Tim Bridges: An Introduction

Greetings!

I am Tim Bridges and I am pusuing a PhD in Ecclesiastical History. Before coming to Edinburgh, I was the pastor of First Baptist Church of Clewiston, Florida. I graduated from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest in 2003. My wife, Krisy, and I have been married for 7 years and we have one daughter named Delaney (3).

My research interests center on the "image question" in Reformed theology. As a case study in that genre, I am researching the puritan iconoclast William Dowsing (1596-1668). It is a touchy subject. But Dowsing provides an interesting opportunity to study both the theological underpinnings in the iconolastic tradition and the way in which a puritan laymen applied them. But my broader interests lie in in the Reformed theology of worship. This research context allows me to read greats like Calvin, Perkins, and many others.

As I hope my contributions to this blog will indicate, I have much more than an academic interest in puritanism. I admire puritan spirituality and piety. As a preacher, I benefit greatly from their approach to Scripture. I enjoy reading works by Bunyan, Sibbes, Brooks...all the greats. I do have a confession to make to my fellow contributers, however. I have never read a work by Owen. But I hope to remedy that soon.

I look forward to mutually beneficial interaction.

Tim Bridges

(picture: Calvinist iconoclastic riot of August 20, 1566, British Library; Earlier than Dowsing, but a very similar tradition.)