Jesus' Name Doctrine is a minority nontrinitarian

Nontrinitarianism

Nontrinitarianism includes all Christian belief systems that disagree with the doctrine of the Trinity, namely, the teaching that God is three distinct hypostases and yet co-eternal, co-equal, and indivisibly united in one essence or ousia...

 theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

, characterised by a belief that baptism

Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

 must be performed "in the name of Jesus", rather than the more common Trinitarian formula "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit".

The Jesus' Name doctrine includes the "Oneness" of God. This doctrine rejects the mainstream Trinitarian belief of Three Persons in One God, and holds that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three modes of a singular God. Those in Oneness churches believe that "Jesus" is the correct and entire name of God

Names of God in Christianity

There are various names of God in Christianity. Some names refer to one person of the Trinity, while others refer to the entire Trinity. There are a number of names that can refer either to God the Father or to the entire Trinity, and often "God" is used directly. Many other terms, such as "The...

.

Adherents of the doctrine are sometimes referred to as Jesus-Only, but Oneness Pentecostals

Oneness Pentecostalism

Oneness Pentecostalism refers to a grouping of denominations and believers within Pentecostal Christianity, all of whom subscribe to the nontrinitarian theological doctrine of Oneness...

  prefer the phrase Jesus' Name. Pentecostal historian Bernie L. Wade

Bernie L. Wade

Bernie L. Wade, born on June 29, 1963 in Lakewood, Ohio, is an American minister, entrepreneur, and author. He has served in a variety of roles including Senior Pastor and Chief Operations Officer of the Christian Brotherhood...

 considers that the reference "Jesus-Only" is a slur.

Baptism

Holders of the Jesus' Name doctrine assert that "in the name of Jesus" is the only valid formula for baptism, and that baptism "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" is invalid. The latter form of baptism being performed by most Christians.

Jesus' Name believers claim the development of baptism "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" is a post-Apostolic interpolation and corruption. Some claim that the "Trinitarian" clause in was added to Matthew's text in the 2nd/3rd century. They cite as evidence that no record exists in the New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

 of someone being baptized with the Trinitarian formula. Other adherents of the Jesus Name doctrine believe the authenticity of Matthew 28:19, but believe that the command is correctly fulfilled by baptizing in the name of Jesus. Such adherents are generally Oneness Pentecostals who believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not to be regarded as distinct persons in the Godhead, and that the name "Jesus" is the supreme revelatory name of the one God who is the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Views

The views of mainstream Christianity to Jesus' Name baptism is varied. The Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 states that only baptisms performed using the Trinitarian formula are valid. However it does accept that theologians of the past considered baptism in the name of Jesus only to be an acceptable form. St. Thomas, St. Bonaventure, and Albertus Magnus held the view that the Apostles baptized in this way by special dispensation. Pope Nicholas I wrote to the Bulgarians that a person is not to be rebaptized who has already been baptized "in the name of the Holy Trinity or in the name of Christ only".

Martin Luther in his Prelude on the Babylonian Captivity of the Church describes disagreements over the wording of the baptism as "pedantry" and argues for acceptance of baptisms in the name of Jesus if carried out with proper intent.

• In circa 254, Pope Stephen I
  Pope Stephen I
  Pope Saint Stephen I served as Bishop of Rome from 12 May 254 to 2 August 257.Of Roman birth but of Greek ancestry, he became bishop of Rome in 254, having served as archdeacon of Pope Lucius I, who appointed Stephen his successor....
  
   in the midst of the baptismal controversies with Cyprian
  Cyprian
  Cyprian was bishop of Carthage and an important Early Christian writer, many of whose Latin works are extant. He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received a classical education...
  
   declared that all baptisms in the name of Jesus are valid.
• St. Gennadius
  Gennadius
  Gennadius or Gennadios may refer to:*Gennadius I, Patriarch of Constantinople from 458-471 AD*Gennadius II, Patriarch of Constantinople from 1454-1464 AD*Gennadius of Massilia, 5th-century historian, best known for his work De Viris Illustribus...
  
