About Us
Our Mission
Reformed Pendulum exists to help others craft the good life through the fulfillment of their created nature.
We do this by showing men and women how to acquire the habits of mind and heart in order to think, desire and act in alignment with the created order.
About the Founder
Mark Hanson writes and teaches from a perspective of rigorous academic research and deep personal conviction.
Education:
- Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry (2022) – University of the Incarnate Word
- Master of Science in Kinesiology (2014) – University of the Incarnate Word
- Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies (2002) – The Master’s University
Mark has also completed graduate-level theology courses at Denver Seminary and the Oblate School of Theology. His work integrates Scripture, natural law, theology, and sociology to offer a structural critique of modern family dynamics and a roadmap for restoring the truth of our created design.
Our Philosophy: The Created Order & The Good Life
The Objective Reality of Design
Everything in the universe is created with an essence that has an intended design and order. We believe that "goodness" is objectively defined as succeeding in being who we are according to our created nature.
Living according to this design—seeking the things conducive to our proper functioning—is the only path to deep and lasting happiness. The "good life" is not subjective; it is the state of understanding what is truly good for us and aiming our lives at those right ends.
The Necessity of Virtue
We have a proactive vocation to order ourselves and our world according to God’s original design. However, we cannot pursue human flourishing without virtue.
- Habits of Mind & Heart: Virtue is a set of dispositions that incline us to act according to our nature.
- Knowledge of Truth: To live virtuously, we must conform our minds to the way things actually are. Knowledge of our essence, our kind, and our nature is the conformity of the mind to reality.
The Foundation of Society: Family, Gender, & The Common Good
The Architecture of Family
At the very foundation of life is the community of family, built by a male and a female.
- Complementarity: Males and females are designed with unique capacities and functions to accomplish their vocation.
- The Marital Vocation: A husband and wife enact their own good when they fulfill their specific vocations as husband & wife and father & mother.
- The Common Good: The diverse natures of the male and female participate in constituting the one common good of the household. The parts exist for the sake of the whole.
The Definition of Gender
We hold that gender is inextricably tied to one’s biological sex. It is the social manifestation of biological sex, oriented towards the one form of marital good (husband/wife) and the one form of parenting (father/mother).
These truths about sex and the natural fulfillment of our design must be communicated accurately because all of civilization is built upon and dependent on the flourishing of the family unit.
Community & The Common Good
Since we are born into families and communities, no one can flourish on their own. Our good is necessarily communal. As the saying goes, "My good is your good, and your good is my good." We are called to arrange our lives so that we relate to one another in a way that allows all of us to obtain our good.
Conclusion: The Goal of Human Flourishing
God’s purpose is to uplift, change, renew, and enrich His creation through humans. He works through intelligent and prudent human beings to bring about healing, restoration, and flourishing that extends to all vocations, institutions, and creation itself.
Conclusion
Reformed Pendulum exists to help Christians understand God’s intent, design, purpose, and function in any given situation, so that they can love and act according to that end.