Oneness Pentecostalism

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Oneness Pentecostalism is a movement of Pentecostal Christianity that believes in the atoning death of Jesus Christ, His resurrection, His soon return, and the inerrancy of the Word of God as contained in the Bible. Oneness Pentecostalism teaches a literal interpretation of the biblical teaching of salvation with emphasis on the teaching of Jesus Christ & His Apostles Citing "John 3:1-12&"Acts 2:38 experience" as necessary for salvation and places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as shown in the Biblical account of the Day of Pentecost. It teaches that personal conversion is to be followed by holy living and exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit"Galatians 5:22. Oneness Pentecostalism differs from the mainstream Pentecostal movement by following the doctrine of Oneness.

[edit] Overview

Although both Oneness and Trinitarian denominations acknowledge the God of the Bible as the only God in existence, and that Jesus was born, died, and resurrected, Oneness doctrine differs from mainstream Christian denominations in that the traditional concept of the Trinity is rejected as an inadequate and inaccurate description of God. According to the United Pentecostal Church International, the largest Oneness Pentecostal body in the United States, Oneness Pentecostals identify Jesus essentially as the human manifestation of God (Jehovah), i.e. God incarnate. [2].

Citing 1Timothy 2:5, the Oneness doctrine affirms that God is indivisibly one, and sees the biblical distinction between God the Father and the man Jesus, as being a proper, observable father-son distinction, except between an incorporeal, transcendent, eternal God as Father, and a human, begotten man as Son, in whom God manifested Himself for the purpose of salvation. Oneness doctrine affirms the full deity of Jesus, by holding that God incarnate manifested Himself to humanity in the man Jesus. It refutes the Trinitarian proposal that the one, true God is comprised of three co-divine, co-equal, co-eternal, co-powerful persons. In the sense that the one God and one man of 1Timothy 2:5 co-exist simultaneously, they teach that Jesus exists simultaneously both as man Jesus and as God (God the Father an invisible, transcendent, Spirit) inseparably united (see John 10:30) as the Son of God. Citing John 4:24 (God is a Spirit), Oneness doctrine uses the terms God the Father and Holy Spirit as references to the same one God, who is Spirit. It affirms that the Holy Spirit and God the Father are one in the same Godhead, but only as separate manifestations or relationships of the one person or being that is God.

"Oneness", "Apostolic" and "Jesus' Name" are adherents' preferred self-designations.^[1].

Oneness Pentecostals have also been identified as "Holy Rollers" for their lively style of worship, which can include running church aisles, known as victory marches, as well as jumping, dancing, shouting, and clapping. This label is generally used as a negative term by critics. The church services are also punctuated at times with acts of speaking in tongues (glossalalia), interpretations of tongues, prophetical messages, and the laying of hands for the purposes of healing. These events can happen spontaneously during normal service with no forewarning or direct guidance by the leader of the service, or more often at massive altar calls where the entire congregation is encouraged to come and pray together for various purposes at the altar.

Oneness Pentecostals commonly refer to all saved Christians as saints and often refer to the men as brothers and the women as sisters, often as a title (i.e. Bro. Smith or Sis. Henderson),in their normal day-to-day speech both in and outside of church.

While the UPCI, PAW, and other Oneness Pentecostal churches do allow women to serve as pastors and evangelize, some Oneness Pentecostals hold the belief that women ministers are unscriptural. Ministers at all levels are allowed to marry and have children. Homosexual marriages are forbidden under all circumstances.

[edit] History

Many people believe that the Oneness doctrine came into existence only in the early 20th century during the latter days of the Azusa Street Revival. Church historians, however, such as Dr. Curtis Ward, William Chalfant, Talmadge French, Dr. Gary Reckart, Sr., Dr. David Bernard, Dr. Marvin Arnold, and Thomas Weisser in their research and writings argue there were Oneness believers long before the Azusa Street Revival that lead all the way to the beginning of the first century Christian church. Dr. Ward has proposed the view of an unbroken Church lineage and has chronologically traced it's perpetuity throughout history. (see Matthew 16:18). Dr. Reckart has also done significant research in this area. Others teach the Apostolic church went into apostasy and became the Catholic Church. They believe modern Pentecostalism is a total restoration culminating after a step by step separation within Protestantism until the early Apostolic Church was fully restored (Acts 2:38 baptism and Oneness being the final restorations).

