Summit Ministries

Wow, it's amazing how much new and thought-provoking information you can learn everyday here at the Summit! After the now routine 7 a.m. rise, breakfast, and room clean-up, we began the classroom day with Dr. Noebel's "Bible Hour" and learned how the Scriptures are actually not non-historical. It's quite amazing how discoveries like the Dead Sea scrolls or Hezekiah's tunnel can make the Bible come alive. Dr. Noebel also gave us information to attain additional hardcopy resources enabling motivated students to further delve into our daily topic. Following "Bible Hour", Day 9, brought us two very informative and convincing speakers in Dr. J.P. Moreland and Dr. Frank Beckwith. Dr. Moreland began the academics with a discussion of the worldview of Scientific Naturalism. It was very interesting to see what natural occurrences could be explained by the existence of God and how those same occurrences held no weight in the realm of Scientific Naturalism. Following Dr. Moreland was Dr. Beckwith's overview of Relativism with a title of "Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air." The main issue with relativism is that it cannot account for the natural existence of right and wrong. Dr. Beckwith was very clear in showing us this fact and how the issue of "tolerance" is clouding our objective moral values.

After a short break and a delicious, homemade potpie lunch, Dr. Moreland began another lecture on "Analyzing Postmodernism." I was quite tired in the morning after climbing Pike's Peak on Sunday but you never want to miss a piece of information here at the Summit. From what I have seen and heard, every fact counts, and that idea was greatly conferred to the class in our discussion of the definition of "truth" and how postmodernism deals with the issue. The problem with postmodernism is that words lose their meaning and truth can be different to everyone. We learned that some actually believe we can create reality through the way we talk and think about it. The more I hear about other worldviews the more I am so thankful for God's grace and my salvation. I definitely do not have enough faith to believe most of the ideas included in the other 5 worldviews or to follow another religion outside of Christianity. In his speaking time, Dr. Beckwith presented an understanding of truth that was quite new to me but enables Christians too see how there can only be one truth. Basically, truth is the matching relation between an idea or thought and reality. There was one statement from Dr. Beckwith that particularly stood out to me. He said "Evidence doesn't make something true; reality does. Evidence is what makes us able to know truth IS truth."

The rest of the afternoon was free time for the students and some of the amazing friends I have made here and I spent a few hours walking through town and enjoying the majestic scenery along with slightly over-priced ice cream. After we arrived back at the hotel for dinner, Praise & Worship, Dr. Noebel's "Worldviews," the Manference and Feminar, and small groups closed out another long but inspiring day. Dr. Noebel's "Worldviews" is probably the most enjoyable speaking session for me because it combines interesting modern issues with a sense of humor and "more fun than a person should have." The Manference was also great because it discussed a number of "un-discussable" issues challenging Christian men today.

The Summit has been a tremendous experience for me so far and I will be so sad when it comes to the end. It has been very rewarding to interact with Christians from all over the country who have similar goals and values to mine. I have grown so much and can see the foundation of what I believe has been strengthened. The only bad part about the 2 weeks here is that you have to wait to put everything you have learned into action! I came to the Summit with my glass half-empty but now Christ has filled me up. I can't wait to begin another exciting day of acquiring Christian ammunition for spreading the TRUTH about the world we live in and the God we serve!