Welcome back to another episode of five minutes in church history.

Last week we talked about the Chicago statement, and this week we have a significant figure

in the Chicago statement joining us.

We're calling this episode, History Makers, the Chicago statement.

Usually we talk about history, but here we get to have a history maker with us to talk about the Chicago statement.

Well, last week I also mentioned to you the Ligonier statement.

This was a statement that was written in 1973,

and it was written primarily by Dr. Sproll.

And this statement also served then as the basis for what came to be known as the

Chicago statement on biblical inerrancy from 1978. Dr. Sproll has joined us in the

studio and is on an episode with us. Dr. Sproll, you played both an

extensive and a pivotal role in the Chicago statement. Why did you do it?

Well, obviously the issue of the authority of the bio was such a pressing issue at that time as it still is today and it has been,

you know, at the turn of the 20th century, the Dutch philosopher theologian

Abraham Kuiber made the comment that biblical criticism

had become biblical vandalism.

And there was this all-out assault

against the trustworthyness of sacred scripture.

So this was a burning question in the seminaries and in the churches and so on.

So we first had the conference in 73 gathering scholars from all around to defend the biblical in Arrancy. and head editor of Christianity today and I and I wrote to him and I said,

ask, well, I said, why don't you call a summit meeting

of scholars from all over the world

...