|
Print
March 15, 2004
Essential
Pentecostal History
By
Adam C. Dennis
In a society saturated with
choices, sometimes it's nice to receive some knowledgeable recommendations.
Pentecostal history is one of
the most important subjects of which a Oneness Apostolic should be
knowledgeable. To truly understand the “why things are like they are today” and
“where were these topics first brought to light” questions, we must first
understand who is responsible and when the events occurred. This list will help
fill in almost any question you might have concerning Pentecostal history. Want
to know who and where the first person was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ
in the twentieth century? Want to know what the early Pentecostals believed
concerning World War I? The books below will provide that answer.
A History of Christian
Doctrine: The Twentieth Century A.D. 1900-2000
by David K. Bernard (Word Aflame Press)
In this book, Bernard
does a good job of representing the pre-United Pentecostal Church era of
Pentecostalism. Near one third of the book focuses on Pentecostalism before 1945
and the rest of the book addresses ideas like “Fundamentalism vs.
Evangelicalism” and other topics dealing with the Latter Rain and Charismatic
movements.
The Assemblies of God: A
Chapter in the Story of American Pentecostalism
by Edith Blumhofer (Gospel Publishing House)
Blumhofer gives a good
history of the Assemblies of God and pre-organization Pentecostalism. This book
deals favorably with Oneness Pentecostals and has many good quotes. One (page
238) states, “The doctrinal departure aside, if one admits the strong
restorationist component at the heart of the definition of Pentecostalism,
Oneness proponents were more zealously restorationist, more doggedly
congregational, and more Christocentrically spiritual—in short, in some
important ways more essentially Pentecostal than the mainstream.”
The New International
Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements
edited by Stanley M. Burgess and Eduard M. Van Der
Maas (Zondervan Publishing House)
The authors do a good job of revamping the original Dictionary of Pentecostal
and Charismatic Movements, then make it even better. In the front, you will
find a description of Pentecostalism within each country that has a Pentecostal
church. It gives good statistics, and each article is well written. You will
find articles written about Oneness Pentecostals and by Oneness Pentecostals.
The Early Pentecostal
Revival: History of Twentieth-Century Pentecostals and the Pentecostal
Assemblies of the World, 1901-30
by James L. Tyson (Word Aflame
Press)
Tyson wrote one of the most recent and better histories of the Pentecostal
Assemblies of the World (PAW). His book picks up where Morris Golder’s history
of the PAW leaves off. Read this if you want to learn about G. T. Haywood and
the transformation and growth of the PAW.
United We Stand: Jubilee
Edition by Arthur L.
Clanton and Charles Clanton (Word Aflame Press)
Arthur Clanton did a great service by printing the original United We Stand,
and his son, Charles Clanton, capitalized on the original. Clanton’s book is
one of the best history books written about the United Pentecostal Church
International (UPCI). It not only covers pre-organizational Pentecostalism, but
also the early Oneness organizations that merged to form the UPCI and includes a
wonderful history of the various departments that make up the UPCI.
The Phenomenon of Pentecost
by Frank J. Ewart
(Word Aflame Press)
Ewart did a wonderful deed in writing this book. He shows us a history of
pre-organizational Pentecostalism, the Azusa Street Mission, and the early
Oneness debate. This book is well worth the read for anyone wanting to know
about early Oneness Pentecostalism.
The Winds of God: The Story
of the Early Pentecostal Movement (1901-1914) in the Life of Howard A. Goss
by Ethel E. Goss
(Word Aflame Press)
This is a good read for the person wanting to know more about Charles F. Parham
and the Apostolic Faith Movement during the genesis of the twentieth-century
Pentecostal movement. Shows how Pentecostalism began and spread throughout the
Midwest and the South.
Buy from Pentecostal Publishing!
Origins and Development of
the Theology of Oneness Pentecostalism in the United States by David A. Reed
(University
Microfilms International)
Although a doctoral dissertation, this is a good read. I am not aware of this
being published as a book but, if you can obtain a copy of it, get it!
Reed deals with the origins of Oneness Pentecostalism and has a great deal to
say about the New Issue of 1913-1916.
ninetyandnine.com
Ó
2004, Adam Dennis
---------
Adam C. Dennis
currently works for the United Pentecostal Church International Historical
Center and plans to graduate from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in May
2004. | 
