The Cults Oneness Pentecostalism and The Way International

The Cults Oneness Pentecostalism and The Way International Ron Williams University of Life Ridgecrest Baptist Church © 2007 Ron Williams www. namb. net

Oneness Pentecostalism (OP) n n Official names: Apostolic Overcoming Holy Church of God; Assemblies of the Lord Jesus; Bible Way Church of the Our Lord Jesus Christ World Wide; Church of our Lord Jesus of the Apostolic Faith; Pentecostal Assemblies of the World; Pentecostal Church of Apostolic Faith; United Church of Jesus Christ (Apostolic); United Pentecostal Church International Otherwise known as: Jesus only churces; Apostolic Pentecostals; The Oneness Movement; the Jesus Name Movement

Oneness Pentecostals (OP) n Total membership= approximately 2 million in U. S. n Approximately 1. 5 million international members

Eductional Outlets n Berean Christian Bible College n Aenon Bible School n Institute of Biblical Studies n Apostolic Bible Institute n Apostolic Missionary Institute n Christian Life College n Indiana Bible College n Texas Bible College

Chief Outlets Pentecostal Herald n The Global Witness n The Bible Way News Voice n The People’s Mouthpiece n The Contender for the Faith n Christian Outlook n

The Founders n n n The modern Pentecostal movement is believed to have begun in 1901 in a Topeka, Kansas prayer meeting led by Charles Parham In 1906 the Pentecostal experience of speaking in tongues burst upon an African-American Baptist Church in Los Angeles. It spread rapidly after this date. In 1913, one teacher, R. E. Mc. Alister began to teach of that baptistm should only be done in Jesus’ name, not that of the Father and Holy Spirit also. Frank Ewart and John Scheppe also taught this non -trinitarian viewpoint

Oneness Movement n n n In 1916, many of the Assemblies of God churches rejected the heretical teaching forcing out 160 ministers who developed their own alliances and doctrines. This resulted in a number of oneness sects, many were predominantly African-American. The two largest churches were formed in 1945 as the United Pentecostal Church International and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. The PAW’s headquarters is in Cincinnati, OH. These churches are historically split along racial lines.

OP’s Doctrine n n They report that the Bible is authoritative, however…. They also believe in certain unbiblical revelations from some of their leaders (Frank Ewart and John Scheppe)/ Our Response: The Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallable Word of God. No one person’s interpretation should be considered as infallable. All interpretations of scripture need to stand the test of consistency with the fullness of the Bible.

The Skinny. . . n OP’s believe in four legal requirements for salvation. These are: – Faith in Jesus Only – Repentance and baptism in the “name of Jesus”. They use Acts 2: 38 as the basis for this teaching. They believe that teachings of the Trinity is invalid (Unitarian or Triune teaching). They reject Matthew 28: 19 as a command to baptize in the Trinity’s name. – They believe that speaking in tongues is not just an occasional act (dispensation). They believe it is an essential component of salvation itself – A daily adherence to Holiness standards (loss of salvation is possible)

The OP Skinny. . . n Holiness standards include: – – – – legalistic abstinence from alcohol and tobacco women cannot cut their hair women cannot wear short dresses or slacks women cannot wear jewelry or make-up Men are to wear white shirts and dark pants Men are to be clean shaven and have short hair Some churches also practice handling snakes and drinking poison based on Mark 16: 18.

Who is God? n n OP’s believe the Godhead consists only of one Person and deny the Trinity. Jesus is the only person of the Godhead That is why it is called the Jesus Only movement They insist Jesus exists as two modes, as the Father in heaven and as Jesus the Son on the earth. The Holy Spirit is not considered to exist but rather is just the power of Jesus in action. They use Colossians 2: 9 as the basis for rejecting the Trinity. They believe Jesus has two natures (human and divine). When he died, only His human nature died.

