About this place
IHS Bethlehem Church
Independent. Non-denominational. Explanatory.
IHS Bethlehem Church, IBC, is an independent, non-denominational Christian church organized as a nonprofit corporation in California. IHS is the ancient abbreviation of the name of Jesus in Greek, IHΣΟΥΣ; Bethlehem is where the story begins, and where the star stopped.
IBC belongs to no diocese, synod, convention or denomination, and claims the name and authority of none. Its work is to explain: the Bible, the creeds, the prayers, the church year and the traditions of the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches, and the beliefs of Judaism and Islam, the other faiths of Abraham, so that any reader can understand them plainly and without being asked to join anything first. IBC does not administer sacraments and does not represent any other church or faith.
The IHS Project is IBC's digital work: this site, Stella di Betlemme, its sister sites, and the tools they run on. The Project holds to the common faith of the Nicene Creed, reads Scripture as the Word of God, and keeps everything else, art, music, stories, software, as windows for the light.
Plain teaching of Scripture and of what the churches and the faiths of Abraham believe, in their own words.
A wall for intentions, a candle, a moment of silence, the prayers Christians have shared for two thousand years.
A community that asks nothing at the door: questions in the open, a forum, a place at the table.
Stella di Betlemme, Italian for the Star of Bethlehem: outsiders who paid attention and kept walking
IHS Bethlehem Church, a California nonprofit, independent and non-denominational from its founding
The Apostles' and Nicene Creeds; Scripture as the Word of God; one Lord, one faith, one baptism
Lectio, meditatio, oratio, contemplatio: read, stay, pray, rest. The four steps shape every page
Explain, do not claim. Honour every church and faith of Abraham in its own terms. Keep Scripture at the centre
HolyBibleCMSSS, a flat-file system built for this work and offered freely to other churches
English for the body, Latin for the headings; Japanese, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese editions in preparation
Is IBC a real church?
A church community organized as a nonprofit, meeting online, with a confession, prayer in common and members. It does not own a building and does not hold services with sacraments.
Why California?
Because that is where it was incorporated. Its readers are everywhere.
Who leads it?
A small team under a founder and director. Articles are signed as the church because the text, not the writer, is the point.
Is it Catholic?
No, and not Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Baptist or anything else by name. It explains all of them faithfully. Its own confession is the Nicene Creed, which all of them share.
Why explain Judaism and Islam?
Because the Bible cannot be understood apart from Israel, because Jesus was a Jew, and because a quarter of the world prays to the God of Abraham as Muslims. A Christian church that cannot describe its neighbours honestly has not finished its own homework.
How is it funded?
By members, free-will offerings and the store. No advertising is sold. Nothing on the site is locked behind payment.
For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
— Matthew 18:20
AUTHOR
The IHS Project
Scripture explained; nothing claimed.
SOUND & STORY · MADE BY HANDThe IHS Project
Stella di Betlemme
IHS Bethlehem Church (IBC) is an independent, non-denominational Christian church organized as a nonprofit in California. IHS is the ancient abbreviation of the name of Jesus in Greek; Bethlehem is where the story begins. IBC belongs to no diocese, synod or denomination and claims the name of none. Its work is to explain: the Bible, the prayers, the church year, the creeds, the traditions of the historic churches and the beliefs of the other faiths of Abraham, so that anyone can understand them. IBC does not administer sacraments and does not represent any other church or faith. The IHS Project is its digital work: this site, its sister sites, and the tools they run on.
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