Where are all the Acts 2:38 folks (3-steppers)??

[pelathais]

Originally Posted by Ferd

This is such an important point. and the exact difference between those old PCI believers and these that have "found" that message by reading Fudge.

Those guys preached Oneness strong enough that 75 years later the churches they founded are still oneness.

Consider for example the church that Clyde Haney founded and that Kenneth Haney pastored for quite a number of years. And then consider how both Clyde Haney and KH have been savaged by the "holier than thou" '3 Steppers'" over the years.

One of the leaders of this movement who started a church several miles from the Haney's was heard to often describe himself as "the first one to preach the Apostolic message in the valley..." He never considered Clyde and Kenneth Haney to be "Apostolic" and he help to kick start a schismatic movement in California that bedevils the fellowship to this day. All because the Haneys were "not Apostolic."

Your view of the Haneys may be generous and kind, but some of the people you are defending consigned these good men to hell long ago. Many of us are in this discussion with a full view of how good men like Howard Goss, A.T. Morgan, Stanley Chambers, Clyde and Kenneth Haney and so many others have been slandered for decades by the "3 Stepper" men. In many cases the men being slandered were "3 Steppers" themselves, just not sufficiently acerbic about it.

Originally Posted by Ferd

Todays guys cant be seperated (and dont want to be) from the trinitarians they would rather fellowship!

Until recently, most "trinitarians" I encountered would usually describe the "Trinity" in terms compatable with Oneness. The wrirings of some of the so-called "orthodoxy" groups have made the discussion a little harder for us on the Oneness side, but that only means we have to work harder and study more to overcome their rhetoric. Some of the "work" involves a willingness on our part reevaluate some of our own time honored traditions and terminology. We can't be hide bound to the contrivances of man.

When I first joined the UPCI ministry I made certain that I would not be required to automatically condemn all other Christians to hell. I was satisfied on that point by the Required Reading material. I then launched whole heartedly into an aggressive advocacy of Acts 2:38 in ministry. I was never a "big time" preacher, but I was known in the fellowship for my Bible teaching and doctrinal stance. Part of my zeal was fueled by the knowledge that I was NOT passing judgement, but that I was preaching a message of grace and reconcilliation.

In time, I watched as others took care of the "passing judgment" for me. And then even the Required Reading materials were quietly changed and good men were driven out of the fellowship. Finally one of the "holier than thous" asked me to help cover the adultery of a buddy of his. I could no longer find any zeal to support these guys.