Who is God? Our response: n The rejection of the Trinity is the ancient heresy of Modalism which was rejected many centuries ago. n Modalism is the belief that God existed first as the Father in heaven, bodily as the son on earth and lastly as the Holy Spirit. Early church fathers rejected this as not a true representation of Christ or the Holy Spirit. n

What makes it attractive? n n n Individuals who believe that the Trinity is not a reality The necessity of a high moral, conservative lifestyle Those who prefer more emotional worship styles are sometimes drawn to Oneness churches

Witnessing to OPs n n Have a clear understanding of what OPs believe. They are not likely to come to your door but you should be able to recognize them in the community by their dress. Realize their definitions of God and Christ are not the same Focus upon who the Trinty are. Be prepared to quote scripture. OP s have several verses they commonly use to substantiate their non-belief in the Trinity. Share your personal testimony and how you know God is working in your life. Relate how good works and morals do not equate to a salvation experience

The Way International n n The Way International Founder: Victor Wierwille (1916 -1985) Current Leaders: Rosalie Rivenbark and Harve Platig Headquaters: The Way Farm, New Knoxville, Ohio

The Way International n Associated Ministries – American Christian Press – The Way of Abundance and Power classes – The Way Corps

Chief Outlets or Publications The Way Magazine n The Bible Tells Me So n The New, Dynamic Church n The Word’s Way n Receiving the Holy Spirit Today n Are the Dead Alive Now n Jesus is Not God n God’s Magnified Word n The Rise and Expansion of the Church n

The Founders n n n Victor Wierwille was a former member of the United Church of Christ. In 1941 he graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary. On October 3, 1941, he claimed that God audibly told him that he would be given the power to interpret the scripture more accurately than anyone since the apostles. He immediately threw away 3000 theological textbooks and began an independent study of Scripture

The Founders n n n Victor Wierwille continued his studies and received a Doctorate in 1948 from Pike’s Peak Seminary. In 1951 he visited J. E. Stiles to learn of his technique for speaking in tongues by 1953 he was teaching his “Power for Abudant Living” classes and in 1955 started his “The Way, Inc”. It was at this time he officially withdrew from his mainline church affiliation His views on the Trinity and who Christ was began to deviate sharply from the historical Christian viewpoint Many hippies were attracted to his teaching and he opened The Way College in Emporia, Kansas in 1975

The Founders n n Victor Wierwille retired in 1982 and L. Craig Martindale (a former Baptist Student Union Leader at the U. of Kansas) took over. Wierwille died of cancer in 1985 and was posthumously accused of plagiarism, adultery, false teaching and being too authoritative. Many withdrew from the church because of these charges. In 2000, Craig Martindale himself was accused of sexual misconduct and subsequently resigned. He was succeeded by Rosalie Rivenbark The Way College was eventually closed down as a result of the 1985 charged

The Way n n n In 1916, many of the Assemblies of God churches rejected the heretical teaching forcing out 160 ministers who developed their own alliances and doctrines. This resulted in a number of oneness sects, many were predominantly African-American. The two largest churches were formed in 1945 as the United Pentecostal Church International and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. The PAW’s headquarters is in Cincinnati, OH. These churches are historically split along racial lines.

The Skinny about The Way. . . n n n The Way reject the notion of the Trinity Christ did not coexist with God The Holy Spirit is a synonym for God Man lost his spiritual self due to Adam and is seeking to regain it Water baptism is not a relevant part of Christianity Nine manisfestations are needed to assure oneself that salvation has been received. The Way classes help individuals gain these manifestations.

The Skinny about The Way. . . n n The Dead are asleep An authoritative church hierarchy that controls even the most basic church functions

The Way Doctrine n n n They report that the Bible is authoritative, however…. They believe some Greek and Hebrew texts were distorted and therefore not trustworthy. They reject the accuracy of the Old Testament. The synoptic gospels and Paul’s letters to individuals are not considered useful Scripture. They focus on the remainder of the KJV of the New Testament Our Response: The Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallable Word of God. No one person’s interpretation should be considered as infallable. All interpretations of scripture need to stand the test of consistency with the fullness of the Bible. All of the Bible declares God’s plan for mankind and should be studied and incorporated in one’s aim of knowing God.

