Section One: Name of Society
The International Society of Christian Apologetics (ISCA)
Section Two: Purpose of the Society
The purpose of the Society is to foster scholarly discussion of ideas among evangelical scholars relevant to the defense of the historic Christian Faith in accordance with the Doctrinal Statement of the Society.
Section Three: Doctrinal Statement
1. Trinity
God is a triunity of three Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) in one infinite, eternal, and uncreated essence, having infallible foreknowledge of all future events. The Trinity is understood here as it was expressed in the historic orthodox Nicene, Chalcedonian, and Athanasian Creeds.
2. Bible
The sixty-six books of the Bible alone are the infallible and inerrant Word of God in the autographic text. This doctrine is understood as the one expressed by the Framers of the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy in its “Chicago Statement” and as interpreted by the official ICBI Commentary on it.
3. Salvation
Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone based on the finished work of Christ alone, apart from any good works on the part of human beings.
Section Four: Membership
Article One: Full Membership
Full membership is open only to those with at least an earned masters degree in some apologetically relevant field (e.g., Apologetics, Philosophy, Bible, Theology, History, Science, or Comparative Religion) or the equivalent. Exceptions may be considered by the Executive Committee. Only full members have voting privileges.
Article Two: Student Membership
Student membership is open only to those working on at least a masters degree in some apologetically relevant field (e.g., Apologetics, Philosophy, Bible, Theology, History, Science, or Comparative Religion) or the equivalent. Exceptions may be considered by the Executive Committee. Student members do not have voting privileges.
Article Three: General Membership
General membership is open to those who are interested in apologetics but not yet enrolled in at least an M.A. in one of the fields eligible for student membership. Exceptions will be considered by the Executive Committee. General members do not have voting privileges.
Article Four: Further Qualifications for Membership
1. Subscribe without reservation to the doctrinal statement as meant by the ISCA Framers.
2. Recommendation by two other voting members of the Society.
3. Payment of annual dues.
Article Five: Initial Members
The initial members of the Society are Norman Geisler (President), Gary Habermas (Vice-President), Steve Gardner (Sec./Treas.), and Win Corduan (Editor).
Section Five: Disqualification from Membership
Article One:
1. Individuals may be removed from membership only if charges are presented in writing to the membership at the previous annual meeting and one third of the members present vote to proceed with the process.
2. The person so charged has the option to resign immediately.
3. If the person charged chooses not to resign, they must offer their reasons in writing to the Executive Committee within one month of the annual meeting when the vote was taken to proceed.
4. The charged person will be dismissed from membership only by a majority vote of the members present at the next annual meeting.
Article Two:
Members may be removed for either doctrinal or moral reasons (as defined by the Executive Committee).
1. Doctrinal: Failure to conform to the doctrinal statement.
2. Moral: A failure in morals is one in which disrepute has been brought on the society or its members.
Section Six: Annual Dues
The dues are to be determined by the members present at an annual meeting to apply to the following year(s).
Section Seven: Rules of Order
Article One:
The authority for rules of order in all business meetings of the Society, unless otherwise noted in these Bylaws, is the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order.
Article Two:
A Parliamentarian may be appointed at the discretion of the Chairperson.
Section Eight: A Quorum and Duly Called Meeting
Article One: A Quorum
A quorum will consist of all the voting members of the Society who are present at a duly called business meeting.
Article Two: A Duly Called Meeting
To be an official meeting of the Society it must be either (1) a regularly scheduled annual meeting, or (2) a special meeting called by the Executive Committee and announced to the members at least 45 days in advance.
Article Three:
Notice is deemed to be sufficient once it is placed in first class mail to members’ addresses as registered with the Society or any other verifiable means.
Section Nine: Officers
Article One: List of Officers and Committee(s)
1. President: Is the chairperson of the Executive Committee meetings and of the Business meetings of the whole Society.
2. Vice President: Will assist the president and act in his absence.
3. Secretary: Will record the minutes of all the meetings of the Executive Committee and of the whole Society.
4. Treasurer: Will bank and dispense all funds as directed by the Executive Committee.
5. Editor of the Journal: Will be responsible for producing the Journal under the direction of the Executive Committee.
6. The Program Chairman: Will be elected each year by the membership. He will be responsible for preparing the program for the following year. He will work under the direction of the Executive Committee which is responsible for its contents.
7. The Executive Committee: Will be composed of the President (chairperson), Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Editor of the Journal. Any vacancies in officers of the Society, except president, that might arise during the year might be filled by the Executive Committee on an interim basis until the next annual meeting.
Article Two: Election of Officers
1. The officers are elected at the annual meeting by a majority vote of the membership for a term of two years.
2. They may serve for as many terms as they are reelected by the membership at a Duly called meeting of the Society.
3. The Founding President, Dr. Norman L. Geisler, shall be an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee of the International Society of Christian Apologetics in perpetuity.
Section Ten: Amendment of the Bylaws
1. The original membership as set forth herein may amend these by-laws to effectuate a non-profit status with any state, the federal government, and the appropriate designations from the Internal Revenue Service.
These Bylaws can then be amended only if–
2. The proposed amendment is presented in writing to the members at an annual meeting and approved by a majority vote.
3. The amendment proposed and approved at a previous annual meeting is approved by a 2/3 Majority vote of the members at the next annual meeting.
Section Eleven: Executive Committee
1. The Executive Committee has no legislative authority except as set forth herein, being strictly administrative in function.
2. The Executive Committee is responsible for choosing the time, place, and theme of the annual meeting.
3. The Executive Committee may choose other persons who have no vote on the Committee to aid them in administering the organization.
4. The Executive Committee will establish guidelines as needed for permitting the presentation of papers at the annual meeting.
Originally Adopted 6/9/2006; Modified 5/2/2019 to add General Membership at the Annual Business Meeting
