That's why I said pretend. It's certainly a christian's starting point. but if you have know proof, it's an axiom? your starting point itself is an axiom. So as a believers do we have proof that:
1 The Bible Comes from God.
2. The Bible is true.
3 God cannot lie .
Would maybe a text from Jesus himself help us here? Do we know the truth of scripture because we 'hear the words of Jesus' ?
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
Do you get my point now?
I would say you forgot to apply the approach mentioned . We start with as blank a slate as possible. The longer we've been exposed to ' teaching , sermons, christian websites , doctrines , isms ect the more we can pick up the wrong things and the wrong presuppositions ect . So being aware of this as we go is key . Minimising the criteria as I have explained with the who ,what when why ,what observations. Now let's look at that verse you mentioned.
25¶Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
26But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand.
29My Father, which gave
them me, is greater than all; and no
man is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand.
30I and
my Father are one.
31¶Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33¶The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
35If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
36Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
37If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
38But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father
is in me, and I in him.
39Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,
Like i said its better to be in discovery mode not looking for proof texts to support our assumptions. We start ,as believers with the assumption ( as minimal as possible ) . Many start with already learned ' stuff 'and go looking for verses to support it . Thats a bad approach and your not in discovery mode like this . Its allowing the scriptures to say what they mean in the right context.
If we apply the who is Jesus speaking to ?
when is he speaking to them?
why is he speaking to them ?
what is he speaking to them about
we may see what he's saying in the right context . So these verses are no longer just proof text s to support an already assumed doctrine .