samedi, septembre 23, 2006

every jot and tittle.

A couple of months ago, a dear friend of mine, Joshua Robinson, informed me of a conference that would be happening in Toronto in September. i became quite excited for it, seeing as it was a conference entitled, "Getting the Most out of your Bible". What's better than spending a weekend saturated in the Word of God and learning how to wield the sword? The fact that it was only $15 dollars for students also made this a pretty sweet deal, seeing as i'm a 2o year old, fourth year, undergraduate student who is also unemployed because campus ministry and church ministry is akin to having a part time job.

Anyways, the conference started last night, and ended earlier this evening. It definitely did not disappoint. Perhaps i'll post more of my gleanings at another time (i'm still currently digesting everything i learned). If you're that pressed to find out some of the things which were taught, you can read Joshua Robinson's blog. He does a good job at recapping what i found to be the best session of the conference.
As i said, i'm not going to blog on what i learned until i have time to think about it and digest it, but i do want to blog about the first thing i was struck by at the conference.

In his opening prayer, Derek Thomas thanked our Lord that every jot and tittle in the Scriptures are from Him. This was, in a nutshell, an affirmation of sola scriptura, the principle that the Bible alone is the ultimate source of God's revelation to humanity. This of course, is no new principle to me, and those of you who know me, know that i will stand by the truth in 2 Timothy 3:16. However, hearing this brought me back to the Newsweek Article on Billy Graham that i noted on this blog in August. Billy Graham, in the article, made the statement: "I'm not a literalist in that every jot and tittle is from the Lord." Oh Billy.

Going to a conference like this was encouraging. It was encouraging to know that there are others who, in this "post-modern" world where truth is supposedly "non-existent", affirm the inerrancy and truthfulness of the Word of God. However, it was also heartbreaking to realize, once again, that there are some who are swayed by the tides of the world, who claim to believe in Jesus and in God, yet also claim that there needs to be more than the Bible in order to believe and live...or who claim that truth cannot be known. To think of the far-reaching effects that this heresy has is frightening. To know that writers like Brian Mclaren , Rob Bell and NT Wright are out there is disconcerting, especially as a 20-year old university student who has personally seen the ramifications of students my age (and younger) not knowing the truth and subscribing to the emergent church because it feels "right" and "accepting". What university students need is a healthy dose of the only Truth that exists in this fallible world. And what Christian university students, and adults alike, need to do is cling to the Word of God and have it written on their hearts. Too bad even Christians are turning their back on the Word of God and filling out subscriptions for relativistic truth (if it can even be called 'truth').

So, while i am glad that i made it out to this conference, and have learned a great deal, which will make me better at wielding the Sword, i am saddened that Joshua and i and less than a handful of others were under the age of 40. this conference was the type of thing that our po-mo generation needs to direct their eyes back to the Truth.
soli deo gloria.
***

oh, and while i am at it, i have to say that there was a "bloggers" lunch today, where attendees of the conference who also blog, met up at swiss chalet for lunch. since mr. robinson is such a popular guy, he knows amazing uber bloggers and invited me to tag along. here are some pictures that blogger, Carla Rolfe has put up. If you look closely, its true! i am sitting across and over one seat from the famous uber blogger, Tim Challies. i am also sitting two seats away from Pastor Paul, Joshua Robinson's pastor. Little do these people know, i have blog stalked them for awhile, so it was pretty sweet to meet them.

And here's some other pictures.


Dr. James White and Joshua Robinson. Dr. James White is a pretty cool guy. His sarcasm makes me laugh and his dedication to the Truth sobers me up.


Dr. White, Dr. Waltke, Dr. Thomas


Dr. Waltke, Joshua Robinson, myself

P.S. special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Robinson for allowing me to steal a spare bed in their house, so that i would not need to commute all the way back home, for feeding me (also, thanks to Joshua for making me food) and for introducing me to an AMAZING tea.

11 commentaires:

Anonyme a dit...

Hi Lydia,
I just left a comment for you at Pastor Paul's blog - then found yours. Just wanted to thank you again for coming to lunch with us, we had a lot of fun.

I appreciate reading your thoughts on the conference, and just sorry we missed last night's sessions.

SDG... Carla

Anonyme a dit...

who wears a backpack and a purse? how much junk you carrying around?

Anonyme a dit...

email me those pics yo.

Anonyme a dit...

maybe more young people weren't there because they didn't KNOW about it. like me ;) dr. waltke, what!

too bad i'm not a student and probably would have had to pay like a hundred dollars.

Anonyme a dit...

p.s. i'm moving to vancouver. do you know who works on the same campus as me? that's right. waltke.

Anonyme a dit...

Hello:

I don't know you. I've stumbled across your blog and am puzzled by this post. I don't understand what you mean when you use the word 'truth', because you haven't stated what you believe to be true, why it is true and how you know it to be true. Would you like to clarify?

Oliver

Anonyme a dit...

Hi Oliver,

when i used the word Truth (with a capital T) in this blog, i used it synonymously the Word...

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (Jn 1:1)

so by Truth, i mean God and His revelation to us through the Bible, which is, the infallible (and truthful) word of God.

hmm, does that makes sense?

Anonyme a dit...

ryan: i was carrying a backpack and a purse because i didn't go home that night. i stayed in weston, so that i wouldn't need to commute the next morning. hence, needing a backpack to carry toiletries, a change of clothing, my textbook to study etc.

Anonyme a dit...

Hi Lydia
I was at that bloggers lunch with you, though we didn't have a chance to chat. How nice to catch up with you at your blog.

Jim and I thought it was cool how many young people were there. So nice to see (and I don't think that he and I are all that old either). Anyways, glad you found it a blessing. If you want to come to the London conference you can always stay with us. It too, I think will be a great time of learning.

Anonyme a dit...

Greetings from JesusWellofTruth.org,

We applaud your discernment concerning Billy Graham. Another Scripture you might note in this matter is Matthew 4:4 which states and we quote "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Note the word "every" leaves no room for interpretation as you can plainly see it's Greek meaning in the Strong's Concordance: G3956!

Blessings in Yahshua's Name, Blood and Sword,
Rick from JesusWellofTruth.org

Anonyme a dit...

Greetings from JesusWellofTruth.org,

We applaud your discernment concerning Billy Graham. Another Scripture you might note in this matter is Matthew 4:4 which states and we quote "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Note the word "every" leaves no room for interpretation as you can plainly see it's Greek meaning in the Strong's Concordance: G3956!

Blessings in Yahshua's Name, Blood and Sword,
Rick from JesusWellofTruth.org