Explaining Biblical Inerrancy: The Chicago Statements on Biblical Inerrancy, Hermeneutics, and Application with Official ICBI Commentary

by R.C. Sproul, Norman L. Geisler, The International Council on Biblical Inerrancy

From its inception in the 1730s, the evangelical movement was underpinned by the conviction that the Bible was the inspired, infallible, and inerrant word of God. The evangelical seminaries and societies that sprang up in the 1930-1940s as a response to the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy and to the abandonment of orthodoxy in the mainline Protestant divinity schools started off as bastions of that same conviction. But it became clear in the 1970s that more humanistic notions were beginning to become endemic there too. Seminarians were learning that the Bible was ultimately more human than divine, contained errors of fact and logic, and needed to be interpreted in new ways. Seeing how these innovations would undermine and erode the foundations of their Bible-based faith, more than 300 scholars and leaders arose to meet the challenge with a scholarly, conservative, and pan-denominational response. This International Council on Biblical Inerrancy (ICBI) worked to clarify the proper ways “handle the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15) and to educate evangelicals about its importance. As a result, the revolutionaries retreated for the remainder of the 20th-century. Explaining Biblical Inerrancy is a collection of the three primary and two secondary documents of the ICBI corpus. It offers a witness to a historic era where conservative evangelical scholarship may have approached its zenith, delayed its twilight, and contributed to the fourth Great Awakening. This repository of 20th century wisdom should provide a valuable and timeless resource for 21st century evangelicals who stand at the cross-roads of conservation and contextualization, tradition and trends, preservation and progress, retention and revolution.

Genres: Theology

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2014

About the author

Dr. R.C. Sproul (1939–2017) was founder of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian discipleship organization located near Orlando, Fla. He was founding pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine.

Ligonier Ministries began in 1971 as the Ligonier Valley Study Center in Ligonier, Pa. In an effort to respond more effectively to the growing demand for Dr. Sproul’s teachings and the ministry’s other educational resources, the general offices were moved to Orlando in 1984, and the ministry was renamed.

Dr. Sproul’s radio program, Renewing Your Mind, is still broadcast daily on hundreds of radio stations around the world and can also be heard online. Dr. Sproul produced hundreds of lecture series and recorded numerous video series on subjects such as the history of philosophy, theology, Bible study, apologetics, and Christian living.

He contributed dozens of articles to national evangelical publications, spoke at conferences, churches, and academic institutions around the world, and wrote more than one hundred books, including The Holiness of God, Chosen by God, and Everyone’s a Theologian. He signed the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy and wrote a commentary on that document. He also served as general editor of the Reformation Study Bible, previously known as the New Geneva Study Bible.

Dr. Sproul had a distinguished academic teaching career at various colleges and seminaries, including Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando and Jackson, Miss. He was ordained as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.

Reviews

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

[4.5] This read was great. It's a really digestible read explaining the ICBI (International Council on Biblical Inerrancy) statements regarding Hermeneutics and Biblical Inerrancy— first listing directly the three council meetings, their purposes, and the actual statements themselves, with subsequent commentaries on these statement articles explaining the purpose of their affirmations and denials, the reasoning for their chosen wording, and why thy've been included within each statement.

Though they do not function as any type of 'modern creed' within evangelistic circles, the statements themselves were incredibly enlightening, certainly when reading to understand contemporary issues within protestant and evangelistic circles when it comes to exegeting biblical doctrine and application to day-to-day Christian living. The explanations and commentaries afterwards were straightforward and clear, and were able to handle often dense conceptual explanations with fluidity.

It is important to note for interested readers that this read itself does not actually set out to create detailed arguments for these statements, but rather explain the reasoning behind why each statement exists/was considered relevant enough to include. In this manner I would have enjoyed further elaboration disproving or arguing against the rebuttal points, as well as some more direct scripture application to ferment these points (by this I mean to say that while scripture is indeed directly relevant throughout all of this writing, I wish there had been more direct application/citation of this when referring to its relevance rather than more generalised statements), but overall I was very satisfied and took a lot away from this reading.

I would certainly recommend this read for anyone looking to further understand many issues faces evangelical circles and the Church today.

[Erin Baumgaertel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one that does a fine job of describing inerrancy. Aside from the Bible, I hope this is a book that all Christian’s who can get a copy will read. Christianity is in crisis and the doctrine of inerrancy as given and explained in this book is essential to upholding all foundational biblical teachings.

[Levi Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, great resource regarding the topic of biblical inerrancy. Put words to a lot of ideas I knew but maybe wouldn’t have been able to express. I hope to refer back to this if people come to me with questions regarding the topic.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enlightening but very dense read. I appreciated the structure and thoroughness of the topics/viewpoints covered. Ultimately very appreciative for the coverage of Biblical Inerrancy