What Has ICBI Accomplished?

International Conferences

  1. Summit I. In October 1978, ICBI held a Summit Conference in Chicago with the express purpose of producing a statement defining the doctrine of inerrancy.  This resulted in the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy which consists of a short statement, a preface and 19 articles of affirmation and denial. This Statement was endorsed by nearly all the participants who represented many denominations and Christian organizations. This Statement has already been translated into Japanese, French, German and two African dialects and distributed in those countries.
  2. Congress on the Bible. ICBI held a convocation concerned with the power of God's inerrant Word: God's Word affirmed, understood and applied in such a way that the individual, the Church, the community and the world will be transformed. San Diego, California, March 3-6, 1982.
  3. Summit II - Hermeneutics. In November 1982 ICBI held a meeting where 100 specially qualified scholars grappled with issues of interpretation which directly relate to inerrancy and the nature of Scripture. There were 16 papers written on key aspects of the problem. Two additional scholars were asked to respond to each paper for a total of 48 writers: 16 authors and 32 responders. These people met for four days dealing with the issues which needed to be settled in important areas of interpretation.
  4. Summit III - December 1986. Group adopted the Chicago Statement on Biblical Application." The papers delivered at this conference we published as Applying the Bible which was edited by Kenneth Kantzer and published by Zondervan in 1987.

Production of Material

  1. The Foundation of Biblical Authority, ed. James Boice, published by Zondervan, answers questions brought about by Jack Rogers in his edited collection Biblical Authority.
  2. Inerrancy, ed. Norman Geisler, published by Zondervan, addresses 14 specific problem areas on inerrancy. It is a compilation of the papers presented at the Chicago Summit.
  3. Can We Trust the Bible? ed. Earl Radmacher, published by Tyndale. This volume contains six inspirational messages by Boice, Sproul, Criswell, Preus, Clowney, and Packer from the Chicago Summit. They are concerned with what Scripture says about God's Word.
  4. Biblical Errancy: An Analysis of its Philosophical Roots, ed. Norman Geisler, published by Zondervan. The contributors to this volume show how the basic presuppositions of many philosophers lead to a denial of inerrant revelation.
  5. Inerrancy and the Church, ed. John Hannah, published by Moody Press. This in-depth investigation into the writings of key church Fathers, Scholastics, Reformers, and later thinkers examines the history of the controversy over biblical inerrancy to give perspective to our thinking.
  6. Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, ed. Gleason Archer, published by Zondervan, argues well for the unity and the integrity of the Bible and should therefore convince the skeptic and reassure the person who may be confused by the seeming discrepancies he discovers in Scripture.
  7. Challenges to Inerrancy: A Theological Response, eds. Gordon Lewis and Bruce Demarest, published by Moody Press, is an attempt to answer some of the most influential modern presuppositions that lead to the denial of an inerrant Bible. Twelve leading scholars uncover the roots of the controversy in theological schools of thought from the eighteenth century to the present.
  8. Hermeneutics, Inerrancy & the Bible, eds. Earl Radmacher and Robert Preus, published by Zondervan, contains the16 major papers from the Summit II Conference and 32 responses to these papers.
  9. "Does Inerrancy Matter?" by James Boice, answers questions and explains the issue of inerrancy to the lay person. Distributed by ICBI.
  10. "Explaining Inerrancy: A Commentary" by R.C. Sproul, explains article by article the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. Distributed by ICBI.
  11. "Freedom and Authority" by J.I. Packer, examines the relationship of authority, freedom, and scripture.  Distributed by ICBI.
  12. "Biblical Meditation" by Ronald Jenson explains what meditation is, why it is important and very specifically and practically how to develop the habit of biblical meditation.
  13. "Dynamic Bible Teaching" by Bruce Wilkinson explores seven key laws to dynamic Bible teaching and shows how utilizing these principles can change Bible classes from times of tedium and boredom to vital, exciting times of discovery.
  14. "Summit II Hermeneutics: A Commentary" by Norman Geisler, explains article by article the Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics. Distributed by ICBI.

Seminars

ICBI has held nine regional seminars on the authority of Scripture. They are designed to answer questions lay people have concerning the truthfulness of their Bibles. These seminars have now been developed into a video package for their ongoing use.