On the Home page of this web site "Evangelical Christianity" is defined as conservative, historic, Protestant, Biblical Christianity. However, it appears that there is still some confusion or misunderstanding about just what is meant by Evangelical Christianity. Since the Home page went through a few iterations to be acceptable as a recognized SIG by Mensa (both American Mensa and International Mensa), other than minor changes and corrections, no changes should be made to the Home page. Therefore, this Evangelical Christianity page is introduced to explain more fully what this SIG means by Evangelical Christianity. A good part of the difficulty is that Evangelical Christianity doesn't mean the same thing to everyone.

Definition

According to Baker's Dictionary of Theology, Baker Book House, 1960, entry for Evangelical: "The evangelical Christian faith is the 'good news' or the 'glad tidings' that God has provided redemption for man. It affirms that salvation from sin is obtained through the grace of God, not that it is earned by good works or given because of merit on the part of man. . . . The most important issue between evangelicals and others is that of biblical authority. The evangelical insists that Scripture is the word of God written, and it is therefore infallible in its original autographs."

According to The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Micropaedia, Vol. III, 1978, entry for Evangelicalism: "Evangelicalism, a term used within Protestanism that has been applied to several groups and has had various emphases since the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In general, it has designated groups that stress the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, personal conversion experiences, Scripture as the only basis for faith, and active home and foreign evangelicalism." It goes on to explain that "Evangelical" was originally (during the Protestant Reformation) applied to Lutherans, and "Reformed" was applied to Calvinists, but later "Evangelical" was applied more broadly.

Biblical Inerrancy

I would like to stress that probably the most basic difference between Evangelicals and others is their commitment to the authority of the Scriptures as the Word of God, as indicated in the above two definitions. In more recent years, this commitment has been described as Biblical Inerrancy in the original autograpghs.

According to the web site of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals on its International Council on Biblical Inerrancy page ( ICBI ), "The authority of Scripture is a key issue for the Christian Church in this and every age. Those who profess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are called to show the reality of their discipleship by humbly and faithfully obeying God's written Word. To stray from Scripture in faith or conduct is disloyalty to our Master. Recognition of the total truth and trustworthiness of Holy Scripture is essential to a full grasp and adequate confession of its authority."

According to the ( Bible Researcher ) web site, "The 'Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy' was produced at an international Summit Conference of evangelical leaders, held at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Chicago in the fall of 1978. This congress was sponsored by the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy. The Chicago Statement was signed by nearly 300 noted evangelical scholars, including James Boice, Norman L. Geisler, John Gerstner, Carl F. H. Henry, Kenneth Kantzer, Harold Lindsell, John Warwick Montgomery, Roger Nicole, J. I. Packer, Robert Preus, Earl Radmacher, Francis Schaeffer, R. C. Sproul, and John Wenham."

Dr. James Montgomery Boice explains the development of The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, as well as two other similar documents, as follows. "About ten years into my pastorate, at the end of 1977 and the beginning of 1978, I helped start an organization that was concerned with the important matter we perceived to be under attack at that time, namely, the Bible's inerrancy. . . . It had as its purpose the task of 'elucidating, vindicating and applying the doctrine of biblical inerrancy as an essential element for the authority of Scripture and a necessity for the health of the church of God.'

"We held three scholarly gatherings to hammer out three documents of 'affirmation and denial.' The first, quite naturally, was on inerrancy ('The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy'). The second was on sound principles of biblical interpretation ('The Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics'). The third dealt with Bible application ('The Chicago Statement on Biblical Application'). We also held two large lay conferences, the first in San Diego in the spring of 1982 and the second in Washington in the fall of 1988." [James Montgomery Boice, Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace?: Rediscovering the Doctrines that Shook the World, Crossway Books, 2009 [2001], pp. 68-69].

The document, The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, appears in various forms in books and on the internet. In some places it appears with commentary, in other places without the Exposition at the end. The form given here, complete in its original form as best as I can determine, is how it appears in Carl F. H. Henry, God, Revelation and Authority, Vol. IV, Crossway Books, 1979 [pp. 211-219], and more recently in James Montgomery Boice, Standing on the Rock: Upholding Biblical Authority in a Secular Age, Kregel Publications, 1998 [pp. 147-160].

To view The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, click here.

In addition to The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, there are also the following documents that came out of the same International Summit Conference: R.C. Sproul's Commentary on The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy Signatures, The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy Names, The Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics, Geisler's Commentary on The Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics, and The Chicago Statement on Biblical Application. If you would like copies of any or all of these documents, email the SIG Coordinator.

Evangelical Manifesto

To help clarify what is meant by Evangelical Christianity an organization was established, made up of Evangelical leaders, for the purpose of producing an Evangelical Manifesto. For a copy of a summary of the Manifesto (6 pages), click here. For a copy of the full Manifesto (20 pages), click here. For the web site, which includes the full and summary Manifestos, list of signatories, background information, etc., click here. Please note, however, that this organization is ecumenical in the sense that a fairly wide range of denominations and independent organizations are represented. There is a significant range of doctrinal differences, but all are committed to general ideas that might be considered Evangelical.