Getting Wisdom

Myron and Martin reflect on why the Christian life is not necessarily materially easier than any other life and discuss a civility rule about matching one’s tone to the occasion. They read Aquinas on corporeal creation and Calvin on the order of the Trinity.

“We must not suppose that this corporeal matter serves the angels at their nod, but rather that it obeys God’s.”
—St. Augustine, cited in Summa Theologica, Prima Pars, Q65

07:45 Opening Reflections: Not materially better
26:24 Roadside Attractions: Chrysler Building
44:31 Rules of Civility: Tone
54:41 Summa Theologica (Prima Pars, Q65)
1:01:25 Institutes (1.13)

Myron and Martin reflect on the Good Samaritan and the command to love God with heart, soul, strength, and mind. They discuss grand Dallas hotels, civility in countenance and conduct, and read Aquinas and Calvin on demons, pride, and eternal divinity of the Son.

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.”
—Luke 10:27

07:00 Opening Reflections: Loving God with your mind
28:40 Roadside Attractions: Hotels in Dallas, TX
39:49 Rules of Civility: Behavior around others
54:00 Summa Theologica (Prima Pars, Q63–64)
1:10:03 Institutes (1.12–1.13)

For a reference guide to the Rules of Civility and a complete index of the Calvin and Aquinas readings discussed on the podcast, visit www.gettingwisdompodcast.com.

Myron and Martin argue that Christian maturity comes not from waiting for divine hints but from exercising wisdom under God’s rule. They discuss civility around privacy in public spaces, visit New York City’s High Line Park, and turn to Aquinas on angels, beatitude, and the distinct glory of human beings choosing to worship God.

“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.”
—Job 19:25, KJV

06:30 Opening Reflections: God's plan and our stupidity
43:19 Rules of Civility: Giving strangers privacy
52:05 Roadside Attractions: High Line Park
58:06 Summa Theologica (Prima Pars, Q61–62)

For a reference guide to the Rules of Civility and a complete index of the Calvin and Aquinas readings discussed on the podcast, visit www.gettingwisdompodcast.com.

Myron and Martin discuss Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life and the norms regarding faith-centered dialogue with friends and strangers. In today's readings, Aquinas reflects on angelic knowledge, while Calvin writes on imagery and the hazards of idolatry in worship.

"For when once men imagined that they beheld God in images, they also worshipped him as being there."
—Calvin's Institutes, 1.11.9

05:13 Rules of Civility: Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life
29:57 Summa Theologica (Prima Pars, Q58–59)
46:59 Institutes (1.11.9–16)

Myron and Martin reflect on the erosion of family-centered wisdom before turning to modern challenges of civility in conversation, a roadside look at Baylor’s origins, Aquinas on angels and the limits of their knowledge, and Calvin on the dangers and distortions of religious imagery.

" Show the things that are to come here after, and we shall know that you are Gods."
—Isaiah 41:23

04:31 Opening Reflections: Generational wisdom
31:11 Rules of Civility: Undivided Attention
45:00 Roadside Attractions: Baylor University
49:39 Summa Theologica (Prima Pars, Q51–57)
1:09:55 Institutes (1.11.5–8)

In this first episode of Season Three, Myron and Martin reflect on types of prayer, a civility rule on distraction and electronic interruptions, and a closing meditation on Calvin’s vision of creation as a summons to rejoice.

"There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice."
—John Calvin, Sermon No. 10 on 1 Corinthians

01:20 Opening Reflections: Prayer
26:40 Roadside Attractions: San Diego
40:35 Rules of Civility: Distraction
53:06 Calvin's sermon

In this final episode of Season 2, Myron and Martin reflect on the formation of Christian ethics while reading Aquinas on angels and the immaterial order and Calvin on images, idolatry, and the unseen nature of God.

"The human mind is, so to speak, a perpetual forge of idols."
—Calvin's Institutes, 1.11.8

01:02 Opening Reflections: Christian ethics
25:11 Roadside Attractions: San Diego
41:14 Summa Theologica (Prima Pars, Q50)
1:08:42 Institutes (1.11.1-16)

In this guest episode, Myron and Martin are joined by Cornell alumnus Carl Neuss, who recounts his shift from major donor to organized opposition of institutional capture. He describes how ideological drift, donor leverage, media exposure, and external pressure converged to challenge the university’s departure from free speech, Western tradition, and Christian foundations.

Cornell Free Speech Alliance: https://www.cornellfreespeech.org/

00:18 Guest Introduction: Carl Neuss
01:04 Cornell, then and now
28:02 Cornell Free Speech Alliance
41:15 Removing Ivy League presidents
1:01:06 Why are people terrified of changing the status quo?
1:13:12 Closing question

Myron and Martin reflect on the modern expectation of “knowing God’s will,” arguing that Christian maturity consists not in waiting for divine signals but in exercising wisdom, agency, and judgment—before turning to civility across social ranks, Aquinas on good and evil, and Calvin on Scripture’s testimony to the one true God.

"For I know that my redeemer liveth"

—Job 19:25

03:19 Opening Reflections: Praying for guidance

30:45 Roadside Attractions: Arizona

42:58 Rules of Civility: Social status

59:43 Summa Theologica (Prima Pars, Q47–49)

1:14:39 Institutes (1.10.1-3)

Myron and Martin reflect on Christian time management as an ordering of life toward worship, work, and virtue. Today’s civility discussion balances flattery and sincerity. In the readings, Aquinas turns to the procession of all creation from God, while Calvin defends Scripture’s credibility through prophecy, history, and witness.

"All beings apart from God are not their own being, but are beings by participation."
—Summa Theologica, Prima Pars, Q44

02:11 Opening Reflections: Time management
37:35 Roadside Attractions: Los Angeles
51:49 Rules of Civility: Flattery
1:03:32 Summa Theologica (Prima Pars, Q44)
1:09:47 Institutes (1.8.8-13)