There are indications that the pioneering Oneness Pentecostal figures in the early twentieth century were guided and inspired by prior restorations within Protestantism. Yet none of them had any influence upon them by the ancient Modalists such as Sabellius, Noetus or Praxeas. Modern Oneness people respect the prior restorations within Protestantism but still stress dependence solely upon God and the Bible for the formation of their doctrines, seeking guidance not from ante and post-Nicene writings of men, but from illumination by the Holy Spirit upon the Scriptures. Pre and ante Nicene church history is deemed by Oneness people to be of great interest, but the neo-platoism, dogmas, creeds, and private interpretations are not binding upon them for their faith or doctrinal views. Thus, they are unorthodox to trinitarians but orthodox according to the literal sense of the word. Oneness Christians regard the historic Ecumenical Councils and creeds to be the opinions of men within an apostate falling away from the first Church. In contrast, Nicene (Catholic & Protestant) Christians (by their very definition of orthodox) regard all post-apostolic doctrinal developments as being guided by God's will using the councils and church leadership. As such all of the post-biblical stream of creeds, dogmas, decrees, papal decisions, and judgments of the councils and church leaders as binding upon them for their doctrinal views. Oneness discovered within trinitarian writings that the post-biblical interpretation of the trinty taken not from the Bible but classical Greek philosophy. It cannot be both Apostolic and a Greek invention thrust upon the Council of Nicaea. Catholics claim if Oneness Pentecostals deny the creeds and the actions of Catholic Bishops, they should not accept the Bible, as it was allegedly collected, compiled, and canonized by councils who believed in the Trinity. Oneness counter this by saying there was no Catholic church when the New Testament was written, therefore it was compiled and in a collected form two centuries before the Catholic church was born in 325AD. There are references to this collection before Nicaea and any such canonizing councils. In addition, sola scriptures, defines Oneness faith and that additional creeds, dogmas, papal decrees are unacceptable for doctrine, faith, and practice.

In the New Testament, Jews are described as rejecting Jesus' claims to divinity, accusing him of blasphemy. In the Gospel of Mark, for instance, Jesus forgives a man's sins and some Jewish teachers thought to themselves: "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" In the Gospel of John, some Jews began to stone Jesus, explaining that they did so "for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." This is the origin of dynamic monarchianism (Jesus is not God only a man). (see Unitarianism, Iglesia Ni Cristo, To God Be The Glory by Joel Hemphill, and Islam.

[edit] The early Church

Citing various sources, Oneness theologian David K. Bernard traces Oneness adherents back to the first converted Jews of the Apostolic Age, citing no evidence of Jews having any issues comprehending the new teachings and integrating them with their existing strict Judaistic monotheistic beliefs. In the Post-apostolic Age, he claims that Hermas, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Polycrates and Ignatius from 90 to 140 A.D., and Irenaeus who died about 200 A.D, were either Oneness, modalist, or at most a follower of an "economic Trinity" (temporary Trinity, not eternal). ^[2]

Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one. (The coming of the Messiah was not to bring the revelation of 2 or 3 God's - it was to make manifest the revelation of the One God (Jehovah) that manifested himself in human form.

