John Aloisi

The Latin Vulgate as Background to the Version Debate

In light of Bill Combs’s recent posts on the King James Version, I thought it might be helpful to look briefly at another Bible translation that dominated Western Christendom for even longer than the King James. From time to time, KJV-only advocates have argued for...

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Ministry Advice from a Dead Guy

Ministry Advice from a Dead Guy

In recent months, I’ve written about marriage, parenting, and financial advice “from a dead guy” (i.e., John Chrysostom, c. 347–407). In recounting this advice, I’m not suggesting that Chrysostom was always correct or that his advice should necessarily be followed in...

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Church Leadership in the First Century

Church Leadership in the First Century

What did church leadership look like in the first century? Below are a few observations. In a passage penned in the mid-first century, James addressed the question of what to do when one is facing serious illness. He wrote, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call the...

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Financial Advice from a Dead Guy

Financial Advice from a Dead Guy

In recent months, I’ve written about marriage and parenting advice “from a dead guy” (i.e., John Chrysostom, c. 347–407). In this post, I’m going to note a few comments about wealth and poverty from this same church father. Almost every substantial discussion of John...

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Marriage Advice from a Dead Guy

Marriage Advice from a Dead Guy

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post titled “Parenting Advice from a Dead Guy.” In that post, I introduced Eastern church father John Chrysostom (c. 347–407) and noted some parenting advice found in his book An Address on Vainglory and the Right Way for Parents to Bring up...

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Parenting Advice from a Dead Guy

Parenting Advice from a Dead Guy

Eastern church father John Chrysostom (c. 347–407) is best known for his eloquent sermons (more than 700 are extant), wherein he worked verse-by-verse through books of the Bible. In fact, “Chrysostom” is neither a patronymic nor a demonym but rather an appellation...

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Martin Luther’s 95 Theses

Martin Luther’s 95 Theses

On October 31, 1517, a monk named Martin Luther (1483–1546) posted a list of topics for academic debate at the local university. With this relatively harmless act, Luther unwittingly launched a movement that would rend the religious fabric of Europe and would...

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A Handful of New and Forthcoming NT Commentaries

In the past few weeks, a number of significant new commentaries have been released, and several more are on the immediate horizon. Below are a few of the more interesting additions. Douglas Moo, Romans, 2nd ed., NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018) Originally...

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Writing Advice from a Well-Known Author

During his lifetime, C. S. Lewis (1898–1963) received thousands of letters from young fans who had read the Chronicles of Narnia and wanted to connect with the author. One such fan was an American girl named Joan Lancaster, who wrote to Lewis in June of 1956. We don’t...

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Discovering Dispensationalism

Discovering Dispensationalism

Just a few weeks ago, SCS Press released a new book that will likely be of interest to many of our readers. Editors Cory Marsh and James Fazio, both professors at Southern California Seminary, have brought together a group of scholars from a variety of educational...

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Priorities During the Holiday Season

For some reason it seems to have started earlier than usual this year. Naïvely perhaps, I’ve always thought “Black Friday” referred to the day after Thanksgiving (i.e., Friday). The reality is that we’ve all been receiving emails and seeing print ads about Black...

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Calvin and the Overarching Reason for Prayer

In an extended discussion of prayer, John Calvin suggested six reasons why believers should pray to God. Those reasons tell us a lot about what Calvin saw prayer accomplishing. However, over and above these six reasons, Calvin saw one overarching reason by Christians...

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C. S. Lewis on Reading Old Books

One of my goals each semester is to try to convince students that writers of the past are not only worth reading but are also much more enjoyable and more valuable to read than they may have imagined. With this in mind, I occasionally reread what C. S. Lewis had to...

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Book Giveaway: Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes

This week we’re giving away a copy of Kenneth Bailey’s book Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians (retail value = $30). In order to be eligible to win this book you need to share this post on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog. Once you’ve...

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The Future of Physical Books and Bookstores

For hundreds of years the word “book” has suggested a stack of printed pages bound together along one edge and filled with ideas in the form of ink. But this is quickly changing. Today we live in a world where the phrase “reading a book” no longer necessarily invokes...

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Tracking Down Those “Hard to Find” Sources

Despite all the jokes about Wikipedia’s SOPA blackout on Wednesday being hard on college students, the truth is many students do need to improve their online research skills. We live in an amazing day. Within seconds one can use the internet to locate an electronic...

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A New Festschrift in Honor of Dr. Gerald Priest

A New Festschrift in Honor of Dr. Gerald Priest

Longtime friends of the seminary will fondly recall that Dr. Priest served on the faculty of DBTS from 1988 until his retirement in 2010. While Dr. Priest taught numerous courses in homiletics and Bible exposition, the focus of his teaching and writing ministry was in...

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