Oneness Pentecostalism

[3][22] In April 1913, at the Apostolic Faith Worldwide Camp Meeting held in Arroyo Seco, California, 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.

[28][29] The revelation immediately caused controversy, with Frank Denny, a Pentecostal missionary to China, jumping on the platform and trying to censor McAlister.

[4] A number of ministers claimed they were baptized in Jesus' name before 1914, including Frank Small and Andrew D. Urshan.

Many of these ultimately merged into the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, while others remained independent (e.g., the Apostolic Faith Mission Church of God).

Divisions occurred within the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World over the role of women in ministry, usage of wine or grape juice in communion observance, divorce and remarriage, and the proper mode of water baptism.

[45] In particular, the African American pastor G. T. Haywood served as the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World's general secretary and signed all ministerial credentials.

[52] Oneness theology maintains that God is a singular spirit who is absolutely and indivisibly unitary, not three persons, individuals, or minds.

[57] Oneness theologians often quote a phrase used by early pioneers of the movement: "God was manifested as the Father in creation, the Son in redemption, and the Holy Ghost in emanation.

Thus, when the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) speaks of "the Lord God and his Spirit" in Isaiah 48:16, it does not indicate two distinct persons, according to Oneness theology.

It should be evident that Oneness theology acknowledges a clear distinction between the Father and Son–in fact this has never been disputed by any Christological view that I am aware of.

[72] The overwhelming emphasis on the person of Jesus shapes the content of a theology based on experience among both Oneness and Trinitarian Pentecostals.

At the same time, Trinitarian Pentecostals typically elevate Jesus from the second person of the Trinity to the central figure of Christian faith and worship.

[73] Critics of Oneness theology commonly refer to its adherents as "Jesus Only", implying that they deny the existence of the Father and Holy Spirit.

[80][81][82] Oneness Pentecostals insist that their conception of the Godhead is reflective of early Christianity's allegedly strict monotheism, contrasting their views not only with Trinitarianism but equally with the theology espoused by the Latter-day Saints (who believe that Christ was a separate god from the Father and the Spirit) and Jehovah's Witnesses (who see him as the first-begotten Son of God, and as a subordinate deity to the Father).

For them, the contemporary Oneness Pentecostal movement began in America in the early 20th century during the latter days of the Azusa Street Revival.

Restorationists such as Bernard and Norris deny any direct link between the church of the Apostolic Age and the current Oneness movement, believing that modern Oneness Pentecostalism is a total restoration originating from a step-by-step separation within Protestantism culminating in the final restoration of the early apostolic church.

He asserts that there is no evidence of these converts having any difficulty comprehending the Christian Church's teachings and integrating them with their existing Judaic beliefs; however, in the post-Apostolic Age, Bernard claims that Hermas, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Polycrates, Ignatius (who lived between 90 and 140 AD), and Irenaeus (who died about 200 AD) were either Oneness, modalist, or at most a follower of an "economic Trinity", that is, a temporary Trinity and not an eternal one.

[105] In contrast to Bernard's theory, mainstream Christian scholars suggest the writings of Ignatius and Irenaeus teach an eternal Trinity,[9][106] though Norris disagrees with them in his book I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology, writing, "While Ignatius can on occasion utilize the language of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, he does not have three persons in mind.

The first mandate is true faith in Jesus, demonstrated by obedience to God's commands and a determination to submit to his will in every aspect of life.

According to these believers, Jesus and the apostles taught that the new birth experience includes repentance and baptism in both water and God's Spirit.

[4] This conviction is mainly centered around the baptismal formula mandated in Acts 2:38: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

[118][119] Oneness believers insist that all Bible's texts on the subject must be in complete agreement with each other; thus, they say that either the apostles disobeyed the command they had been given in Matthew 28:19 or they correctly fulfilled it by using the name of Jesus.

Some Oneness believers consider that the text of Matthew 28:19 is not original, quoting various scholars and the early Church historian Eusebius, who referred to this passage at least eighteen times in his works.

[120][121][122] Eusebius' text reads: "go and make disciples of all nations in my name, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you.

They also assert that the way one exercises the authority of Jesus is by using his name, pointing to the healing of the lame man at the Gate Beautiful in Acts 3 as an example of this.

[139] Pentecostals—both Oneness and Trinitarian—maintain that the Holy Spirit experience denotes the genuine Christian Church and empowers the believer to accomplish God's will.

Like most Pentecostals, Oneness believers maintain that the initial sign of the infilling Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues and that the New Testament mandates this as a minimal requirement.

They equally recognize that speaking in tongues is a sign to unbelievers of the Holy Spirit's power and is to be actively sought after and utilized, especially in prayer.

[85][141] In such ecstatic experiences a Oneness believer may vocalize fluent unintelligible utterances (glossolalia), or articulate a natural language previously unknown to them (xenoglossy).

Some Oneness Pentecostals practice foot washing, often in conjunction with their celebration of Holy Communion, as Jesus Christ did with his disciples at the Last Supper.