5/6/12

Charles F. Parham 1915 Oklahoma City

In July of 1915, the Rev. Charles F. Parham was listed as being part of the Apostolic Faith Meetings.  Street meetings were held at Farmers National Bank at 8 p.m. and "consultations and prayer" at 523 5th Street (Oklahoman, July 29, 1915, pg. 14).

The term 'apostolic' could mean many things in the 1890 to 1930 time. It could be used to refer to merely the evangelical fervor of the heritage of the Apostles time. It could be used to refer to a 'full Gospel' understanding of spiritual manifestations. It also came to be associated with "Oneness" theology which rejected the traditional doctrine and baptismal formula of a trinitarian view of the Godhead maintaining that all was in the "Name of Jesus Only".

Due to the largely independent nature of many of the early holiness and Pentecostal groups, many of which rejected formal organization, creeds, and formalized theologies, there could be found instances where there was a mixture of several doctrinal teachings co-existing with varied degrees of comfort and logic. These were termed "wildfire" by many early orthodox leaning preachers and people.  In many areas the lack of rules, regulations, and the emphasis on the individual reflected well the social and political environments swirling around in the larger society making it more difficult to contain when heresy emerged or conflicts in theological doctrines arose.

Other information on the Apostolic Churches at http://www.apostolicarchives.com/ps3.html

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