Endorsements for the Ancient Christian
Commentary on Scripture Series
 he conspectus of patristic exposition that
this series offers has been badly needed for several
centuries, and the whole Christian world should unite to
thank IVP for undertaking to fill the gap. For the
ongoing ecumenical conversation, and the accurate
application of early Christian thought, and the current
hermeneutical debate as well, the Ancient Christian
Commentary will prove itself to be a really
indispensable resource.
J. I. Packer, Board of Governors
Professor of Theology, Regent College
In the desert of biblical scholarship that tries to
deconstruct or get behind the texts, the patristic
commentators let the pure, clear waters of Christian
faith flow from its scriptural source. Preachers,
teachers and Bible students of every sort will want to
drink deeply from The Ancient Christian Commentary on
Scripture.
Richard John Neuhaus, president of
Religion and Public Life and editor-in-chief of
First Things
The fathers of the ancient church were enabled, by the
grace of God, to interpret the divine Scriptures in a
way that integrates spirituality and erudition, liturgy
and dogma, and generally all aspects of our faith which
embrace the totality of our life. To allow the fathers
to speak to us again, in our contemporary situation, . .
. provides a corrective to the fragmentation of the
faith which results from the particularization and
overspecialization that exists today in the study of the
Holy Bible and of sacred Theology.
Fr. George Dragas, Holy Cross
Seminary
This new, but old, commentary takes us out of the small,
closed-minded world in which much modern biblical
scholarship is done into an earlier time marked by a
Christian seriousness, by robust inquiry, and by
believing faith. This commentary is a fresh breeze
blowing in our empty, postmodern world.
David F. Wells, Andrew Mutch
Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic
Theology, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Few publishing projects have encouraged me as much as
IVP's recently announced Ancient Christian Commentary on
Scripture with Dr. Thomas Oden serving as general
editor. . . . How is it that so many of us who are
dedicated to serve the Lord receive seminary educations
which omitted familiarity with such incredible students
of the Scriptures as St. John Chrysostom, St. Anathasius
the Great and St. John of Damascus? I am greatly
anticipating the publication of this commentary.
Fr. Peter E. Gillquist, director of the
Department of Missions and Evangelism, Antiochian
Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
The initial cry of the Reformation was ad
fontes--back to the sources! The Ancient Christian
Commentary Series is a marvelous tool for the recovery
of biblical wisdom in today's church. Not just another
scholarly project, the ACCS is a major source for the
renewal of preaching, theology and Christian
devotion.
Timothy George, dean, Beeson Divinity
School, Samford University
Modern church members often do not realize that they are
participants in the vast company of the communion of
saints that reaches far back into the past and that will
continue into the future, until the kingdom comes. This
commentary should help them begin to see themselves as
participants in that redeemed community.
Elizabeth Achtemeier, Union Professor
Emerita of Bible and Homiletics, Union Theological
Seminary
Contemporary pastors do not stand alone. We are not the
first generation of preachers to wrestle with the
challenges of communicating the gospel. The Ancient
Christian Commentary on Scripture puts us in
conversation with our colleagues from the past, that
great cloud of witnesses who preceded us in this
vocation. This commentary enables us to receive their
deep spiritual insights, their encouragement, and
guidance for present-day interpretation and preaching of
the Word. What a wonderful addition to any pastor's
library!
William H. Willimon, dean of the chapel
and professor of Christian ministry, Duke University
Here is a nonpareil series which reclaims the Bible as
the book of the church, by making accessible to earnest
readers of the 21st century the classrooms of Clement of
Alexandria and Didymus the Blind, the study and lecture
hall of Origen, the cathedraes of Chrysostom and
Augustine, and the scriptorium of Jerome in his
Bethlehem monastery. May the Ancient Christian
Commentary on Scripture not only stand alongside
Ancient Christian Writers (1946-) and the
Fathers of the Church (1947-), but complement
and surpass them.
George Lawless, Patristic Institute and
Gregorian University
As we approach the advent of a new millennium there has
emerged across Christendom a widespread interest in
early Christianity, both at the popular and scholarly
level. The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture
holds the promise of occupying a significant place in
the study of early Christianity with its focus upon
sacred Scripture in the writings of the church fathers.
