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PURPOSE

This website contains audio lectures and written material on matters relating to the Christian Faith, the Bible, and the interface between Science and the Bible. The site is developed and maintained by the Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute.

The Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute is a group of Christians who see a desperate need for men and women convinced of the complete reliability of the Bible who will:

  1. get training both in Biblical studies and in some other academic discipline, and
  2. use this training to help other Christians deal with the many areas where non-Christian teaching is so dominant today.
We believe that such trained people can be effective in removing many stumbling blocks that keep others from the Gospel.

Our Objectives Our Programs Our Beliefs Membership

Contribute to IBRI

This web site has been developed and is maintained as a free labor of love by volunteers who believe that there is an urgent need to make available the lectures and literature that are presented here.

Our intent is to allow free downloads of these lectures and literature in single copies for personal use. To this end we have purchased web services and posted as much of this material for download as seems prudent. At present, about 20% of the total available is currently posted.

Our desire is to post all of the material, and add much worthy, new material. As web usage shows the value of these postings, we plan to add more material for download. If you desire particular items that are not currently available for download, please contact the webmaster.

You can help us, and expand the materials available for download by your purchases, or by making a tax-deductible contribution to IBRI.


You may also help to improve this website by editing the OCR text of any pdf pages, or by providing us with outlines or transcripts of the audio lectures (or corrections of those existing). Please send any such material by email to IBRI.




Our Objectives

The Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute (IBRI) comprises Christians who are convinced of the complete reliability of the Bible.

We believe that all Christians are responsible for advancing the gospel and in removing stumbling blocks that impede non-Christians from accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

We are aware of the biblical admonition that “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8.1). Nevertheless, knowledge is an essential element of the Christian faith, and learned Christians, acting with love, can have a meaningful, positive impact upon all segments of our society.

As such, our objectives are:

  1. To strengthen the Christian Church in evangelism and informed apologetics;
  2. To help faithful students of the Scriptures develop a coherent hermeneutical method that will enable them to be effective witnesses to the power of the Gospel in the academic disciplines and wider cultural contexts in which they find themselves;
  3. Toward that end, to help prepare Christian scholars who will strengthen the faculties of Christian institutions of higher education and provide a strong Christian presence in secular institutions;
  4. To prepare and distribute materials in support of the above objectives.




Our Programs

By means of a local colloquium series we seek to stimulate each other to think through problem areas and develop conclusions consistent with Biblical teaching. These typically meet monthly at Biblical Theological Seminary (now Missio Seminary) during the school year. Tapes of these are available from IBRI.

We feel that publication is essential, both long and short works, both popular and scholarly.

Lectures on relevant subjects have already been prepared by some IBRI members. We are encouraging others to develop these as well.

Seminars on topics such as Christian evidences, evolution and Bible-science interaction have already been given by the present IBRI membership. We have developed such seminars for presentation at churches, Bible conferences and colleges, with printed notebooks and, in some cases, academic credit.




Our Beliefs

All of us in IBRI believe in a great number of things we understand the Bible to teach. We have limited our doctrinal statement to the basics because we think Christians should be able to work together, emphasizing agreements rather than differences. These basics are:

  1. The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the written Word of God, our absolute authority, inerrant in the autographs.
  2. There is only one God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who created all things by His power. He is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
  3. Jesus Christ is God the Son, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He became man through a virginal conception and birth, lived a life of perfect righteousness, performed miracles, and died on the cross as a substitute to pay for the sins of all who trust in Him. He rose physically from the dead, ascended to heaven, and will one day return to rescue His own and put an end to sin.
  4. All people are sinners as a result of Adam's fall and their own disobedience. Only through repentance from sin and dependence on Christ's work alone may they return to a right relationship with God. Those who return will one day be delivered from sin and death to spend an eternity of blessing enjoying and serving God. Those who continue in sin will one day face God's judgment, after which they will forever experience His wrath.

This doctrinal statement is to be understood within the framework of the New Hampshire, Philadelphia or Westminster confessions of faith.




Membership

Anyone who agrees with our objectives and doctrinal statement can become a Friend of IBRI. We hope you will support us with your prayers especially. And financially, too, though we do not wish to take money away from your local church or other sound Christian works. Our aim is to strengthen the church, not to weaken it!

From among the Friends of IBRI, our Board will select certain people as Associates, who must have either an earned academic doctorate (PhD or ThD) in some field, or a Masters degree in a seminary program emphasizing Biblical exegesis.

A third class of members is called Fellows. Each year the existing Fellows of IBRI may elect additional Fellows from among those Associates who have both an academic doctoral (PhD or ThD) and a Masters degree in a seminary program emphasizing Biblical exegesis.

We anticipate that the Fellows and Associates of IBRI will be doing most of our research, writing, and speaking; however, others are not restricted from these activities.