—Deuteronmy 6:4

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

—1Ti 3:16

In support of the theory that the majority of all believers up until Tertullian (died c. 225; first to use introduce the term "Trinity" to describe God) were Oneness adherents, Bernard quotes Tertullian as writing, "The simple, indeed (I will not call them unwise or unlearned), who always constitute the majority of believers, are startled at the dispensation (of the Three in One), on the very ground that their very Rule of Faith withdraws them from the world's plurality of gods to the one only true God; not understanding that, although He is the one only God, He must yet be believed in with His own economy. The numerical order and distribution of the Trinity, they assume to be a division of the Unity.^[3]

Later Oneness, or closely similar to Oneness, teachers have been pointed out through history include the following: Abelard (1079-1142) who was accused of Sabellianism and forced into refuge in a monastery in France; Michael Servetus (1511-1553) eminent physician from Spain, sometimes cited as a motivating force of Unitarianism, who wrote, "There is no other person of God but Christ... the entire Godhead of the Father is in him,"^[4] was burned at the stake for heresy in October 27, 1553 for his anti-trinitarian doctrine, with the approval of John Calvin (for whom of Calvinism was named), though Calvin preferred Servetus be beheaded; Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772); Presbyterian minister John Miller, author of Is God a Trinity? (1876), John Clowes, pastor of St. John's Church in Manchester, reportedly wrote a book in 1828 that taught Oneness^[5].

Bernard, as well as other Oneness historians and theologians, deny any direct link from earlier Oneness believers to the current Oneness Pentecostal movement. They teach the seven church dispensation doctrine that the church existed in apostasy under different identities (Catholicism, Protestantism), until restoration in the early 1900s when the Oneness separation occurred.

[edit] Modern history

Oneness historial Morris Golder, cites PAW Bishop G. T. Haywood in an article from 1915 in The Voice in the Wilderness, as dating Oneness Pentecostalism to at least 1906 with the formation of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World - PAW. The founders were E. W. Doak, G. T. Haywood, and D. C. Opperman. According to Dr. David Bundy, a Pentecostal historian at the Christian Theological Seminary, as early as 1907, a white Baptist minister in Los Angeles, was preaching non-Trinitarian water baptism in the Name of Jesus. According to Dr. Deborah Sims LeBlanc, William and Maggie Bowden, the parents of former Assistant Presiding Bishop Frank Bowden, were baptized in the Name of Jesus after the Azusa Street Mission Revival (1906-1909).

However, the beginning for many was in April 1913 at The World-Wide Apostolic Camp Meeting held in Arroyo Seco, California and conducted by Maria Woodworth-Etter, organizers promised that God would "deal with them, giving them a unity and power that we have not yet known." ^[6] Canadian R. E. McAlister preached a message about water baptism "just prior to a baptismal service to be conducted". His message defended the "single immersion" method and "noted that apostolic baptism was administered as a single immersion in a single name, Jesus Christ," saying "'The words Father, Son, and Holy Ghost were never used in Christian baptism.'" This caused a controversy to erupt immediately when Frank Denny, missionary to China, jumped on the platform and tried to censor McAlister.

Oneness Pentecostals mark this occasion as the initial "spark" in the Oneness revival movement. "John G. Schaepe, a young minister, was so moved by McAlister's revelation, that after praying and reading the Bible all night, he ran through the camp the following morning shouting that he'd received a 'revelation' on baptism that the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost was Lord Jesus Christ." ^[7] Ironically, Frank Denny himself, along with G. T. Haywood, Harry Morse, John G. Schaepe, R. J. Scott, George Studd, R. E. McAlister, Andrew D. Urshan, and Homer L. Falkner embraced Lord Jesus Christ as the three-in-one name of the trinity for baptism as the "exclusive apostolic formula." ^[8] When other Oneness objected to this trinitarian baptism and said Lord Jesus Christ was the full name only of Jesus (began Jesus-Only new issue), trinitarians such as John Schaepe, Robert McAlister, and E. N. Bell bolted and returned to the use of the titles "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost in Matthew 28:19.^[8]

