What's special about Oneness Pentecostals? In this penetrating analysis of Oneness theology and practice, Gregory Boyd reveals the experience of four years of personal involvement in a Oneness church. Although Oneness Pentecostals' belief in Christ's deity establishes some common ground with other Christians, their aggressive denial of the Trinity has nonetheless fostered their indisputably sub-Christian ideas about God's character, about salvation, and about Christian living.

See what Christian leaders are saying about Against Oneness Pentecostalism: "Michael Burgos has produced a brilliant blend of systematic theology and biblical exegesis with a detailed and thorough discussion of the main passages at the center of the dispute between Oneness Pentecostalism and traditional trinitarianism. He argues throughout for certain central elements of trinitarianism, in particular, the eternality of the Son of God and the eternal co-existence of the Father and Son with a focus on the Son's activity in creation. He ably interacts with technical issues including the original languages, Greek grammar, and textual criticism and cogently demonstrates that Oneness Pentecostalism is deeply flawed in its interpretation of Scripture and its understanding of God. Highly recommended for those interested in Oneness Pentecostalism and the biblical teaching regarding Theology Proper and Christology." Alexander E. Stewart Ph.D., Academic Dean and Associate Professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Tyndale Theological Seminary "Oneness theology is nothing more than the crass unitarianism of Judaism and Islam. In this work, Michael Burgos has outlined in a systematic fashion the chief theological assertions of Oneness theology and then provides a point-by-point exegetical refutation. Burgos clearly demonstrates throughout this work that the Scriptural view of a Triune God and preexistent unipersonal Son sharply opposes the Oneness idea of the Son being a mere mode or role of a unitarian deity named, 'Jesus.' Burgos consistently stays fastened to the exegesis of the biblical text both in his positive affirmation of the Trinity and in his thorough dismantlement of Oneness theology. Thus, Burgos has clearly laid out the biblical case against Oneness unitarianism. Edward L. Dalcour, M.Apol., Ph.D. President, Department of Christian Defense Faculty of Theology, North-West University "Are you looking for a careful, serious and fair treatment of Oneness Pentecostalism from an orthodox Christian perspective? Search no further, this is the book you're looking for." Vocab Malone, host of Urban Theologian Radio "Michael Burgos has presented a stalwart defense of the Holy Trinity, and an academic and scholarly explanation of Oneness Pentecostalism. In class polemic style, Burgos gives the reader a defense of truth, as well as a critique of false doctrine." J. D. Hall, host of the Polemics Report and Pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church "In the near 25 years since the publication of Gregory Boyd's Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity there has been a dearth of critical interaction with the arguments and exegetical underpinnings of Oneness Pentecostal theology. Michael Burgos has taken up this task in Against Oneness Pentecostalism. Here Burgos interacts with the top Oneness Pentecostal and expositors of our day and finds their arguments wanting. This volume has practical implications beyond the debate that exists between trinitarians and Oneness Pentecostals because if popular piety is any indication, then many professing trinitarian Christians are Oneness in practice and Burgos' work will help to show how such thinking is wrong as well as offering an exegetical alternative that is faithful to what God has revealed about himself in Scripture." Nick Norelli, Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth

A Definitive Look at Oneness Theology: In the Light of Biblical Trinitarianism (4th ed.) critically examines the claims of Oneness unitarian theology in light of biblical exegesis. Specifically, this book clearly shows that the entire content of biblical revelation reveals that the one true God is triune existing in three distinct persons-the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Further, the triune nature of God has been implicitly and explicitly affirmed by the early church, important Ecumenical Councils (and their resulting Creeds), and contemporary conservative biblical scholarship. Oneness theology rejects the biblical doctrine of the Trinity erroneously assuming a unitarian view of God-namely, a one person deity whose name is "Jesus." Hence, it teaches that Jesus is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Oneness advocates then see the titles "Father," Son," and "Holy Spirit" as mere names or roles that Jesus manifests and not as distinct persons. They embrace the notion that "Son" represents the humanity of Jesus while "Father" (and Holy Spirit) represents the deity of Jesus, thus denying the unipersonality, deity, and preexistence of the Son, Jesus Christ. This view sharply opposes the biblical position that the Son had/shared glory "with" the Father "before the world was" (John 17:5). Since, the biblical presentation of the preexistence of the Son (esp. as Creator) is the Achilles' heel of Oneness doctrine, this book devotes the needed space and attention to the exegesis of key passages (such as Gen. 19:24; John 1:1-18; 17:5; Col. 1:16-17; Phil. 2:6-11; and the prologue of Hebrews), which positively affirms biblical Trinitarianism. On this point alone, the Oneness position is shown biblically false.

