This book is based on broad and deep research into the history and development of the United Pentecostal Church. Unique among other related studies, this book recovers the other side of Oneness Pentecostal history and theology. In explicating the doctrine of salvation, this book brings particular attention to the Pentecostal Church, Incorporated (one of the partners of the 1945 merger which formed the UPC), the Pacific Northwest, Tennessee and New Brunswick, and important (but often neglected) ministers such as Howard A. Goss, A.D. Gurley, W.M. Greer, C. Haskell Yadon, Earl Jacques, Wynn T. Stairs, E.P. Wickens, John Paterson, John Dearing and others.

Grounded in primary source research, this boldly revisionist book examines the doctrine of salvation in Oneness Pentecostalism (United Pentecostal Church) from its origins through its several developmental stages. The gradual rise of a literal interpretation of Acts 2:38 eliminated a tradition of doctrinal diversity within Oneness thought which regarded salvation as occurring at repentance prior to water and Spirit baptism. With this development a main link to the wider stream of evangelical Christianity was severed. The “water and Spirit” theology resulted in a form of Christianity which does not necessarily require the cross in any meaningful sense for salvation. This study recovers the lost theological tradition associated with a wide sector of the Pentecostal Church, Incorporated. Combining traditional historical methodology and theological research with the principles of a broadly based oral history, this study argues for theological diversity within the history of Oneness Pentecostalism and in so doing bridges an important gap in the history and theology of the United Pentecostal Church.