Schaepe (whose name is often misspelled Scheppe in a number of sources) claimed that the revelation he'd received during the camp meeting revival was that the baptismal command posited by Peter in Acts 2:38 - i.e., baptism "in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" - was the fulfillment and counterpart of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 - i.e., baptism "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." This conclusion was accepted by several others in the camp and developed further theologically by a minister named Frank J. Ewart. By 1914, Frank Ewart and Glenn Cook publicly baptized each other in "the name of the Lord Jesus Christ but as the one name of Jesus not as a trinitarian formula." Thus, in 1913 Oneness Pentecostalism was again "revealed and restored" to a group of Holy Spirit filled individuals. In 1914 it was again publicly practiced as was done in the Apostles time in Acts 2:38. A number of ministers claimed they were baptized "in the Name of Jesus Christ" before 1914, including Frank Small and Andrew D. Urshan. Urshan claims to have baptized in Jesus Christ name as early as 1910. ^[9] Even Charles Parham himself baptized using a Christological baptismal formula prior to Azusa Street (Dr. Charles Wilson, Our Heritage, p. 12). However it was not their baptismal formula which was the issue, but rather the rejection of the Trinity that was the bigger issue to other Pentecostal ministers.

Schaepe's revelation caused a great stir within Pentecostalism. During the next year, Frank J. Ewart, another Pentecostal minister, struggled between his Trinitarian teachings and the new issue. He often spent hours debating with R. E. McAlister, attempting to bring the two doctrines together. (R.E. McAlister, the man who had fired the shot heard around the world at Arroyo Seco, defected. He formally renounced the Oneness doctrine in 1919 ^[8]. Thereafter, he became one of the Canadian teachers of orthodox Trinitarianism among Pentecostals in Canada as well as a propagator of the 'finished work of Calvary' doctrine^[10]. The camp ground in Arroyo Seco, California, just outside Los Angeles, where the revelation occurred was also owned by Seymour's Mission. Many were re-baptized in JESUS name, including E.N.Bell, who did so out of conviction for obedience to scripture. He recanted after undergoing severe pressure from J.Roswell Flowers. The re-baptisms also had the opposite effect on the Assemblies causing a backlash from many Trinitarians who feared the direction their organization might be heading. The fear was within J. Roswell Flowers, who initiated a resolution designed to cause the Jesus name baptizers to withdraw from the organization. He was successful and is now considerered the "father" of the AG. By October 1916 the issue finally came to a head at the Fourth General Council of the Assemblies of God. The mostly Trinitarian leadership, fearing the new issue might overtake their organization, drew up a doctrinal statement affirming the Trinity among other issues. When the final votes were tallied the "Statement of Fundamental Truths" was adopted. More than one quarter of their ministerial and assembly membership left to form their own Oneness fellowships.^{[citation needed]}

According to PAW historians, "From 1913 to 1914, for one year, the battle raged within the Association regarding the God-head and the "new issue."^{[citation needed]} Consequently, in 1914, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World experienced its first split.^{[citation needed]} Essentially, there were two questions around which the debate was centered: (1) "Is there one God, or are there three distinct persons in the God-head? and (2) How then, should an individual be baptized? Should one be baptized in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, or should one be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ? In 1916, after four years (1912-1916) of this intense and bitter debate, those leaders and individuals who embraced the Trinitarian concept (Father, Son and Holy Ghost) did not want the Jesus only baptizers among them any longer.^{[citation needed]} The ministers who were rejected then formed the PAW which had no organizational board until 1919. During the transition period some minsters took their ministerial credentials from the Church of God in Christ group. In 1916 the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World was loosely organized in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the Christ Temple Assembly of the Apostolic Faith, where Bishop G. T. Haywood was the pastor.^{[citation needed]} Bishop Haywood became the organization's first Presiding Bishop at that meeting.^{[citation needed]} During that meeting, the organization's headquarters were established in Portland, Oregon.^{[citation needed]} In 1919, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World headquarters were moved from Portland to Indianapolis, and was incorporated in the state of Indiana. The incorporators were E. W. Doak, G. T. Haywood, and D. C. Opperman". ^[11]

