Next week, I will be heading to Orlando, FL to speak at the 2015 National Conference for The Gospel Coalition, April 13-15. This is always a great event that provides an opportunity to hear some great talks, catch up with old friends, and check out the latest books.
I am speaking at 4:30 on April 14th on the topic of “How Do We Know the Bible is God’s Word? Recovering the Doctrine of a Self-Authenticating Scripture.”
Other RTS Charlotte folks are also participating in the conference. Dr. James Anderson, associate professor of theology and philosophy, will be speaking on Worldview Apologetics . Dr. Anderson is one of the brightest minds in philosophical theology today and the author of the recent book, What’s Your Worldview? (Crossway, 2014).
My wife, Melissa Kruger, will also be speaking. She is on staff at Uptown Church as Women’s ministry coordinator and also the author of The Envy of Eve (Christian Focus, 2010), and, most recently, Walking with God in the Season of Motherhood (Waterbrook, 2105).
Melissa is leading a workshop on the 10 commandments at the morning session (7AM!) on April 14th, and also participating in a panel discussion on “Ministry Among Women” at 1:30 along with Nancy Guthrie, Gloria Furman, and Mary Wilson.
In addition to RTS Charlotte, other RTS campuses will be represented. At 6PM on April 14th in the Butler ballroom there will be an RTS panel discussion moderated by Ligon Duncan on the topic of “Living in Light of the Gospel in the Midst of a Darkening Culture.” Participants will include myself, Scott Redd, Scott Swain, Don Sweeting, Mike Allen, and James Anderson.
You won’t want to miss these talks. If you are in the area, I hope to see you there!
Sean says
Dr. Kruger, I’m a high school senior, and one of my worries about Reformed epistemology is that I will learn something about it that will render it invalid. How could I possibly know that Self-Authentification is legitimate without knowing if there’s a potential defeater to Holy Spirit epistemology? On the other hand, I don’t want to live as an evidentialist. There’s so much torment in that life-always wondering whether I have given the evidence a fair shake. What do I do?
Rob Dewar says
I’m not Dr. Kruger, I’d suggest if you want his response, go to his university …
But having struggled with similar questions, I do get where you’re coming from. For me, the best way to quiet my fears has been to live my life according to the Gospel, and witness the results in my own spiritual comfort. If I start relying on epistemology, logic, and knowledge, and forget about application, then anything can appear real, but when I rely on showing love (not the mushy romantic love, but real sacrificial love) to those who need it and all those around me, the reality of that approach is undeniable. Plus it follows the whole “don’t worry about tomorrow” theme that’s also found in Scripture.
The other thing I have to remind myself of occasionally is that not everything is relative, there is a real objective truth, and it will continue to shine through despite my best attempts to ignore it. Your doubts (as expressed) show a struggle with relativism. It’s true, I may be mistaken on any given thing, but if I find something where my understanding of life differs from my understanding of scripture, the problem has reliably been shown to be in … my understanding. Not in the reality of life vs. the reality of scripture. In other words, approaching life with humility – never assuming that NOW I’ve given the evidence a fair shake, especially if you’re seeing the evidence disagree with the Scripture – it’s just as possible (more possible) that you’ve missed something. A follower of science would disagree with me on that one (follow the evidence! ignore the book!), but the more I’ve followed the book, the more it’s turned out to be true … self authenticating, one could even say …
Anyways, I realize that not everyone on the internet who claims to be a high school student is, but on the off chance you are and are looking for avenues to explore, hopefully I’ve given you some ideas.