It seems these Oneness (Sabellian) Christians misunderstand what Trinitarian Christians believe. I do not know if this is deliberate. I suspect it is. A Trinitarian is anyone who believes in One God, but Three Persons. As I understand the Bible, the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the Old Testament, as well. Jesus tells us in the New Testament that he has a Heavenly Father, and a Holy Spirit.
What the Oneness Christians seem to not grasp is the fact that any one of the Persons of the Holy Trinity is 100 percent God. They seem to think that Trinitarians see God divided up into thirds. They see a god behind the God ever changing his costume. One second He is Father, the next He is Son, lastly, He is the Holy Spirit.
This Oneness does not jibe well with the New Testament. For one thing, Jesus says, "Go forth baptizing in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit". He says, "If you have seen me you have seen the Father". Jesus also told us to call God, "Father" or "Daddy". At the end of His earthly life He says that He must go home to send the Holy Spirit. Clearly they aren't taking these parts of the Gospel literally or even in context.
Oneness Churches seem to preach that anyone who was baptized as an infant by the pouring form and the Trinitarian formula will not ever go to Heaven. They also teach that those who were baptized by full immersion, using the, "I baptism you in Jesus' name" will go to heaven unless, of course, they ever leave their Oneness Church. I find this presumptuous and abusive on their part.
Some regard Oneness Churches as heretical at best, cultic at worst. They tend to fall within the Pentecostal framework. The CFCMI cult uses the false doctrines of Oneness and rebaptism in Jesus' name as a way to scare people, mainly young sailors, into joining and to scare them into staying. Staying means servitude, extreme poverty and abuse. Leaving means certain damnation. That is what is taught. For the record more have left there than the number who have stayed.
Trinitarians who are most of us, believe in One God, NOT THREE. We believe that God is love. With that goes the power to be comprised of Three Persons. The Father and Son always were. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the other two because God IS LOVE. We should not try to limit God. We can never understand God. We aren't nearly that intelligent.
As far as baptism by immersion goes, no Christian is opposed to this. Most modern Churches no longer have baptism pools. It has to do with logistics, mainly. Some Churches still do baptize by immersion.
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