There is no doubt that there is some form of tongues in the Bible. But typically, when people refer to tongues, they think of ecstatic speech or the “language of the angels” that is common in Pentecostal churches. It might be surprising to learn that there are actually different ways that people understand tongues. The word tongues just means languages. In that sense, English is a tongue. Many theologians think that this is the best way to understand the biblical data concerning tongues. God would equip believers with new languages…
Category: Against Oneness Pentecostalism
Is The Oneness Versus Trinity Debate Theological Nitpicking?
Followers of this blog will know that I have spent a lot of time writing about Oneness Pentecostalism, because, as I pointed out in my article My Conversion From Oneness Pentecostalism To Biblical Christianity, I used to be a Oneness Pentecostal and I think that this issue is very important. However, some Christians have replied to my posts defending the trinity by suggesting that this debate is just theological nitpicking. Trinitarians believe that there is one God who is eternally present in three persons. Oneness Pentecostals believe that there is…
My Conversion From Oneness Pentecostalism To Biblical Christianity
Recently, I have been publishing articles and podcasts about the topic of Oneness Pentecostalism. In fact, it is one of my favorite topics, even if speaking only as a theological and intellectual pursuit. However, there is a much more personal aspect to the issue of Oneness Pentecostalism that inspires me to write about it. Some of my readers may discern that I was a Oneness Pentecostal many years ago before converting to biblical Christianity. Now, what is Oneness Pentecostalism? You might think that I am referring to the broad charismatic…
Does The Old Testament Favor Oneness Pentecostalism?
We start with the Old Testament and read the New Testament in light of that. That is what we often hear from Oneness Pentecostals who are attempting to mount an argument against trinitarian theology. They will say that trinitarians are starting with the New Testament and reading the Old in light of it, and that is an incorrect methodology. If you read the Bible from cover to cover, perhaps the most crucial theme that emerged is that God is inescapably one. When you get to the New Testament, that concept…
Answering A Few Common Oneness Pentecostal Arguments
Oneness Pentecostals are vehement anti-trinitarians who commonly maintain that the doctrine of the trinity states that there are three gods. Of course, this is a mischaracterization. If an individual believes that there are three gods, then they have, in effect, denied the doctrine of the trinity. The doctrine of the trinity states that there is one God who is eternally present in three persons. So, what is Oneness Pentecostalism? While they may be anti-trinitarians, they are committed to the truth that Jesus is God. They accomplish this by adhering to…
Are Pentecostal Tongues Biblical?
Non-Pentecostal Christians who visit a Pentecostal church will usually be very confused by their practice and behavior. Their church services are not solemn, and they leave little room for quiet contemplation. The parish is encouraged to shout with joy, dance, and run laps around the room. As the shouting commences, it quite often trails off into incomprehensible speech that sounds something like a zombie’s favorite song. This phenomenon is otherwise known as glossolalia, or speaking in tongues. Some Pentecostals use tongues as a measurement of spiritual maturity or an advanced…
Does John 17 Teach Oneness Or Trinity?
The gospel of John is the most significant and often criticized biography of the historical Jesus. It receives vociferous attacks from the unbelieving community as well as revisions and reinterpretations from proponents of Christological heresies. It is the clearest possible testimony to the doctrine of the trinity and the deity of Christ, and so, throughout church history, men have labored to distort its’ true teachings, either by undermining the credibility of the narrative, or by reinterpreting what is written such that the original message is totally lost. The 17th chapter…
What Is Wrong With The Oneness View Of God?
Who is God? What can we know about the nature of God? Christians have classically said that there is only one God who is eternally present in three persons. However, at the Council of Nicea, which arose in response to the Arian heresy (the view that Jesus is merely a creature), there were a few oneness representatives. They held to a modalist conception of God. This entails that there is one God who is one person. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit do not represent different persons within…
What Does Acts 2:38 Teach About Baptism?
When does God justify a person? Is it only after they have endured a few religious rites? Is it only after he regenerates them? Is it in response to their turning to him in faith? These different models of salvation pervade throughout the contemporary church and we see them as we gaze through the corridors of church history. Throughout the ages, Christians have maintained different stances on salvation and justification. Particularly in this article, I will zoom in on one nuance, namely, the issue of water baptism. Is a person…
What Does John 1:1 Mean?