Several small Oneness ministerial groups formed after the 1914 restorations. Many of these merged into the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW) and some remained independent. Division occurred within the PAW over the role of women in ministry, wine or grape juice for communion, divorce and remarriage, and proper mode of water baptism. There were reports of racial tension in the early PAW. African Americans were joining the PAW in great numbers and were in many significant positions of leadership.^{[citation needed]} In particular the African-American pastor G. T. Haywood served as General Secretary and signed all ministerial credentials. PAW resolutions were proposed that credentials be signed by individuals of the same race.^{[citation needed]} This factor, along with Jim Crow segregation policy, contributed greatly to the split primarily along racial lines. In later decades progress has somewhat been made in racial relations in the UPCI in regard to leadership roles for all members of this fellowship.^{[citation needed]} In 1932, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World was reorganized and elected Elder Samuel Grimes of New York, as the new Presiding Bishop.^{[citation needed]} Bishop Grimes served as the Presiding Bishop for 35 years (1932-1967).

In 1945, a merger of two predominantly White Oneness Pentecostal organizations (the Pentecostal Church Incorporated and the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ) resulted in the formation of the United Pentecostal Church ^[12] Presently they are called United Pentecostal Church, International (UPCI), adding the word "International" in 1972.

The UPCI has suffered several splinters since its inception in 1945.

• In 1955, a group of ministers led by Bishop C. B. Gillespie (Fairmont, WV), Bishop Ray Cornell (Cleveland, OH), and Bishop Carl Angle (Nashville, TN) rechartered the PAJC using the original charter.^{[citation needed]}

• 1968 a number of ministers organized the Apostolic Ministerial Fellowship - AMF, citing the UPCI as 'too liberal'. Central issues were holiness and local church government.

• In 1986, Pastor L. H. Hardwick, a UPCI pastor in Nashville, Tennessee, broke away from what he called "legalists" (referring to the issue of dress code and standards), and formed Global Christian Ministries (now Global Network of Christian Ministries).^{[citation needed]}

• In 2001, Bishop Teklemarim Gezahagne and the more than 1 million members of the Apostolic Church of Ethiopia (ACI)broke their 45 year alignment with the UPCI. The official position of the UPCI is that the division was over Christology. Bishop Teklemarim taught that the flesh of Jesus was God and had no human connection to the seed of Adam, David, or his mother Mary. He taught one nature in Christ and it was divine. The UPCI has always taught two natures in Christ, human and Divine. Bishop Tekelmarim refused to reconsider his stance after high ranking envoys came from the UPCI to Ethiopia to discuss his error. Thus the interpretation of Christology caused the division. A group led by Pastor Yared Araya ^[13] formed the One God Church of Ethiopia (OGCOE) and departed from the ACOE (ACI). The One God Church of Ethiopia holds the teaching of Brother and Sister Freeman, UPCI missionaries to Africa, who taught Jesus was both divine and human (two natures in Christ). This new group is Orthodox Oneness Pentecostal.

• The Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus (AAFCJ) and it's sister church the Apostolic Church of the Faith in Christ Jesus (IAFCJ), left the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World to serve the Hispanic community in the United States and the nations of Latin America.^{[citation needed]} The Apostolic Assembly is the largest Oneness Pentecostal group of primarily Spanish-speaking denomination in the United States of America, and it is also the oldest primarily Hispanic denomination in the World.^{[citation needed]}

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World has never left their original vision of a racially integrated body of believers. To this day, although predominantly black, they continue to reach out and work toward racial unity in worship and organization. There have been both white and black presiding bishops in this group. The United Pentecostal Church International in its world-wide ministry has accomplished a racially integrated body and this can be witnessed at the annual general convention. The same may be said of other Jesus Name groups who are not only integrated, they hold no overt racist policies and engage in missionary work in many nations.

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World is the oldest Oneness Pentecostal organization in existence.^{[citation needed]} As a result of the Azusa Street Revival, a number of independent Pentecostal churches and their leaders, in an effort to stabilize these new works, felt the need to come together and form an Association of Churches of "like precious faith," thus forming the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. Its goal was to further spread the Gospel and to give support to each other. It should be noted, that after 1914 and the Hot Springs meeting, G.T.Haywood was baptized by Glen Cook, a white man, who had been the treasurer at Azusa street mission in Los Angeles.^{[citation needed]}

The substantial number of Pentecostal congregations formed in the years immediately following the Azusa Street Revival inevitably caused the new movement to be faced with the problem of formal organization. The independent churches and missions of the first type were somewhat remedied by the recognition of lay boards and elected pastors.

