In a previous post, I briefly discussed the very important Christian belief of “self-authentication.” This is simply the belief that the God is true and whatever He says is true. Thus, the Bible is to be believed because it is the Word of God. Many unbelievers have objections to this. In this episode, I discuss self-authentication and explain why the Christian must believe it and thus answer some objections that are raised against it. In doing so, I heavily rely on presuppositional apologetics and the work of Greg Bahnsen and Cornelius Van Til. I hope this episode is useful and edifying to you.
Feel free to send any comments to: takingeverythoughtcaptive@gmail.com.
Download this episode here: TETC Episode 13
[...] July 13, 2010 by Taking Every Thought Captive Note: there is also a podcast episode on this subject here. [...]
Thank you for your help on self-authentication. However, it is all a bit technical and long winded for the man in the street. How would you answer the question from an ordinary guy ,”Why do you believe the Bible is the word of God?” Is there a shorter less technical answer?
Many thanks,
Fred
Hi Fred,
Thanks for visiting the site and commenting. Please give a me a couple of days to answer your question. Thanks for your patience.
Hi Fred,
Thanks for your comment. I’ll try to answer your question the best I can. If someone asked me that question, the first thing I would say is that God has changed my heart and saved me, and the Holy Spirit leads me to accept the Bible as God’s Holy Word. That’s the first reason I believe the Bible is the word of God. The second reason is that unless you believe the Bible, you have no basis for believing anything at all.
The Bible, as God’s revelation, gives us the basis for logic, science, and ethics. No other faith, religion, or worldview can give an account for these things. Let me give a simple example. Let’s say your atheist neighbor comments on a recent heinous crime that was committed in the neighborhood. He states how immoral and horrible the crime was. You agree with him, but you ask him on what basis can he say the crime was wrong. How can he, given his assumption about the universe, say that something is wrong? He doesn’t believe in God or absolute truth. He lives in a materialistic universe. The acts of the criminal were caused by chemical reactions in his brain that he had no control over. It is how he evolved. And besides, just because society says the crime was wrong, that doesn’t mean anything. Society’s views may change in a year or two.
Can you see the general direction you can go in? You basically want to show that unless you believe in God and His word, you have no basis to believe in anything. You can then share the good news of the gospel. You can tell your neighbor about the One who has declared what is right and what is wrong.
I hope this is helpful. Please feel free to ask more questions. I would also refer you to the following link which has several short articles on apologetics that are very helpful.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/get-answers/k/bahnsen-series/v/recent