Tertullian was a converted Roman lawyer active at the turn of the third century A.D. This groundbreaking church father developed the rudiments of the Western understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity. His refutation of the modalist heresy has been most helpful to those who desire to see God as the Bible reveals Him to be.

BP EDITOR’S NOTE: Dramatic political changes are occurring in Tunisia on North Africa’s Mediterranean coast between Algeria and Libya. Southwestern Seminary professor Malcolm B. Yarnell III reflects on a visit to the country, its rich Christian history and the need for the Gospel to flourish there once again.

Alongside several other professors, John Mark Yeats and I led a group of students to Tunisia several years ago to study North African Christian history and theology. Today, we see occurring what the media has dubbed a “jasmine revolution,” which is apparently the first populist rejection of an Arab leader and the first governmental change wrought through the activities of Wikileaks.

President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who is accused of having ruled Tunisia on behalf of the economic interests of what became known as “the Family,” has fled the country. It is still unclear as to what the form and composition of the government will be, and the interim government itself already has changed structure in a matter of hours as the frantic search for constitutional legitimacy and political stability vie with one another.

The place known today as Tunisia has a long and colorful history…

Christianity thrived in the early centuries in North Africa, in spite of the intense persecution the Christians often suffered…

Providentially, in spite of the intent of the imperial authorities, the blood of the martyrs proved not to be the burial of the church of Jesus Christ, but the seed for her growth, as Tertullian noted.

As the church of North Africa grew in both difficult and easier times, it produced a number of very important theologians — especially Tertullian, Cyprian and Augustine — who shaped the way Western Christians still think about their faith.

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The source for this document was originally published on bpnews.net—however, the original URL is no longer available.]