I found this post and lecture by Dr. Michael Kruger from the Gospel Coalition:
"Even though most Christians believe that the Bible is the
inspired Word of God, very few can give an articulate answer for how Christians know this to be true.
We believe it, but we are not sure why we believe it.
Of course, the average non-Christian critic out there is quick
to pounce on this problem. “Christians have no reliable basis for knowing
whether the Bible is God’s Word,” they might say. “You Christians can
believe it if you want to, but you have no grounds for believing it. You
are believing it without a reason.”
In order
to address precisely this issue, I gave a lecture this past Spring at The Gospel Coalition National Conference entitled, “How Do We Know the Bible is God’s Word: Recovering the Doctrine of a Self-Authenticating Scripture.”
This lecture was designed to explain one way (and, arguably, the
primary way) that believers know that the Bible is God’s Word, namely from the
attributes and characteristics present in the Bible itself. Put simply, I
argue (along with many others throughout church history) that the Bible bears
evidence within itself of its own divine origins.
This is what we mean when we say that the Bible is self-authenticating. Such a claim raises a number of questions in
people’s minds: What exactly are these attributes present in Scripture?
If they are really there, then why don’t more people acknowledge them?
Isn’t this sort of claim just a form of subjectivism? And, has anyone
else in church history taken this approach?
If you share these questions, then I encourage you to download my
TGC lecture here. Update:
And here is the handout: TGC Self Authenticating Handout."
To learn more about the Gospel Coalition, you can visit their website here.
But don't take my word for it, listen to the lecture...then read the book, don't wait for the movie.
Have a little hope on me,
Roger
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