Page 74 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

A History of the Church in Africa

Another historian states:

The best indication of the moral worthiness of the movement is
that Tertullian, the scourge of heretics, eventually joined it. He
could not continue to endorse an orthodoxy which denied any
independent role of the Spirit and insisted that all communication
with the deity should be through the regular ecclesiastical
channels. (Johnson, 50)

Kelsey adds the following:

No less a person than Tertullian in his challenge to Marcion
affirmed that gifts of Spirit such as prophecy (which he defined as
prediction and revelation), visions, ecstasy and interpretation of
tongues were “forthcoming from my side without any difficulty”;
and elsewhere he writes that healing, revelation and exorcism
were among the joys available to Christians. (quoted in
Anderson 2004, 20)

Although Montanism could have been the first Pentecostal renewal
movement, it was rejected by the institutional church, which resulted in
a drift toward an overemphasis on hierarchy. As a result, McDonnell says,
“The church never really recovered
its balance after it rejected
Montanism” (44). Will the church
The church in of today learn lessons from these

Africa must remain pages of history? Pentecostals
were rejected by many mainline
Pentecostal in the churches in the twentieth century.

face of every obstacle. The challenge is clear: The church in
Africa must remain Pentecostal in the
face of every obstacle.

Cyprian

Cyprian was another important North African leader who influenced
Christianity. He was baptized in A.D. 246 and three years later was
elected Bishop of Carthage. The following year, there was severe
persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor, who saw the
rapid expansion of the church as a threat. For a period of time, Cyprian

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