Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church: An Exploration into the Gifts of the Spirit During the First Three Centuries of the Christian Church [Paperback]

Ronald A. N. Kydd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1984

The emergence and widespread acceptance of the validity of the charismatic experience has generated many questions. One of the foremost is, "What happened to the gifts of the Spirit after the New Testament period?" Dr. Ronald Kydd's careful probe seeks to answer that question.

After a thorough and careful study of the writings of the early church fathers, Dr. Kydd provides an objective, informative analysis, and reaches thought-provoking conclusions. He concludes "that what emerges from a study of the sources is the picture of a Church which is strongly charismatic up until around AD 200."

Quality Pentecostal scholarship communicated in a striking personal style makes this book enjoyable and challenging reading for the layperson, minister, student, and scholar.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ronald A. N. Kydd is the author of Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church (Hendrickson, 1984), and Healing Through the Centuries (Hendrickson 1988).

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers (December 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0913573094
• ISBN-13: 978-0913573099
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #458,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology > Soteriology
  • #71 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > Criticism & Interpretation
  • #74 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Worship & Devotion > Charismatic

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical evidence the spiritual gifts continue today, January 13, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church: An Exploration into the Gifts of the Spirit During the First Three Centuries of the Christian Church (Paperback)

It may surprise some Christians to learn that the gifts of the Holy Spirit did not die out at the end of the first century. Anyone doubting this should read Kydd's thorough investigation into the continuing presence of the gifts of the Spirit during the first three centuries of the Christian church.

This scholarly--but by no means arid--study fills a deep need, for the church today often struggles to overcome its luke-warmness while failing to see the clear New Testament importance of the gifts of the Spirit for its daily life.

The church began as a "little band of fisherman [and evolved] over the centuries until it [became] one of the dominant features of the Greek and Latin world. The Church grew astonishingly in size, power, and influence." (p. 86) Part of the explanantion for this evangelism explosion was not strategic planning or better schools of training, but, as Kydd says, the presence of Jesus himself and the sending of the Holy Spirit.

Kydd offers irrefutable historical evidence that the gifts remained after the New Testament period as absolutely essential ingredients for the growth and life of the church.

This work belongs in every thinking Christian's library

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ideal for the student or the curious mind, November 13, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church: An Exploration into the Gifts of the Spirit During the First Three Centuries of the Christian Church (Paperback)

If a scholarly but undersatandable review of the roots and early history of the charismatic gifts is what you seek, this is it! Dr. Kydd combines very high quality research with an equally impressive ability to make the results understandable and relevant. This revision of Kydd's doctoral thesis is perfect for the student of Pentecostalism or Church history, and also relevant to any interested soul who has encountered the charismtic manifestations.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Concise Refutation of Warfield, March 14, 2006

By 

David E. Blair (Columbia, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church: An Exploration into the Gifts of the Spirit During the First Three Centuries of the Christian Church (Paperback)

This review has been delayed for too long. However, as a gift, I have just been given the complete works of B. B. Warfield, Baker, 1932. And, as I am very interested in the activities of the Holy Spirit as attested to in the early Church, I thought of this book again instantly. It is a shame that almost only Pentecostal scholars have shown intense interest in the Holy Spirit as a major component in early Church history. But today, it appears there is a "Balkanized" Christianity that presents itself in both the Churches and to a large measure in the academy. However, there is a new generation of scholars just getting their start in early Church history and their interests are quite diverse. One would hope to see more on the topic of the Holy Spirit and the early Church.

Which brings me back to this humble effort. This book is the author's PhD. dissertation updated and revised as needed. As I have not read the original, the last is a supposition. However, there appears to be no editorial hand at work. Therefore, this is not the literary output of a Mommsen or Tuchman. This is a very straightforward analysis of the available writings of the early Church Fathers on the topic of the Holy Spirit. Systematically, into the third century CE, the author finds universal support for the positive and active presence of the Holy Spirit in all writings of the Fathers that pertain. This was significant revisionism at the time of its publication in 1984. And I doubt, that anyone can with cause challenge the author's evidence and his conclusions excluding his discussion of the nature of Montanism and it's relationship to Roman orthodoxy. This is an important piece of scholarship that can not be disregarded by any academic writing on the Holy Spirit and the early Church. Also, it is easily read by a lay person regardless of the awkward prose. This book is most highly recommended by me. I found it concisely enlightening.