For the next few years, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World focused upon general meetings and the development of its organizational structure.^{[citation needed]} The late Bishop Morris E. Golder wrote: "The original organization bearing the name of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World came into existence in the year of 1906 in the city of Los Angeles, State of California.^{[citation needed]} The late Bishop G. T. Haywood concurs with this fact, writing in the Voice In The Wilderness in 1921: "It (The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World) was started in 1906 in Los Angeles, California."^{[citation needed]}

This was also the position asserted by Bishop Ross Paddock, the former Presiding Bishop of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. He declared that after one year of being organized, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World had its first annual business meeting and that, at the same time, it was Trinitarian in its doctrine and liturgy of water baptism.^{[citation needed]}

It was in this context of varying ideas, personal differences, doctrinal and other conflicting elements that not only was the need of organization seen, but the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World in its original state (1906) came into existence.^{[citation needed]} However, it was not until 1919 that it became incorporated and took on the identity of being an Apostolic "Oneness" body of ministers and believers.^{[citation needed]}

According to Dr. David Bundy, a Pentecostal historian at the Christian Theological Seminary, as early as 1907, a white Baptist minister in Los Angeles, was preaching non-Trinitarian water baptism in the Name of Jesus. According to Dr. Deborah Sims LeBlanc, William and Maggie Bowden, the parents of former Assistant Presiding Bishop Frank Bowden, were baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ after the Azusa Street Mission Revival (1906-1909).</ref> It began in 1906, the same year the Azusa Street Revival began, making it older than even most of the Trinitarian Pentecostal organizations.^{[citation needed]} It was never a part of the Assemblies of God and therefore never came out from it.^{[citation needed]} "A few in the group which was ousted by the Assemblies of God later joined the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, but then demerged later ^[14].

[edit] Doctrine and theology

[edit] God

Oneness Pentecostalism holds to a conservative Jewish monotheistic view of God and stress Jesus Christ is the visible manifestation of God in the New Testament (the Father in the Son). God was known by several names and titles in the Old Testament, but with the New Covenant He has revealed His name as Jesus. It rejects all concepts of a polytheism, trinity, or other doctrines they see as representing multiple and separate Gods. As such it rejects three separate persons in the trinity who are each separately God. All concepts of Jesus Christ are explained as either the Father or the Son, the divine Spirit or the man Christ in two different modes. Jesus is fully God and fully human. As to his humanity Christ is the only begotten Son of God. They reject Jesus being seen as only one of three Gods. They believe Jesus as the Son is the only present high priest and at the same time God. Attempts to put into the mouth of Oneness that they believe the Son was only human (Unitarianism) have failed.

[edit] Salvation

Oneness Pentecostal doctrine and theology typically maintains that salvation comes by faith through grace. The acts of faith and subsequent grace is by obedience to specific commands and requirements that are found in the New Testament. These requirements necessary for salvation are: faith in Jesus Christ, repentance by faith, water baptism by faith in the name of Jesus Christ, and the gift of Holy Ghost baptism by faith with the evidence of speaking in tongues. The view of Oneness Pentecostals is that scripture either records the commandment of these acts of faith for salvation and explains that the lack of them would result in not having salvation. However, it should also be noted that not all Pentecostals who are Oneness regarding their view of the nature of God hold to this type of soteriology (the doctrine of salvation) and believe that water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are subsequent to salvation. One of the predecessor organizations of the UPCI, the Pentecostal Church, Inc. (PCI),brought this view over into the Oneness merger in 1945. These were called "one steppers"(which this view was held by a vocal minority) whereas those of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ (PAJC) following strictly Acts 2:38 were called "three steppers.

