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philosophical mold. And so it has remained to this day. A revolution is needed to reverse this
tragic process. It will come when Christians take personal responsibility for getting in touch with
the Bible and investigating it with all the tools now at our disposal. A key to proper biblical un-
derstanding is to recognize that the Bible is a Jewish library of books and that Jesus was a Jew
steeped in the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament).

The hidden paganism in Christianity needs to be exposed. The history of orthodoxy shows
signs of a spirit which is far removed from the spirit of Jesus. Those who have questioned "ortho-
doxy" have often been roughly handled. For an illuminating example of misguided religious zeal
and cruelty, see the account of Calvin's savage persecution and execution of the Spanish doctor and
scholar who questioned the doctrine of the Trinity, in Marian Hillar, The Case of Michael
Servetus (1511-1553): The Turning Point in the Struggle for Freedom of Conscience, 1997.
One commentator asks:

"How is it that the religion of love has been responsible for some of the worst cruelties and
injustices that have ever disgraced humanity?....The church has persecuted more cruelly
than any other religion....Our religious beliefs are propped up on the traditional scaffold-
ing, and many of us are intensely annoyed if the stability of this scaffolding is called into
question. The average Catholic [and the same applies to many Protestants] relies on the in-
fallibility of his Church, which he has usually accepted without investigation. To own that
his church has been wrong, and has sanctioned heinous crimes, is almost impossible for
him" (Dean W.R. Inge, A Pacifist in Trouble, 1939, pp. 180, 181).

Monotheism

Neither Paul or any writer of the Bible ever stated that "there is One God: Father, Son and
Holy Spirit." No example out of thousands of occurrences of YEHOVAH (OT) and God (NT) can
be shown to mean "God in two or three Persons." The Triune God -- and the Biune God before the
birth of Christ -- is totally foreign to the Bible. The words of Paul need careful consideration:
"There is no God but one....To us there is One God, the Father" (1 Corinthians 8:4, 6). There is
also one Lord Messiah, Jesus (1 Corinthians 8:6), but He is the Lord Christ (Luke 2:11; Psalm
110:1), the Son of the One God, His Father.

The two major players in the Bible are described in a precious, divine oracle quoted in the
NT more than any other verse from the Hebrew Bible -- Psalm 110:1. There the One God "YEHO-
VAH" speaks to David's Lord, who is addressed as Adoni ("my Lord"). Adoni in its 167 occur-
rences never means the One God. It refers always to a human (or occasionally) angelic superior,
other than God. Jesus is the Lord of David of whom Psalm 110:1 speaks. He was appointed Lord
and Messiah -- appointed by God, his Father (Acts 2:34-36). Out of respect and honor for Jesus
the Messiah, Christians should adopt his Jewish creed in Mark 12:28ff.: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord
our God is one Lord." God is one Lord. Jesus is another Lord. That makes two Lords, but the
creed knows of only one Lord who is God (Deut. 6:4; Mark 12:28ff.). That is the creed of Jesus
and therefore the original and authentic Christian creed. It is also the creed of Paul. May we all
joyfully embrace that creed and align ourselves with the Jesus the Messiah of history.

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