   in his work Lives of Illustrious Men states that in the 3rd century, one Ursinus
  Ursinus
  Ursinus may refer to* Ursinus College, a liberal arts college in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.* The first bishop of the diocese of Bourges, Saint Ursinus* Ursinus the Abbot, author of the Life of Leodegar...
  
   the monk, during the Cyprian
  Cyprian
  Cyprian was bishop of Carthage and an important Early Christian writer, many of whose Latin works are extant. He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received a classical education...
  
   controversies, argued that "those who were baptized in the name of Christ [alone], even if by heretics, did not need to be re-baptized."
• St. John Chrysostom
  John Chrysostom
  John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
  
   argues for a literal interpretation of the Luke's records of baptisms in the name of Jesus, as accounted in Acts.
• St. Basil states that, "the naming of Christ is the confession of the whole."
• St. Ambrose
  Ambrose
  Aurelius Ambrosius, better known in English as Saint Ambrose , was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He was one of the four original doctors of the Church.-Political career:Ambrose was born into a Roman Christian family between about...
  
  , mentor to Augustine, argued for the validity of baptisms "in the name of Jesus."
• St. Augustine states that "those baptized into other names need to be rebaptized into Christ." Elsewhere, he states knowledge of those who had been baptized into the name of Christ alone [outside the apostolic era]. and likewise argues for a literal interpretation of Acts 2:38 "in the name of Jesus".
• St. Thomas Aquinas
  Thomas Aquinas
  Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
  
   (while arguing for Trinitarian baptism), states that the apostles (Peter, James, John, etc.) baptized in the name of Christ alone by "special dispensation." (Whereas many modern scholars, by contrast, interpret the saying "in the name of Jesus" figuratively instead of literally in an attempt to reconcile the two conflicting passages [Acts 2:38 & Matt 28:19]).
• The Baptist
  Baptist
  Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
  
   Standard Confession of 1660 declares baptisms in the name of Jesus to be valid.

Adherents

All Oneness Pentecostals

Oneness Pentecostalism

Oneness Pentecostalism refers to a grouping of denominations and believers within Pentecostal Christianity, all of whom subscribe to the nontrinitarian theological doctrine of Oneness...

 organizations baptize using the name of Jesus.

• Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare
  Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare
  Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare was a British orientalist, Fellow of University College, Oxford, and Professor of Theology at the University of Oxford.-Biography:...
  
  , an Anglican, was the first modern theologian to argue that Matthew 28:19 was a spurious interpolation.
• Edmond de Pressense
  Edmond de Pressensé
  Edmond Dehault de Pressensé was a French Protestant leader.He was born at Paris, and studied at Lausanne under Alexandre Vinet...
  
  , an Evangelical
  Evangelicalism
  Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
  
   church historian, in his work The Early Years of Christianity Book II, Chap 5, Part I, states that all baptisms during the apostolic era were in the name of Jesus [alone].
• Robert Young
  Robert Young (Biblical scholar)
  Robert Young, LL.D., F.E.S.L. was a Scottish publisher who was self-taught and proficient in various oriental languages. He published works, the best known being a Bible translation commonly referred to as Young's Literal Translation.-Life:...
  
  , a Presbyterian, was the first Bible author of the modern era to put Matthew 28:19 in italics in his Bible version titled, Young's Literal Translation
  Young's Literal Translation
  Young's Literal Translation is a translation of the Bible into English, published in 1862. The translation was made by Robert Young, compiler of Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible and Concise Critical Comments on the New Testament. Young produced a "Revised Version" of the translation in...
  
  (YLT), along with a footnote indicating he believed it to be spurious.
• Mark Kennicott has noted in his translation and commentary of Matthew 28:19 that the phrase "baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" is probably not original, citing Eusebius. However, he argues against the traditional approach other Oneness Pentecostals use to explain Matthew 28:19 as it reads.

External links

• Oneness vs. Trinity links to differing views
• Catholic Answers article on Trinitarian Baptism and other baptismal practices.