[edit] Holiness

Oneness Pentecostals believe that a Christian's lifestyle should be one characterized by holiness. This holiness begins at baptism where the blood of Jesus washes away sin and a person stands before God holy for the first time in their life. Subsequent to this sanctification, they hold separation from the world in both practical and moral areas will keep converts from lapsing back into the sins of their baptism. Moral or inward holiness is righteous living guided and powered by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Practical or outward holiness involves modest apparel and gender distinction. For some Oneness Pentecostal organizations, because of what they consider the amoral conduct of society in dress and nakedness, this involves establishing dress codes for its members (also known as "holiness standards") similar to those all Pentecostal denominations used for much of the first half of the 20th century. While these dress codes are officially treated as a matter of personal conviction, in practice there is strong social pressure in most circles to comply. Generally, women are not allowed to wear pants, wear makeup or cut their hair; men are not allowed to have long hair, mustaches or beards.

For a more in-depth review, see Oneness Pentecostalism (doctrine)

For a contrast and comparison of Oneness and Trinity, see Oneness vs Trinity.

[edit] Common misunderstandings

[edit] Jesus Name vs. Jesus

Jesus-Name doctrine is often misunderstood as is the pejorative "Jesus Only". These terms are even misunderstood and applied by Oneness themselves. Critics of the Oneness people refer to them as Jesus-Only, meaning they deny the Father and the Holy Spirit of the trinity. Most Oneness Pentecostals consider that term to be a misreprentation of their true beliefs on the issue. Oneness do not deny the Father or the Son; they just describe them different then trinitarianism. Oneness historians claim the usage of the term "Jesus-Only" is misleading many to believe they reject the Father and the Holy Spirit. Rejection and different interpretation are two different things. Oneness prefer the phrase Jesus-Name when referring to their baptism beliefs or themselves as believers who were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ only (no reference to the Father or Holy Spirit). Jesus Name, to Oneness Pentecostals refers to the revealed name of God for the present Church age. Jesus inherited his name from the eternal name of the Godhead. I am come in my Father's name. Oneness Pentecostals place "essential" emphasis on use of the name of Jesus, and regard it as the "Name above all names". They invoke it in word or deed in all things.

Oneness Pentecostals generally see the use of the term "Jesus Only" by trinitarians as being an attempt to mislead and/or confuse those interested in study of the Oneness doctrine. The label arose early on in reference to their insistence on baptizing only in the name of Jesus, but it tends to be used only by the movement's critics. The Oneness position is that do indeed believe in baptism into the name of Jesus only, but that to describe them as "Jesus Only" Pentecostals implies a denial of the Father and Holy Spirit -- a contention they vigorously reject as false.

Oneness believers generally consider the term "Jesus Only" to be inflammatory, because the speaker is generally a trinitarian critic trying to lead interested persons away from the Oneness doctrine. True, Oneness do not believe in three separate persons in the Godhead who each have a separate Spirit, Body, Mind, and Being. To Oneness this makes three Gods. They see Jesus as the true personality of God manifest in the flesh (1Tim 3:16). Trinitarians infer by this that Oneness Pentecostals deny the separate being of Father and the separate being of the Holy Spirit. Oneness in fact deny the entire concept of a Trinity including the use of the term "God the Son", since this is never found in the New Testament. Jesus Only as explained by trinitarians is an incorrect use of the term because Oneness Pentecostals actually affirms the Father and the Holy Spirit, but asserts that the Father is the Holy Spirit, and vice versa. Oneness believe there is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: one God.

[edit] Unitarianism is not

Some confuse the terms Unitarian and Oneness. Although Unitarians and Oneness people are similar in the belief that there is not a plurality of persons in the Godhead, Unitarians believe that Jesus was only a moral authority whereas the Deity and humanity of Jesus Christ are essential to Oneness doctrine.

