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Rating: 
Summary: Poor Study
Review: Actually, the author and the readers should go back to the Bible and read in context the statements made that define the gospel - as the following Scriptures conclude: that by being baptized by Someone in the Name of Jesus Christ just like the first Church did, the church identifies by deed and truth with the cross, and thus salvation. It is not an experience of only lipservice.
Thankyou for your time. SW1 Corinthians 15
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: Romans 6: 3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Acts 2:38 after all was not the declaration of salvation by the UPC, but by ALL the apostles (even Matthew who was there on his feet with Peter!), and of Mary the mother of Jesus - affirmed by their very presence.
Rating: 
Summary: A very informative work
Review: As one who spent his life in the UPC and who has a father and other relatives who are and were officials in the organization this book goes along way to explaining the facts as they are in the UPCI. I cannot tell you the last time I heard a sermon on the benefits of the cross, justification by faith, the sinfullness of man, or many other important doctrines of the church and I think if UPC members were honest most would say that has been their experience. What you do hear is a barrage of self-help sermons, talks on outward standards of dress, and a three part magical save-yourself formula of salvation. All Christ has done is to make it possible for you to save yourself. He doesn't actually save anybody. Now the officials in St. Louis will deny that this is their position but this is the way that it is practiced in most UPC churches. I have heard it done this way for over forty years. Again, I believe that most members of UPC churches would be able to attest to this fact and Dr. Fudge has given MUCH food for thought.
Rating:
Summary: For Those Wanting Some Additional Information on the UPC
Review: Dr. Fudge not only grew up in a UPC church, his father and mother remain active members in a local UPC assembly. I think this is pertinent information one should understand when perusing his book.
Rating:
Summary: The Whole Gospel to the Whole World
Review: Finally an acedemic treatment of the deleterious soteriology of the United Pentecostal Church. Fudge traces the theological extreemism that overtook the "Finished Work of Calvary" theological position held by the majority of the founders of one of the largest Monothiestic Pentecostal Movements in modern America. Fudge treats his subject with acedemic excellence, tracing the not so subtle theological takeover by the "Acts 2:38 or Hell" extreemist wing of the Church, inducing thousands of Clergy to leave the organization in recurrent exodus over the last 40 years. Not a book for those prejudiced by the historical revisionism of official denominational positions or those intellectually challenged by reading acedemic material. The book comes across as a sincere effort to treat the subject in a fair and balanced approach. It coincidentally uncovers the intellectual dishonesty of those who would paint history as they wish it would have been. Christianity without the cross will be welcomed by all sincere Oneness adherants, who desire a restoration of the theology of the finished work of Christ on Calvary. Thus fulfilling the original Mission of this branch of contemporary Christianity, Viz. The Whole Gospel to the Whole World.
Rating:
Summary: The Whole Gospel to the Whole World
Review: Finally an acedemic treatment of the deleterious soteriology of the United Pentecostal Church. Fudge traces the theological extreemism that overtook the "Finished Work of Calvary" theological position held by the majority of the founders of one of the largest Monothiestic Pentecostal Movements in modern America. Fudge treats his subject with acedemic excellence, tracing the not so subtle theological takeover by the "Acts 2:38 or Hell" extreemist wing of the Church, inducing thousands of Clergy to leave the organization in recurrent exodus over the last 40 years. Not a book for those prejudiced by the historical revisionism of official denominational positions or those intellectually challenged by reading acedemic material. The book comes across as a sincere effort to treat the subject in a fair and balanced approach. It coincidentally uncovers the intellectual dishonesty of those who would paint history as they wish it would have been. Christianity without the cross will be welcomed by all sincere Oneness adherants, who desire a restoration of the theology of the finished work of Christ on Calvary. Thus fulfilling the original Mission of this branch of contemporary Christianity, Viz. The Whole Gospel to the Whole World.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on the UPC
Review: I just cannot quite understand where Mr. Fudge claims the UPCI is not founded on the belief of what JESUS accomplished for us on the cross. Mr. Fudge's Christianity without the Cross is very tedious reading to say the least. It is not a book that keeps one's attention to the point 'you can't put it down'. If he had left out the words eschatology and eschatological the book would have required less than half the pages it contains. I do not recommend purchasing the book because all you will read about is the differences between the PCI and PA of JC after the merger in 1945 that resulted in the UPCI formation and the disagreements of the leaders within the organization since its' establishment. Lots of references of interviews with a wide assortment of people, which is good. I was expecting something 'earth shattering' I guess and this book is definitely not that. Glenn Camp
Kilgore, Texas
Rating:
Summary: Best book on the UPC
Review: I read this book after it was suggested to me by someone online. My wife came from the UPC. I did not understand how they got so far from Orthodox Christianity. Don't listen to the reviewers below. Fudge is actually paraphrasing some PCI preachers' view on Grace vs. the Water & Spirit. Several preachers in the PCI argued that preaching the requirement for baptism in Jesus Name and Speaking in Tongues being required was ignoring or lessening the importance of the Cross. The PAJC members that were for it called (By Grace through Faith Alone PCI view) "Greasy Grace". This was a long battle that came to an end in 1992 when it was then req. for minister's to believe the 3 step salvation program un order to be certified. Fudge does NOT seem to have an axe to grind. He is more than fair and footnotes his sources. The damage inflicted to people by the UPC cannot be ignored. The UPC should be classified with the likes of Mormons and JWs. Fudge's book is very fair and informative. It dispels the idea that the current UPC is simply maintaining its heritage. Pentecostalism is barely 100 years old. But, most UPC legalistic doctrines (Standards, and water baptism in Jesus Name etc...) are less than 50 years old.
Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Expose of the UPCI
Review: The title of this work serves as a lightning rod. It is bound to be controversial (and a perusal of the earlier reviews substantiate such a conclusion). While the title will almost certainly be objectionable to most members of the UPCI, I submit that it is legitimate so long as one understands a careful distinction the author intends. Dr. Fudge uses the term "the cross" to refer to the preaching of the cross in a Pauline sense. He takes it primarily from Paul's letters, and specifically from 1 Corinthians 1:17-18. As such, the preaching of the cross is the message of salvation by grace through faith in the reconciling death of Christ. While Dr. Fudge says as much in the text of the book, this special nuance is not immediately apparent in the title, while his explanation is not near the beginning of the book. Nevertheless, the fact remains that while members of the UPCI believe in the crucifixion of Jesus as an historical event, they decidedly do not believe in the cross in this special sense as the sole means of salvation. No one, according to them, can be saved according to the Reformation rubric of sola fide and sola gratia. Rather, one is saved by following the UCPI interpretation of Acts 2:38. Given this theological differentiation between "the cross" and the "the crucifixion," it is entirely appropriate to say, as does the title of this book, that the UPCI advocates "Christianity without the cross", even though its members believe in the historical fact of Jesus' crucifixion.
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Summary: Scholarly expose' on the United Pentecostal Church
Review: This book confirms what I have always believed about the Oneness Movement. It is "another Gospel" (Gal. 1:6-9) that preaches "another Jesus" (I John 2:22-23). While these godly people are sincere and, I believe, have a genuine experience with the Lord, it is certainly not because of the message they preach, but because of their love and devotion to the Lord (who has never made "correct" theology a basis for acceptance by Him). They are like the Ephesians in Acts 19 who received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit after confessing, "we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost". The theological errors of the Oneness Movement in general and the United Pentecostal Church specifically are summarized in Fudge's book in an excellent and scholarly manner:
1. Their denial of the Holy Trinity.
2. Their failure to preach the true Gospel message that we are saved by grace through faith alone in Christ's sacrifice on the cross.
3. Their insistence that they alone have the truth and that all Trinitarians are going to hell.
That which surprised me most about the book was the fact that the "founders" of the Oneness movement such as H.A. Goss who were excluded from the Assemblies of God for these aberrant beliefs, never took the "hardline" doctrinal view that is now espoused by the United Pentecostal Church. In fact, they referred to the Trinitarians they had once associated with as "their brethren." How could they do any other? It was Trinitarians who won them to the Lord, baptized them in water, and led them into the experience of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit! The so-called "revelation" of the Oneness of the Godhead was a sad and mistaken notion of Frank Ewart and Glenn Cook trying to explain their insistence on baptizing people in the name of "Jesus only." I long for the day that the Oneness Movement will repent of their doctrinal errors and be reunited with the mainstream of Christianity and their Pentecostal brethren they now refuse to accept. We love you and want to welcome you back home.
