Chariots of Desire: A Cultural Reflecion on Cars & Where They're Taking Us

I’ve never thought about cars before.

You’re not alone if this is your gut response to Tom’s topic. It’s like conducting a Forum on countertops or shoe laces.

All the more reason to take another look under the hood:

1. What is a car? Like, philosophically, culturally, even theologically?
2. Why are they everywhere?
3. What makes them so valuable to us?
4. How can there be any dark under-chassis to automobiles?

Tom has been cruising along this boulevard for decades from the days he began collecting Hot Wheels cars till he entered the sacred rite of passage called the PA Learner’s Permit, and to this very day in which his brain’s encyclopedic knowledge of car trivia continues to expand to absurd proportions.

A graduate of Bloomsburg University of PA with a BA in Speech/Communications, he cut his teeth on comedy and campus ministry as student. Tom then served as college minister at his alma mater as well as Bucknell and Susquehanna Universities.

Along the way he and Becky (m. 1985) added five children and a four year exile/oasis at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louise where Tom earned the Masters of Divinity, concentrating in Christianity and Contemporary Culture.

The Beckers then studied at L'Abri Fellowship in Hampshire England before landing in Lancaster city to establish Reformed University Fellowship at Millersville University.

After a short stint of teaching classical studies and rhetoric, Tom founded The Row House, Inc. as a way to build bridges with neighbors through topics and speakers that could engage current culture with Christian faith by seeking the common good.

Tom has been an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America, a realtor, and owner of three Chevy Corvairs, two VW Vanagons, one Audi A4 (a most proper vehicle), and four Subarus. He enjoys car design, neighborhood life, podunk places, traveling with Becky, handling Rue the dog, and riding bikes as much as possible. He curates two shadow Instagram accounts that you have to discover on your own.

Becker wrote Good Posture in 2017, published by Square Halo Books and continues to write three regular columns:

• Side Ways in the Living section Lancaster Newspapers
• Town Character, his blog on towns, characters, and curiosities on Substack
• permeability, a monthly Row House column on faith and culture on Substack

His car talk is part of a two part Series he’s calling Learning Vincibility.

• Part One is a measured celebration of automobile culture.
• Part Two will be an introduction to slow transit like biking and walking.

Prepare for a race between the furious fast and the curious slow right up there with Ford VS Ferrari.

Host or Publisher The Row House Forum