Oneness Pentecostalism Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===View of the Trinity=== Oneness Pentecostals believe that the Trinitarian doctrine is a "tradition of men" and is neither scriptural nor a teaching of God, citing the absence of the word "Trinity" from the Bible as one evidence of this. They—alongside the nontrinitarian [[Jehovah's Witnesses]]—generally believe the doctrine was gradually developed over the first four centuries AD, culminating with the [[First Council of Nicaea|Council of Nicaea]] and later councils which made the doctrine as believed today orthodox;<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=The Jesus Name Movement |url=https://www.apostolicarchives.com/articles/article/8795236/172416.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119023034/https://www.apostolicarchives.com/articles/article/8795236/172416.htm |archive-date=19 November 2020 |access-date=19 November 2020 |website=www.apostolicarchives.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bernard |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-date=February 16, 2008 |title=The Oneness of God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6 |page=263|chapter=Trinitarianism: Definition and Historical Development|quote=There is no question that Christian trinitarianism developed over several centuries of time after the New Testament was written.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Plain Speaking About Nicaea and the Trinity|url=https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1964445?q=Council+of+Nicaea&p=doc|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113231657/https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1964445?q=Council+of+Nicaea&p=doc|archive-date=2022-01-13|access-date=2022-01-13|website=Watchtower Online Library}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Should You Believe in the Trinity?|url=https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/g201308/trinity/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113231544/https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/g201308/trinity/|archive-date=2022-01-13|access-date=2022-01-13|website=Jehovah's Witnesses}}</ref> most [[Nicene Christianity|mainstream Christian]] scholars have rejected these assertions and some have rebutted alleged misinterpretations of Trinitarians seeming to support those assertions.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Doctrine of the Trinity at Nicaea and Chalcedon|url=https://www.str.org/w/the-doctrine-of-the-trinity-at-nicaea-and-chalcedon|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109040544/https://www.str.org/w/the-doctrine-of-the-trinity-at-nicaea-and-chalcedon|archive-date=9 January 2022|access-date=9 January 2022|website=www.str.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Wayne|first=Luke|date=7 January 2017|title=The Trinity before Nicea|url=https://carm.org/doctrine-and-theology/the-trinity-before-nicea/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109040812/https://carm.org/doctrine-and-theology/the-trinity-before-nicea/|archive-date=9 January 2022|access-date=9 January 2022|website=Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Jehovah's Witnesses: Masters of Misquotation|url=https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-witnesses-masters-of-misquotation|access-date=2022-01-13|website=Catholic Answers}}</ref> Oneness Pentecostals insist that their conception of the Godhead is true to 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). Oneness theology is similar to historical [[Modalism]] or [[Sabellianism]], although it cannot be exactly characterized as such.<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sabellianism|last1=Akin|first1=Jimmy|date=1 January 1994|url=https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/sabellianism|access-date=13 April 2021|website=Catholic Answers}}</ref> The Oneness position as [[Nontrinitarianism|nontrinitarians]] places them at odds with the members of most [[List of Christian denominations|Christian denominations]], some of whom have accused Oneness Pentecostals of being Modalists and derided them as [[cult]]ists.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lang |first=J. Stephen |date=1 April 2002 |title='Jesus Only' Isn't Enough |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/april1/22.60.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119024127/https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/april1/22.60.html |archive-date=19 November 2020 |access-date=19 November 2020 |website=Christianity Today |language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite journal|title=The Other Pentecostals|last1=Grady|first1=J.|work=Charisma Magazine|date=June 1997}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=S|first1=Fred|last2=On|first2=Ers|date=3 May 2014|title=Oneness Pentecostalism: An Analysis|url=https://scriptoriumdaily.com/oneness-pentecostalism-an-analysis/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109042320/https://scriptoriumdaily.com/oneness-pentecostalism-an-analysis/|archive-date=9 January 2022|access-date=9 January 2022|website=The Scriptorium Daily|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>Burgos Jr., Michael R., ''Against Oneness Pentecostalism: An Exegetical-Theological Critique'', 2nd Ed., (Winchester, CT: Church Militant Pub., 2016), {{ISBN|978-0692644065}}, 181-191; Hindson, Ed, Caner, Ergun eds., ''The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics'', (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Pub., 2008), 371-376, {{ISBN|978-0736920841}}; Nichols, Larry A., Mather, George A., Schmidt, Alvin J., ''Encyclopedic Dictionary of Cults, Sects, and World Religions'', Rev. and Updated Ed., (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 221-225, {{ISBN|978-0310239543}}.</ref> Oneness clergy consecrated into the [[J. Delano Ellis#Joint College of Bishops|Joint College of Bishops]] are also at odds on grounds of their claims to [[apostolic succession]] (being that documented consecrators in succession were Trinitarian from the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]], [[Anglicanism|Anglican]], and [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern churches]], alongside contradicting records).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ellis|first=J. Delano|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6JMuxEE63BUC&q=Burgess|title=The Bishopric: A Handbook on Creating Episcopacy in the African-American Pentecostal Church|date=2003|publisher=Trafford Publishing|isbn=978-1-55395-848-2|language=en|quote=Archbishop Schlossberg, who resides in Jerusalem, Israel, sent Bishop Robert Woodward Burgess, II, a descendant of the "Eastern (Church) Stream," who, having received consecration from the hands of Archbishop Schlossberg, to the Holy Convocation of the United Pentecostal Churches of Christ. His Grace was mandated to assist us in the consecration of our Second College of Bishops and to impart each of our sons that coveted Apostolic Succession from the Eastern Stream, while we imparted the same Succession from the Western Stream.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Apostolic Succession of Robert W. Burgess, Jr |url=https://dioceseofstthomas.org/apostolic-succession |access-date=29 September 2021 |website=Diocese of St. Thomas |language=en-US}}</ref> ==== Accusations of Modalism and Arianism ==== Oneness believers are often accused of being Modalistic.<ref name="Bernard The Council of Nicea">{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bernard |chapter=The Council of Nicea |chapter-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130181956/http://ourworld.compuserve.com:80/homepages/pentecostal/One-Ch11.htm |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-date=16 February 2008 |title=The Oneness of God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6 }}{{page needed|date=September 2017}}</ref> They have also occasionally been accused of [[Arianism]] or [[Semi-Arianism]], usually by isolated individuals rather than church organizations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Exchanged Life Outreach |url=http://www.exchangedlife.com/Sermons/topical/trinity.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710211315/http://www.exchangedlife.com/Sermons/topical/trinity.shtml |archive-date=10 July 2011 |access-date=20 May 2009}}</ref> While Bernard indicates that [[Modalistic Monarchianism]] and Oneness are essentially the same, and that Sabellius was basically correct (so long as one does not understand Modalism to be the same as [[patripassianism]]),<ref name=":7"/> and while Arius also believed that God is a singular person, Bernard vehemently denies any connection to Arianism or [[Subordinationism]] in Oneness teaching.<ref name="Bernard The Council of Nicea"/> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page