Rating:
Summary: History of Oneness Salvation
Review: When people think of the UPC, they immediately think of Holiness Standards, Jesus Name baptism, and Oneness theology. However, it has not always been this easy to describe Oneness people. The United Pentecostal Church (UPC) formed in 1945 with the merger of two organizations: Pentecostal Church, Incorporated (PCI) and the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ (PAJC). The main difference between the organizations was the interpretation of the New Birth. Both organizations subscribed to Repentance, baptism by immersion in Jesus' name and receiving the Holy Spirit (Ghost) by glossolalia (speaking in tongues, or babbling incoherently). However, the largest faction of PAJC believed this three-step formula was required to enter heaven and avoid hell fire, whereas the PCI largely believed that one was justified at repentance and that water baptism and spirit filled glossolalia were not necessary to avoid hell fire. The merger language was very carefully chosen to bring these two groups together to agree on the fundamental doctrine. The phrase "full salvation" was the magic term that the PAJC interpreted to mean that the three steps were necessary, whereas the PCI position could interpret "full" to mean something more than mere "salvation" which to them was achieved at repentance. "Full salvation" to a PCI was indeed the three-step formula, but not defining for one's eternal destiny. Such was the agreement at the merger that ministers would not contend over this issue to the destruction of the new body called UPC. The problem appears to be that official publications of the UPC do not wish for many to know about the PCI tradition within the organization. However, there was much contending for their own views, in rebellion against the merger agreement through the years by those who's views were the three-step Acts 2:38 formula or hell fire. As time progressed, this former PAJC faction became increasingly fanatical in their position and began to shove PCI ministers out of leadership positions. An effective propaganda campaign began to convert the PCI strongholds of the Pacific Northwest, the North Atlantic and Tennessee. By the beginning of the 1980's, the PCI position of moderation on the New Birth was effectively destroyed. The fanatics took over the organization and presided over a few purges through the years that reached its climax in 1992 with the Westberg Resolution aimed to kick out ministers that were "weak on the doctrine" which is a code word for those of the old PCI persuasion. Several distinguished men left the organization like Robert Sabin and C. H. Yadon. The official word from the organization was that the 1992 resolution did not affect many people. However, other sources reveal that several thousands of ministers left the organization over this resolution. Fudge shows that this resolution was passed without proper notice beforehand and without proper parliamentary procedure according to the UPC constitution. The UPC might be called a relatively secretive organization; this book is sure to ruffle the feathers of a few who wish for this information to remain private. Dr. Fudge is a researcher that one must take seriously. There are tons of footnotes and tons of referenced interviews with current and former members. Current leaders of the UPC cannot leave this book in silence. One disturbing fact is that at one point, the UPC headquarters banned Fudge from doing research in their Historical Center in July 2000 unless he turned over his manuscript, the list of all people he contacted for interviews, and his interview tapes. Fudge declined this ridiculous demand and plowed forward with research from other sources. Fudge also shows that the current interpretation of "Holiness Standards" is a relatively recent development in the organization: the practice of women wearing only dresses, women with uncut hair, and the prohibition of jewelry. Early leaders of the organization had wives with cut hair, jewelry and wore slacks because it was not an issue until later. Now, the organization is obsessed with a narrow ideology: (1) 'Jesus' is the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit in addition to the name of the Son of God, (2) Jesus Name baptism and evidence of the Holy "Ghost" with speaking in tongues (glossolalia, or babbling under emotional ecstasy) are necessary to avoid hell fire, and (3) Holiness Standards are increasingly necessary to "stay" saved from hell fire. The first is an obvious heresy in Christianity and in some quarters defines this group outside of the definition of "Christian." The second and third are strange developments, although not unique in Christianity, but are indeed things that make this group fringe and largely ineffective. The title of the book comes from evidence that the organization is interested primarily in dunking people under water in Jesus Name baptism, getting them to talk in tongues, and then to move on to the next convert without ever introducing people to the message of Calvary - the Cross. Their message, for the most part and in most cases, is not the gospel, but a misinterpretation Acts 2:38 plus a few things here and there. This book is a godsend to those of us who might have been part of UPC. It explains many of the strange things that happened over the years, the details of which the leadership wished to keep secret. It is as if Fudge looked at his research material and said to the UPC, "Thou hast been weighed in the balances and have been found wanting." Then he wrote this book as a "balance" to all the propaganda. Anyone thinking of joining the UPC or who might be new to the UPC should read this book to determine if this is a fellowship that a Christian should associate with and then make a proper determination on the merits. Those already UPC might also find this book useful for similar means.
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