Christians of all traditions stand to benefit from this
project, especially clergy and those who study the
Bible. Moreover, it will allow us to see how our
traditions are rooted in the scriptural interpretations
of the church fathers while at the same time seeing how
we have developed new perspectives.
Alberto Ferreiro, professor of history,
Seattle Pacific University
We are pleased to witness publication of the Ancient
Christian Commentary on Scripture series. It is most
beneficial for us to learn how the ancient Christians,
especially the saints of the church who proved through
their lives their devotion to God and his Word,
interpreted Scripture. Let us heed the witness of those
who have gone before us in the faith.
Metropolitan Theodosius, Primate,
Orthodox Church in America
The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture fills a
long overdue need for scholars and students of the
church fathers. Professor Oden has pulled together a
sterling team of scholars to provide for all of us fresh
translations of the Latin and Greek texts of the fathers
relating to their interpretation of the Bible and
Apocrypha. Such information will prove immeasurable to
those of us who have felt inundated by contemporary
interpreters and novel theories of the biblical text. We
welcome some new insight from the ancient authors in the
early centuries of the church. Many thanks to Thomas
Oden and the other editors for this unparalleled work
which will be the standard for generations.
H. Wayne House, Distinguished Professor
of Biblical and Theological Studies, Faith Seminary
Chronological snobbery--the assumption that our ancestors
working without benefit of computers have nothing to
teach us--is exposed as nonsense by this magnificent new
series. Surfeited with knowledge but starved of wisdom,
many of us are more than ready to sit at table with our
ancestors and listen to their holy conversations on
Scripture. I know I am.
Eugene H. Peterson, James Houston
Professor of Spiritual Theology, Regent College
Composed in the style of the great medieval
catenae, this new anthology of patristic
commentary on Holy Scripture, conveniently arranged by
chapter and verse, will be a valuable resource for
prayer, study and proclamation. By calling attention to
the rich Christian heritage preceding the separations
between East and West and between Protestant and
Catholic, this series will perform a major service to
the cause of ecumenism.
Avery Dulles, S. J., Laurence J.
McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, Fordham
University
The Scriptures have been read with love and attention for
nearly two thousand years, and listening to the voice of
believers from previous centuries opens us to unexpected
insight and deepened faith. Those who studied Scripture
in the centuries closest to its writing, the centuries
during and following persecution and martyrdom, speak
with particular authority. The Ancient Christian
Commentary on Scripture will bring to life the truth that
we are invisibly surrounded by a great cloud of
witnesses.
Frederica Mathewes-Green, commentator,
National Public Radio
We speak abstractly in scholarly circles of the need to
transcend looking at Christianity through the spectrum
of modern presuppositions. This series, based on the
commentaries of early Christians, gives us a concrete
way to do this. It's a great idea.
Don S. Browning, Alexander Campbell
Professor of Ethics and Social Sciences, The Divinity
School, University of Chicago
There is no shortage of new books on the market and it
may be a surprise to some to see IVP producing the
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series. But
bearing in mind C. S. Lewis's admonition, 'It is a good
rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself
another new one till you have read an old one in
between,' this series will fill a great need that many of
us may not even be aware of--the need to read those who
have gone before us.
D. Stuart Briscoe
For those who think that church history began around
A.D. 1941, when their pastor was born,
this commentary will be a great surprise. Christians
throughout the centuries have read the biblical text and
nursed their spirits with it and then applied it to
their lives. These commentaries reflect that the witness
of the Holy Spirit was present in his church throughout
the centuries. As a result, we can profit by allowing
the ancient Christians to speak to us today.
Haddon Robinson, Harold John Ockenga
Distinguished Professor of Preaching, Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary
All who are interested in the interpretation of the Bible
will welcome the forthcoming multi-volume series,
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Here the
insights of scores of early church fathers will be
assembled and made readily available for significant
passages throughout the Bible and Apocrypha. It is hard
to think of a more worthy ecumenical project to be
undertaken by InterVarsity Press.
Bruce M. Metzger, professor emeritus of
New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary
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