The Bible is no longer accepted or believed as fully trustworthy by many.  As one seminary professor described it, “What we are experiencing is an existential mood in the country.  Many of our students come to us with a relative view of the Bible.”  If the evangelical Church does not awaken to this situation, it will not be able to stand for or recognize God’s truth in an increasingly unbelieving and pluralistic world.

As Stephen Nichols writes in his biography, R. C. Sproul: A Life, “The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy made and makes some wince.”[1] Perhaps the main reason for that wince is the nature of the Statement. It is a line in the sand. It is a boundary marker. In our day, when something as sturdy biology becomes elastic, many fail to appreciate such lines. However, the council creating that statement, The International Council on Biblical Inerrancy, was led by two friends: R. C. Sproul (President) and James Montgomery Boice (Chairman). Lines did not make these men wince. And under their leadership a document was created that has guided generations since.[2]

The story of the Council’s beginning and first formal meeting at the Hyatt Regency at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport on October 26-28, 1978, is a human-interest story in itself.  The Bible was under attack and in 1976 Harold Lindsell published a bombshell of a book titled, The Battle for the Bible. To say that it caused a stir is an understatement. However, despite the Council’s beginnings, the statement they produced is chiefly what matters most because the attack on God’s word never takes a respite.

But why is the ICBI still necessary?  The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals web page answers that question.

The authority and accuracy of the Bible are foundations of the Christian faith.  Yet we are witnessing the erosion of these foundations.

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