Can we know anything about God apart from the Bible? Many Protestant Christians are suspicious of natural theology, which claims that we can learn about God through revelation outside the Bible. How can we know anything about God apart from Scripture? In Nature's Case for God, distinguished theologian John Frame argues that Christians are not forbidden from seeking to learn about God from his creation. In fact, the Bible itself shows this to be possible. In nine short and lucid chapters that include questions for discussion, Frame shows us what we can learn about God and how we relate to him from the world outside the Bible. If the heavens really do declare the glory of God, as the psalmist claims, it makes a huge difference for how we understand God and how we introduce him to those who don't yet know Christ.

From atheism and agnosticism to Trinitarian Christianity which itself is not rooted in the simple faith of the one true God of the Bible - J. Dan Gill meets all of these candidly and head on. He asks, "Why do most Christians not even know the Shema - the amazing biblical creed about God which was given by Moses, affirmed by Jesus and is spoken in synagogues to this day?" J. Dan challenges Christians to by-pass centuries of their own religious traditions and discover anew the God of Jesus.

An Apologetic defense of Oneness Modalistic Theology.

Grounded in primary source research, this boldly revisionist book examines the doctrine of salvation in Oneness Pentecostalism (United Pentecostal Church) from its origins through its several developmental stages. The gradual rise of a literal interpretation of Acts 2.38 eliminated a tradition of doctrinal diversity within Oneness thought which regarded salvation as occurring at repentance prior to water and Spirit baptism. With this development a main link to the wider stream of evangelical Christianity was severed. The "water and Spirit" theology resulted in a form of Christianity which does not necessarily require the cross in any meaningful sense for salvation. This study recovers the lost theological tradition associated with important figures such as Howard A. Goss, A.D. Gurley, W.M. Greer, C.H. Tadon, Wynn T. Stairs, Earl Jacques, E.P. Wickens, John Paterson and the Pentecostal Church, Incorporated. Combining traditional historical methodology and theological research with the principles of a broadly based oral history, this study argues for a theological diversity within the history of Oneness Pentecostalism and in so doing bridges an important gap in the history and theology of the United Pentecostal Church.

Foundational to believers' salvation is their union with Christ. In this accessible introduction, Johnson argues that this neglected doctrine is the lens through which all other facets of salvation should be understood.

Unlike Jehovah's Witnesses, who deny the Trinity by demoting Jesus to a mere man, the "Jesus Only" churches deny the Trinity by claiming that there is only one God, and that Jesus is the Father and the Holy Spirit. "Jesus Only" churches not only require baptism for salvation, but also stipulate that it must be baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ only, and not in the name of the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. Thus, these churches distort the gospel and the historic, orthodox understanding of Jesus. Why this series? This is an age when countless groups and movements, old and new, mark the religious landscape in our culture, leaving many people confused or uncertain in their search for spiritual truth and meaning. Because you may not have the time or opportunity to research these movements fully, these books provide essential and reliable information and insights for their spiritual journeys. The second wave of books in this series addresses a broad range of spiritual beliefs, from non-Trinitarian Christian sects to witchcraft and neo-paganism to classic non-Christian religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. All books but the summary volume, Truth and Error, contain five sections: -A concise introduction to the group being surveyed -An overview of the group’s theology — in its own words -Tips for witnessing effectively to members of the group -A bibliography with sources for further study -A comparison chart that shows the essential differences between biblical Christianity and the group -Truth and Error, the last book in the series, consists of parallel doctrinal charts compiled from all the other volumes. Three distinctives make this series especially useful to readers: -Information is carefully distilled to bring out truly essential points, rather than requiring readers to sift their way through a sea of secondary details. -Information is presented in a clear, easy-to-follow outline form with “menu bar” running heads. This format greatly assists the reader in quickly locating topics and details of interest. -Each book meets the needs and skill levels of both nontechnical and technical readers, providing an elementary level of refutation and progressing to a more advanced level using arguments based on the biblical text. The writers of these volumes are well qualified to present clear and reliable information and help readers to discern truth from falsehood.