Hi Monergist,

Oneness Pentecostalism is MOSTLY confined to the United Pentecostal Church, however, with the proliferation of "non-denominational" churches it may by now have spread further. There are also certain popular charismatic leaders who are "Oneness" people (e.g., T.D. Jakes).

Oneness teaching is basically a form of modalism, where God is one divine Person who reveals Himself successively in three different forms; whereas, in biblical Trinitarian teaching, the three Persons coexist eternally as one God. Oneness theology developed historically because of the Pentecostal emphasis on the Book of Acts. If you read through Acts, you'll see that the baptismal formula is expressed simply as "in the name of Jesus," contrasting with the fuller formula in Matthew ("in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"). Because Pentecostals were insistent that the theology and pattern of life of the church must be drawn from the Scriptural example in Acts, some took that to mean that we should only baptize in Jesus' name; and from there developed Oneness theology. It was actually a major schism in the Pentecostal movement, but the Trinitarian Pentecostals have always been able to draw greater numbers.

I'd say the majority of Pentecostals are Trinitarian, although they may not be very consistent in how they exress their Trinitarianism. When I was in the Assemblies of God (which is officially Trinitarian), I remember being told about a certain Sunday school teacher who began pushing Oneness theology on the kids, and as soon as she was found out, she was told to leave.

Kyle

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified.