Low on the Go!

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.