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David Shelby Corlett

David Shelby Corlett (November 17, 1890 – January 12, 1969) was an American preacher, educator, and author whose ministry profoundly shaped the Church of the Nazarene through his leadership and writings on holiness theology. Born in Chetopa, Kansas, to Henry W. Corlett and Mary Shelby, he graduated from Peniel College in 1916 with a B.A., earned an M.A. from Pasadena College in 1922, and completed a B.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1928, later receiving honorary D.D. degrees from Bethany-Peniel College (1930) and Northwest Nazarene College (1945). Converted in his youth, he was ordained in the Church of the Nazarene in 1915 and began preaching in Texas churches. Corlett’s preaching career included pastoring in Texas and serving as a revivalist before transitioning into education and leadership roles. He was president of Peniel College (1920–1927), dean at Arkansas Holiness College (1927–1928), president of Bethany-Peniel College (1930–1935), and dean at Nazarene Theological Seminary (1945–1952), where he also taught theology. From 1940 to 1965, he edited the Herald of Holiness, the denomination’s flagship publication, amplifying his influence. Author of books like The Baptism with the Holy Ghost (1945) and Forward with Christ (1935), he emphasized sanctification and practical Christian living. Married to Lillie Morgan in 1915, with whom he had two children, he died at age 78 in Kansas City, Missouri, leaving a legacy of holiness preaching and Nazarene scholarship.
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David Shelby Corlett emphasizes the significance of the Holy Bible as the sacred book of Christianity, consisting of sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, given through divine inspiration. The message of the Bible is revealed through the inerrant Scriptures, guiding believers in all matters essential for salvation and pointing to faith in Christ Jesus for eternal life. The divine inspiration of the Bible is supported by the declarations of God's messengers, fulfilled prophecies, moral quality, spiritual value, unity in redemptive message, and the transformative power it holds for all who engage with it.
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The Christian's Book
5. What is the sacred book of Christianity? The sacred book of Christianity is the Holy Bible, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments. 6. How was the message of the Bible given? We believe in the plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures by which we understand that the Bible was given by divine inspiration (Manual, page 26 [4]). "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works" (II Timothy 3:15, 16). "For prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (II Peter 1:21). 7. What do the Scriptures reveal? The Scriptures inerrantly reveal the will of God concerning us in all things necessary to our salvation; so that whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an article of faith (Manual, page 26 [4]). "... the holy scriptures ... are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (II Timothy 3:15). "Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me (John 5:39). "These were written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name (John 20:31). 8. What general proof may be given for the divine inspiration of the Bible? The statements of the men of God that in their writings they were giving the word of God; its fulfilled prophecies; the recognized unexcelled moral quality and the inherent spiritual worth of the Bible; the completeness and unity of its redemptive message; and the fact that the Holy Spirit brings through it the message of light and power to all men today, provide a general proof of its divine inspiration. "And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel" (Exodus 34:27). "And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4:21). "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105). "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son" (Heb. 1:1, 2) "The word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb. 4:12).
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David Shelby Corlett (November 17, 1890 – January 12, 1969) was an American preacher, educator, and author whose ministry profoundly shaped the Church of the Nazarene through his leadership and writings on holiness theology. Born in Chetopa, Kansas, to Henry W. Corlett and Mary Shelby, he graduated from Peniel College in 1916 with a B.A., earned an M.A. from Pasadena College in 1922, and completed a B.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1928, later receiving honorary D.D. degrees from Bethany-Peniel College (1930) and Northwest Nazarene College (1945). Converted in his youth, he was ordained in the Church of the Nazarene in 1915 and began preaching in Texas churches. Corlett’s preaching career included pastoring in Texas and serving as a revivalist before transitioning into education and leadership roles. He was president of Peniel College (1920–1927), dean at Arkansas Holiness College (1927–1928), president of Bethany-Peniel College (1930–1935), and dean at Nazarene Theological Seminary (1945–1952), where he also taught theology. From 1940 to 1965, he edited the Herald of Holiness, the denomination’s flagship publication, amplifying his influence. Author of books like The Baptism with the Holy Ghost (1945) and Forward with Christ (1935), he emphasized sanctification and practical Christian living. Married to Lillie Morgan in 1915, with whom he had two children, he died at age 78 in Kansas City, Missouri, leaving a legacy of holiness preaching and Nazarene scholarship.