Are they Pentecostal? A theological perspective on the inclusion or exclusion of Zionist African Independent Churches into the Pentecostal tradition
kgatle, mookgo solomon
One of the contended issues in Pentecostal studies is the exclusion or inclusion of African
Independent Churches (AICs) as part of the Pentecostal tradition. This article resuscitates this
old debate by looking specifically into the inclusion or exclusion of Zionist AICs in the
Pentecostal tradition to make a theological contribution. This will be achieved by briefly
discussing the Zionist AICs in the South African context. The various factors that contribute to
who or what qualifies to be Pentecostal will be discussed by conceptualising Pentecostal
identity. In other words, the research question to be answered is on top of which mountain do
we stand to include or exclude Zionist AICs in the Pentecostal tradition? Therefore, this article
will discuss the theological criteria used to include the Zionist AICs in Pentecostalism.
Similarly, the theological criteria for the exclusion of the Zionist AICs will be discussed in detail.
The aim and objective of this article are to attempt to answer the question are Zionist AICs
Pentecostal? This will have implications for the study of Pentecostal theology in the South
African context. Data was collected by reviewing and analysing literature on the AICs and their
relationship with the Pentecostal tradition within a theological framework.
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