This book is a pneumatological reflection on the use and abuse of the Spirit in light of the abuse of religion within South African Pentecostalism. Both emerging and well-established scholars of South African Pentecostalism are brought together to reflect on pneumatology from various approaches, which includes among others: historical, biblical, migration, commercialisation of religion, discernment of spirits and human flourishing. From a broader understanding of the function of the Holy Spirit in different streams of Pentecostalism, the argument is that this function has changed with the emergence of the new Prophetic churches in South Africa. This is a fascinating insight into one of the major emerging worldwide religious movements. As such, it will be of great interest to academics in Pentecostal Studies, Christian Studies, Theology, and Religious Studies as well as African Studies and the Sociology of Religion.

This book is a pneumatological reflection on the use and abuse of the Spirit in light of the abuse of religion within South African Pentecostalism. Both emerging and well-established scholars of South African Pentecostalism are brought together to reflect on pneumatology from various approaches, which includes among others: historical, biblical, migration, commercialisation of religion, discernment of spirits and human flourishing. From a broader understanding of the function of the Holy Spirit in different streams of Pentecostalism, the argument is that this function has changed with the emergence of the new Prophetic churches in South Africa. This is a fascinating insight into one of the major emerging worldwide religious movements. As such, it will be of great interest to academics in Pentecostal Studies, Christian Studies, Theology, and Religious Studies as well as African Studies and the Sociology of Religion.

African Reformation provides an important overview of African-initiated churches (AICs) throughout sub-Saharan Africa. It examines the emergence and growth of churches resulting from the interaction between Christianity and African pre-Christian religions. Concise histories, teachings, beliefs, and practices of representative churches in different African countries are also examined. Beginning from the earliest "Ethiopian" and "African" churches that emerged at the end of the nineteenth century and ending at the "new Pentecostal" or "Charismatic" churches of the twentieth century, this book's analysis is primarily historical in its approach. Some of the movements discussed in this book include the birth of the modern AIC movement in the Kongo Kingdom under the prophetess Kimpa Vita, the fascinating story of the Liberian prophet William Wade Harris, the rise of the spiritual churches in Ghana and Aladura churches in Nigeria, and the parallel movements that occured in Southern, Central, and Eastern Africa. Zionists, Apostolics, and the Zulu movement of Isaiah Shembe in South Africa are also discussed. The story of Simon Kimbangu and Kimbaguism in the Congo, the tragic episode of Alice Lenshina and the Lumpa movement in Zambia, and the struggle of the first AICs in Kenya and Uganda are some of the other stories told here. Finally, the significance of the AICs for the mission and theology of African Christianity is considered, and its contribution, as Anderson eventually suggests, is so far reaching that this "African Reformation" is at least of the magnitude of the Protestant Reformation in Europe.

Description: Employing studies in population ecology as a framework for understanding the growth of religious movements, Disfellowshiped traces the growth of the Pentecostal movement. The author explores how the Pentecostal movement developed in relationship to Fundamentalism from its roots in the Holiness movement to the formation of the National Association of Evangelicals. Particular attention is given to the various critiques and rebuttals exchanged between Fundamentalists and Pentecostals, exploring how these two movements influenced and shaped one another. This book shows how, despite their mutual antagonism, these two movements held far more in common than in contrast. This book will be of great importance to all those interested in the history of Fundamentalism and the rise of Pentecostalism. Endorsements: ""Pentecostalism emerged in the early years of the twentieth century, shortly followed by Fundamentalism. The adherents of the two movements shared an Evangelical heritage and yet they disagreed sharply with each other. Members of each group denounced the other as betrayers of the gospel and worse. Gerald King has analyzed their antagonistic rhetoric and its theological premises, vividly illuminating a world in which the two sides 'disfellowshiped' each other."" --David Bebbington author of Victorian Nonconformity (Cascade, 2011) ""For too long historians, following the lead of a handful of anti-pentecostal preachers from the 1920s, have treated fundamentalism and pentecostalism as totally distinct movements. As Gerald W. King's compelling book reveals, the relationship between pentecostals and fundamentalists has been far more complicated than most scholars realize. Disfellowshiped is a carefully researched book that makes a significant contribution to the religious history of the interwar era."" --Matthew Avery Sutton author of Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America (2007) About the Contributor(s): Gerald King is a recent PhD graduate of the University of Birmingham (UK).