[edit] Followers of Oneness Pentecostalism

Some of the better-known persons associated, or said to be associated, with Oneness Pentecostals are

• T.D. Jakes ^[15]
• Noel Jones
• Brandon Houseworth ^[16]
• Dr. Larry W. Gaiters
• Dr. Gary Garrett
• Gilsen Levi
• Harold C. McFarlane
• Gaddi Vasquez
• Dr. Bernie L. Wade
• Norman Wagner
• Tommy Tenney
• Dr. Gary Reckart, Sr

[edit] Gospel and Contemporary Christian artists

• The Katinas
• Phillips, Craig and Dean
• Lee Greenwood
• Elvis Presley, the well known entertainer of early rock and roll, frequented Oneness Pentecostal Churches as well as Trinitarian Assemblies of God Churches and it is claimed that from these sources he picked up the rhythm and lively antics he incorporated into his performances. It is reported that Presley was baptized in the AOG church, but was later rebaptized in the name of Jesus Christ by Bishop Joseph Rex Dyson a Oneness Pentecostal with the Church of Jesus Christ in Tennessee. (http://www.calvaryslighthouse.com/Memphis,TN.htm) ^[17] (http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/elvis_presley/article/0,1426,MCA_457_1328348,00.html)^[18]
• Jonny Lang, Grammy award winning singer and guitar player. Attends a UPCI church in Los Angeles.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Jesus-Name baptism doctrine
• Sabellianism belief in one God, i.e. Modalism
• Oneness Doctrine, Jewish belief in one God, Jesus is God

[edit] External links

[edit] Articles, indexes, & other resources

[edit] Favoring views

• Institute for Biblical Studies (Index of Oneness Pentecostal theological articles)
• Website of Apostolic results
• The Oneness of God (Book by Oneness scholar David K. Bernard, J.D., part of Series in Pentecostal Theology, Volume 1, freely available online)
• Testimonies of Jesus Christ by Oneness Pentecostals
• The Voice of the Pastor Study And The Word Became Flesh
• Understanding Pentecostal Theology (Blog about Oneness Pentecostal Theology with articles)
• Center for Oneness Research and Education (Blog by scholar Dr. Daniel Segraves with articles)
• Pentecostales del Nombre de Jesucristo page in Spanish
• Spanish Web Site Apostolic Studies in Spanish
• Articles of Study By Oneness Theologian Mike Blume

[edit] Comparative articles

• Oneness Versus Trinity Links to various writings concerning Oneness vs. Trinity. Link is an opposing view site.
• Responding to Oneness Pentecostalism in the Light of Scripture

[edit] Other

• My Views on the Godhead - Christianity Today Magazine Bishop T. D. Jakes responds to Christianity Today article, "Apologetics Journal Criticizes Jakes."
• Apostolic Archives International Web Site dedicated to preserve the history of organizational leaders of various Oneness Pentecostal Denominations

[edit] Oneness Pentecostal Groups

Here are major and historical Oneness Pentecostal organizations. Not all Oneness Pentecostal churches affiliate with an organization. See Category:Oneness Pentecostalism for individual churches and organizations that may not be listed here.

[edit] North America

This is a list of Oneness Pentecostal organizations headquartered in North America.

• Worldwide Pentecostal Fellowship
• Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus
• Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ
• Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ
• Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith
• International Circle of Faith
• Pentecostal Assemblies of the World
• Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ
• International Church of Jesus Christ
• United Pentecostal Church International
• End Time Age Deliverance Ministries Worldwide, Inc
• Mercy Tabernacle (formerly Church of Jesus Christ of Prophecy)
• Church of the Lord Jesus Christ
• Jesus Christ Apostolic Ministries
• Churches of Jesus Christ International
• International Ministerial Association
• Apostolic Church of the Faith in Christ Jesus - Mexico

[edit] Other countries

This is a list of Oneness Pentecostal organizations headquartered outside North America.

• United Pentecostal Church of Australia
• True Jesus Church - China/Taiwan
• United Pentecostal Church of Colombia - Colombia[3]
• Assemblies Lord Jesus Christ - Canada
• Apostolic Church International - Ethiopia
• International Circle of Faith of Togo
• Church of Jesus Christ-Greece
• Apostolic Church of the Faith in Christ Jesus - Mexico