Summit Ministries

By Kelly Taylor

We've reached the end of the first day of the second week here in Manitou Springs. (How's that for a confusing sentence?) Everything seems to have flown by, but it's been an incredible life-changing experience so far. We started off with a bang in the form of Doc's Bible Hour. Bible hour is a wonderful way to begin. Not only does Doc share inspiring verses and leadership guidelines, (and many intellectual reasons why we should study our Bible), he also provides memorable one-liners to keep us all awake. One of my personal favorites: "Here in Manitou, we know nothing and we can prove it!" I know it doesn't seem to relate, but Doc has a hilarious knack of applying phrases like that.

In the second session we were introduced to Dr. J.P. Moreland, talented author and speaker. He skillfully packed our minds with reasons why a naturalistic worldview is incompatible with not only nature and logic, but also the origin of information and many other things. (To have it explained in further detail, please ask your child/friend upon their return).

Session three and four found us again in the wonderful company of Dr. Moreland, where he explained the fatal flaws of a post modern worldview. My favorite point from this was the issue of their arguments being self refuting or contradictory. For instance, one could say "no sentence itself is more than four words." And yet, that sentence is more than four words. In the same way, moral relativism contradicts itself: you can't say all things are relative without saying that relativism is relative. I would be shaking in my boots if I were a post modernist and Dr. Moreland was on the loose!

After a delicious lunch, we were captivated by Debbie Brezina's talk on America's Providential History. She knows her stuff! She took us through the importance of remembering our history and the Christian foundation our nation was founded on. Karl Marx once said, "Take away the heritage of a people and they are easily persuaded." May we never be guilty of forgetting our past, and may we always thank God for people like Ms. Brezina who have the boldness to speak up for it!

Our evening sessions were wonderful as always, Dr. Noebel did a fantastic job expanding on the problems of Secular Humanism, and we even had a special treat: us girls left for a "feminar" (while the guys had a "manference") and we were blessed to learn from the experience of the staffers on how to cope with suffering, be an encouragement, and to trust in our Saviour.

Needless to say, it's been quite a full but incredible day at Summit. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness in bringing us this far and teaching us so many amazing truths during our time here. Don't forget to keep us in your prayers and to set up accountability for us when we return.