Who is God? n n The Way teaches that there is no Trinity. The teaching of the Trinity was the result of pagan Roman emperors and uninformed church councils. Our response: Early church founders and our modern translations of scripture clearly show the basis for the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The heretical view of a non. Trinitarian viewpoint has been around since the 1 st century.

Who is Christ? n n The Way teaches that Christ is not God. They believe he was fully created at his conception and earthly birth. He was given Holy Spirit at that time. Thus he can be called the Son of God but not God the Son. They believe he was crucified on a Wednesday, not Friday. They believe he was physically resurrected on a Saturday rather than the traditional view of Sunday. Our Response: Jesus was with God and was God from all eternity. He lived a perfect life and paid for our sins through his self sacrifice. He rose on Sunday (the first day of the week) as the Biblical record states.

Who is the Holy Spirit? The Way believes that the Holy Spirit and holy spirit denote two different ideas. Holy Spirit is another name for God while holy spirit indicates gifts God provides believers. n Our response: The Holy Spirit is a being, capable of self thought and action. Matt 12; Mark 3; Luke 12; John 14 -16, and other NT passages make no distinction between the capitalize and noncapitalized form of the name Holy Spirit. n

Man’s Problem The Way believes that because of Adam, mankind lost its spiritual self. The spirit returns to a man following his belief in Christ n Our response: The Shema clearly indicates we are heart, mind, soul, and strength. Man’s spirit is not lost. However, all mankind is in a lost state of salvation which can only be recovered from accepting Christ as a personal savior n

Baptism Has No Meaning The Way believes that baptism had meaning only till the day of Pentecost. n Our Response: Baptism as defined in Acts 8; Rom 6; Matthew 28, etc clearly teach that new Christians should respond with a public declaration of their new life with baptism. Baptism however, is not a legalistic requirement for salvation. n

Rebirth n n The Way believes that a renewed mind a spiritual rebirth takes places by attending the Way of Abudance and Power classes and obtaining the gift of the holy spirit as defined by 1 Corinthians 12: 7 -11. Speaking in tongues is a requirement for graduating these classes. A special technique is taught to help one acquire this gift. Our response: The Way teaches that a two step process (vocal confession of faith and a renewal of the mind) is a requirement for spiritual rebirth. There is no Biblical basis for teaching that one must speak in tongues to confirm they have been reborn. In fact, the Holy Spirit distributes gifts to the church as it is needed to meet Kingdom needs (Roman 12; Cor 12 -14).

Life after Death n n The Way believes that the dead are in a state of unconsciousness. They believe that their bodies, souls and spirits will be resurrected together. Our response: We die and immediately are in the Lord’s presence (Matt 22; Luke 16; John 11; Phil 1, etc)

Church Control n n n The Way organizes its members like the parts of a tree (leaves=members; a small group= twig; a number of twigs= branch; and at the state level a number of branches = limb. Limbs throughout a specific country form the national trunk and all of the trunks make up the roots (world headquarters) The Roots make all the decisions and feed these back to the individual units of the organization Our Response: This authorative management style contrasts with the independence of the local church, something clearly taught in the New Testament

What makes it attractive? n n Individuals who reject components of Christianity based upon the Old Testament Members of the Jesus Movement Those who prefer central control of church organization Those who reject the Trinity

Witnessing to members of The Way n n n Have a clear understanding of what they believe. Their membership is not aggressively evangelistic Are they part of the leadership Realize their definitions of God and Christ are not the same Focus upon who the Trinity are. Be prepared to quote scripture. The Way rejects our belief in who the God. Head are. Share your personal testimony and how you know God is working in your life. Relate how good works and morals do not equate to a salvation experience