Some have suggested that Scripture is “self-attesting,” either in the sense that it is self-evidently inspired or that some books of the Bible cite other books as “Scripture.” But the argument of self-evidence begs the question by overlooking the distinction between evidence as an objective property (brightness is an evident property of the sun) and as a subjective perception (its brightness is not evident on a cloudy day). The divine inspiration of Scripture is “self-evidencing” in the first sense, but not necessarily in the second. The argument that some biblical texts cite others as “Scripture” is credible as far as it goes; but it does not go far (we don’t even know that the book which cites another is itself inspired), and it certainly does not provide the means by which to identify the entire canon. (Philip Blosser, “What are the Philosophical and Practical Problems with Sola Scriptura?” in Not By Scripture Alone: A Catholic Critique of the Protestant Doctrine of Sola Scriptura, ed. Robert A. Sungenis [2d ed.; State Line, Pa.: Catholic Apologetics International Publishing, Inc., 2013], 48)
Further Reading:
Not By Scripture Alone: A Latter-day Saint Refutation of Sola Scriptura
