I read a very interesting book recently - 2000 years of Charismatic Christianity, by Eddie Hyatt. That's *the* Eddie Hyatt, of course, president of Hyatt International Ministries. I learned quite a bit from it - it covers the rise of pentecostalism around the turn of the twentieth century, a section of church history I knew very little about.
The thing with the book is that Hyatt is really stretching the point. Methinks the man doth protest too much. He is seeking to demonstrate that Charismatic Christianity is nothing new, but in fact has been around for 2000 years. To do this, he has to be fairly selective in his evidence, and indeed he provides some fairly radical re-interpretations of accepted ideas.
You know Augustine? He was charismatic. You know John Wesley? He was charismatic. You know Martin Luther? He was charismatic, too. "The Spirit and the gifts are ours..."
Hyatt comes out in favour of some of the schismatic and heretical sects in Christian history, like the Montanists in the early centuries, and the Cathars in the high middle ages.
One amusing example of selectivity of evidence concerns Cyprian, bishop of Carthage. Hyatt tells us that Cyprian explained the action that he took during persecution by appealing to visions he had received. Hyatt does not say, however, what this action was. It was, in fact, getting out of town when the persecution came. (Something for which Cyprian was and continues to be roundly criticised.)
Dale Gentry, from Dale Gentry Ministries in Texas may say that this is the best he's read on church history, but I'd have to disagree...
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