Continue reading The Fountains of the Great Deep: A World Unmade by Water (Gen. 7:1–24)
Author: Tony Arsenal
The Apostle on Mars Hill: Paul’s Critical Engagement with Stoic Thought
For the past several weeks, we have been engaged in a rigorous philosophical exercise. We have excavated the foundations of Stoicism, admired its ethical architecture, and stress-tested its worldview against the Christian doctrines of God, man, and the universe. We have argued that we should “plunder the Egyptians”—taking the gold of Stoic insight while leaving… Continue reading The Apostle on Mars Hill: Paul’s Critical Engagement with Stoic Thought
The Mid-Winter Mystery: A Chalcedonian Meditation
As a good Presbyterian who holds to the Regulative Principle of Worship, I am obligated to remind you that I have no religious reason to be writing this right now. The 25th of December is, ecclesiastically speaking, just another Thursday. We jokingly call it “Mid-Winter No Reason”—a time when the world inexplicably decides to decorate… Continue reading The Mid-Winter Mystery: A Chalcedonian Meditation
Wherein All Have Sinned: On the Fall and Original Sin (WCF 6.1–6.6)
We have stood on the mountain peaks of God’s eternal decree and witnessed the pristine beauty of creation in the Garden. But now, the narrative takes a catastrophic turn. To understand the world as we see it today—broken, violent, and groaning—and to understand our own hearts, we must descend into the valley of the shadow… Continue reading Wherein All Have Sinned: On the Fall and Original Sin (WCF 6.1–6.6)
The Unmaking of the Cosmos: The Flood as De-Creation and Pattern of Final Judgment
Loved ones, in our previous study of Noah, we touched upon a terrifying concept: de-creation. We noted that the Flood was not merely a severe weather event, but a cosmic reversal—a deliberate undoing of the order God established in Genesis 1. To fully grasp the magnitude of what happened in the days of Noah, and to… Continue reading The Unmaking of the Cosmos: The Flood as De-Creation and Pattern of Final Judgment
A Righteous Man in His Generation: Noah, the Ark, and the Coming Storm (Gen. 6:9–22)
Loved ones, the previous passage left us staring into the abyss. We saw a world where the godly line of Seth had compromised with the worldly line of Cain, resulting in a culture so morally bankrupt that God grieved over the creation of man. The verdict was total: “every intention of the thoughts of his… Continue reading A Righteous Man in His Generation: Noah, the Ark, and the Coming Storm (Gen. 6:9–22)
Duty Without a Lawgiver
In the lexicon of modern Western culture, few words have fallen as far or as fast as the word Duty. We live in the age of “rights,” “passions,” and “self-actualization.” To speak of duty—of an obligation that binds us regardless of our feelings or desires—is to speak a foreign tongue. We are told to “follow our… Continue reading Duty Without a Lawgiver
His Hand and Counsel: On the Providence of God (WCF 5.1–5.7)
Having contemplated the eternal decree in Chapter 3 and the work of creation in Chapter 4, we now turn to God’s work in history. It is one thing to believe in a Creator who made the world; it is another to believe in the God of the Bible who governs it. Many are content with… Continue reading His Hand and Counsel: On the Providence of God (WCF 5.1–5.7)
Excursus: Angels or Men? A Defense of the Sethite View of Genesis 6
Loved ones, as we walked through Genesis 6 in our recent article, we took a firm stance on one of the most debated questions in the Old Testament: the identity of the “sons of God” (bene elohim). While popular culture, ancient apocrypha like the Book of Enoch, and even many modern commentators gravitate toward the… Continue reading Excursus: Angels or Men? A Defense of the Sethite View of Genesis 6
When Giants Walked the Earth: The Sons of God and the Daughters of Man (Gen. 6:1–8)
Loved ones, we arrive now at one of the most mysterious and debated passages in all of Holy Scripture. The opening verses of Genesis 6 read like the introduction to a fantasy epic: “sons of God,” “daughters of man,” and the dreaded “Nephilim”—giants and mighty men of renown. For centuries, imaginations have run wild here.… Continue reading When Giants Walked the Earth: The Sons of God and the Daughters of Man (Gen. 6:1–8)