Holiness Historiography As a Theological Framework for Understanding the Emeremergence of Christianity in Africa
Abstract
There is a scandal in African Christian historiography that has faded from the eyes of church historians and theologians in regard to the pietistic/holiness reading of African Christianity, which itself provides the most comprehensive framework for understanding mainline-evangelical-pentecostal-charismatic Christianities. This article argues that the doctrine and experience of holiness is central to understanding the process that has brought African Christianity to where it is today. This research sketches the twin challenges that face a study of the doctrine of holiness as a theological framework for understanding the emergence of Christianity in Africa: (1) those that are historiographical; and (2) those that are essentially historical. It also provides a clear demonstration of the tenacity of a holiness/revivalist reading of African Protestant Christianity.
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