The gospel of John is perhaps the most important biography of Jesus, with regard to our understanding of who Jesus was. John wrote his prologue (1:1-18) knowing that it was the lens through which one reads the rest of his gospel. One must consider the teachings in the prologue when they read any other passage in the gospel of John. This article is going to zoom in on the first verse, which reads, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”…
What Does Philippians 2:5-8 Mean?
I usually avoid exegetical articles for the sole reason that they do not attract a lot of attention. Most of my articles are more topical, and like my cohort Evan Minton of CerebralFaith.blogspot.com, I weave in the relevant selected Scriptures throughout. So in today’s article, What Does Philippians 2:5-8 Mean? I am doing something a little different. I am simply looking at the text of this passage, summoning the theological nuances to shine forth so that the Holy Spirit may illuminate this passage for you, and for me. I would…
Why Do Pentecostal Women Wear Skirts?
A lot of religious organizations robe their parishioners in garments that many of us find odd and counter-cultural. Islamic fundamentalists will wear burkas, often are full body suits. Girls who attend Christian Holiness churches can be identified by their long skirts. This sort of attire will usually transcend culture, so those who wear them are often picked on. Whatever generation, religious garments are not hip, and thus will warrant teasing. So why do they even bother? Why do Pentecostal women wear skirts? It should first be noted that it is…
Why Did Jesus Say, ‘The Father Is Greater Than I.’?
Everything that Jesus ever did came back to the gigantic claim of divinity. Jesus Christ is God. He is the human image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:18). He is the exact representation of God’s being in human form (Hebrews 1:3). The Psalms of worship were written of him (Hebrews 1:8-10). He took God’s name in Exodus, and applied it to himself (John 8:58/Exodus 3:14). If that is the case, why did Jesus say, ‘The Father is greater than I.’? After all, if the Father is greater than he is,…
Is Jesus God The Son?
Is Jesus God the Son? That is a question for which one will need a little background knowledge before you can understand the pointed issue. There is a debate within Christendom over what is called the doctrine of the trinity. The doctrine of the trinity is founded upon three essential premises. (1) There is only one God. (2) The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each God. (3) The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons. (If you think that there are three gods, you…
Why Wasn’t Jesus Named Immanuel?
Why wasn’t Jesus named Immanuel? After all, Isaiah seemed to indicate what the Messiah’s name would be. He writes, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14). Many Christian songs feature the name Immanuel, and we may be puzzled about why we are applying this name, or why Jesus was not named Immanuel by his mother if the Scriptures indicate that the Messiah would be named Immanuel. After all,…
If God Is A Trinity, And Man Is Made In His Image, Why Are There Not Three Of You?
The trinity is the view that there is one God, who is eternally present in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Some people will reply, but if God is a trinity, and man is made in his image, why are there not three of you? If man is made in God’s image, after all, we should reflect who he is. Thus, if God is a trinity, man should be able to reflect the trinity. We should expect there to three of each man. People like to…
Why Didn’t The Jews Believe In The Trinity?
Why didn’t the Jews believe in the trinity? Such a question is usually supposed to serve as a theological quagmire for those who believe in orthodoxy. After all, if there is one God who is eternally present in three persons, God seemed to have forgotten to reveal that to his people. Trinitarian theology was not formulated until the great councils in the early years of Christendom. But the Jews seemed to be strict unitarians, had no conception of the doctrine of the trinity. Indeed if you ask a modern Jew,…
Does Deuteronomy 6:4 Disprove The Trinity?
I have found that most people who do not believe in the trinity just do not understand what it is. So they will use this proof-text that they think disproves the trinity, when really, all they have done is disprove a version of the trinity in which nobody claims. A common example of this is Deuteronomy 6:4, which reads, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” One can see the force of this objection. After all, the trinity suggests that the Lord is three, while…
Does John 3:5 Teach That Water Baptism Is Essential?
Does John 3:5 teach that water baptism is essential? This is a common proof text of people who want to say that water baptism is necessary to enter the kingdom of God. Let’s take a look at the verse. Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” I think we can certainly feel the weight of this verse. If somebody were to say, “you need to be baptized before you can enter the…
Should We Baptize Only In The Name Of Jesus?
Everybody in the early church was baptized. If one was to express the fact that they were a Christian, or perhaps even the mechanism by which they became a Christian, they went through the process of water baptism. For the sake of discussion, this essay will ignore the question of whether water baptism, in and of itself, is an essential prerequisite to salvation. Rather, I will focus on the view of the Oneness Pentecostal Movement. They teach that went one is water baptized, the person conducting the baptism must recite…