Introduction
metamorphosis
Zoology (in an insect or amphibian) the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages.
→ a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means:
his metamorphosis from presidential candidate to talk-show host
[New Oxford American Dictionary]
This paper consists of two parts, the shorter of which is Part One (the first three chapters). In Part One, I briefly explain the “theological metamorphosis” of Christian Disciples Church (CDC), a church in which I have served in various capacities for a few decades. In speaking of this metamorphosis, I am referring to something that took place around 2005 or 2006 when we en masse, as a whole church spanning three continents, abandoned our longstanding belief in trinitarianism. In so doing, we were moving towards true monotheism or what we call “biblical monotheism,” in which no one but the Father of Jesus Christ is true God. A Bible verse that impelled us in this direction was John 17:3 in which Jesus declares that his Father is “the only true God”.
So whereas for several decades we had been promoting a trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, we now proclaim the one and only God — the Father — and the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
Our shift away from trinitarianism is more thoroughgoing than, say, a switch from Calvinism to Arminianism, or from Protestantism to Catholicism, because the God of biblical monotheism is incompatible with the God of trinitarianism. What changed for us was not just the content of our faith but its nature.
Hence even the word metamorphosis falls short as an adequate metaphor of our transition, for a butterfly’s basic nature remains the same whether it is a caterpillar, a cocoon, or a full monarch.
Yet in a real way, metamorphosis accurately describes our journey. We went through a winter of inner stirrings as we searched the Bible for the truth about God. Then came the warmth of spring as we stepped out into the world of biblical monotheism.
Our story is not just about the past but the present and the hopeful future. In recounting our past, we are moving towards a future strategy for the cause of biblical monotheism, to proclaim the one and only God.
In Part Two (chapters 4 onwards), the longer of the two parts, we re-evaluate the deity of Jesus Christ in John’s Gospel. The sole authority for our study will be the Scriptures, the inspired Word of God. There will be no further mention of our church in Part Two.
Note: The Hebrew words in this book are encoded in Unicode, which is the standard encoding for Hebrew script. Older e-book readers with poor Unicode support may display Hebrew in the wrong direction. In any case, Hebrew-to-English transliteration is provided in this book.
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