Chris Thomas - Donatism and the Contextualisation of Christianity.

“The fact remains that Donatism was repressed at the expense of an indigenouis insight into Christian belief.”  (Mercy Oduyoye: Hearing and Knowing. Accra. Sam Woode 2000).  This claim seems to be too simple. The Donatist Church was able to contextualise itself as much was it wanted, despite periodic persecution. Indeed, Christianity came contextualised so fully into Berber Society that it is questionable whether it remained Christian. Berber traditional religion merely took a modified form under its Christian expression.

Donatist dissent in may ways prepared the way for the conquest of Islam.  The Berbers viewed government in terms of a theocracy,  the Bible was replaced by the Koran and the dissenting clergy by the Kadi and the Emir. Martyrdom was possible as much through Holy Wars against the infidel Franks as against the infidel pagans and Catholics.  In fact the world view which had ruled Berber life for centuries  was able to survive much better under Islam than under Graeco-Roman culture or Catholic Christianity.

The fundamental reason for the failure of Christianity in North Africa was, I believe, Theological on both the Donatist and Catholic sides.

Donatism exalted martyrdom as its chief virtue, and when the Roman Empire ceased persecution, martyrdom had to be maintained, even if it was not genuine. The belief that the validity of the sacraments depended on the moral integrity of the Bishop or Presbyter led to hypocrisy, and made the valid celebration of the sacraments impossible. In a similar way the belief that the Church must be pure and free from all sin is impractical.  The demand for a Church to be absolutely Holy produces a Church with no real members.

The Catholic Church, despite the greatness of Augustine, by its close association with the Roman Empire, failed in its prophetic role in the Old Testament sense of demanding Social Justice.  The Bishops moved from Bishopric to Bishopric in search of the richest prize. This dependence on the forces of the Roman Empire alone meant that when the Roman Empire failed, the Church was left weak and vulnerable.