Page 75 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

The Gospel Comes to Africa

managed the church from a hiding place; however, after his return to
Carthage, he led the church through various controversies.

For example, one of these controversies concerned the question of
what to do with Christians who had denied their faith during times of
persecution and the matter of rebaptism. The bishop of Rome said that
those who returned to the church should not be rebaptized but Cyprian
said they should. Hyatt notes that:

In the course of the debate, Cyprian’s position that the Holy Spirit
is received subsequent to the work of regeneration becomes
clear: “For he who has been sanctified, his sins being put away in
baptism, and has been spiritually reformed into a new man, has
become fitted for receiving the Holy Spirit.” (22)

Anderson notes that “Cyprian…said that the charismata were the sole
prerogative of the bishop” (2004, 21). Cyprian believed that outside of the
church there was no salvation and “instead of viewing the communion
service as a memorial of Christ’s death, he called it a sacrifice. The Roman
Catholic Church adopted Cyprian’s theological position and still holds to it
today” (Hildebrant, 11). He faced further persecution and was martyred
for his faith in A.D. 258.

Augustine

The soil of Africa produced another great leader in the person of
Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354–430), who lived near Carthage in Africa.
He is often praised as one of the greatest church fathers. His theology
influenced both Catholicism and Protestantism. Augustine was born to
Christian parents who gave him a good education, but during his teens he
indulged in sinful activities. For many years he lived with women outside
of marriage. According to his own later testimony, it was during this time
that he prayed, “Grant me chastity but not yet” (Confessions, 8.7.17).

Augustine became a teacher of rhetoric (public speaking and debate)
and participated in the theater, but his soul was not satisfied. While
in Milan, Italy, he was drawn to the preaching of Ambrose and felt
convicted by biblical truth he heard. One day while on a walk in a
garden, he heard a voice say, “Take up and read; take up and read.” He
saw the book of Romans and according to his own words:

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