Formerly: The Shepherd’s Voice (The Shepherd’s Message)
Founded: 1987, Angeles City, Philippines
Preferred Bible Version: King James Version
Founder: Dr. Joey Guerrero
It’s just sad knowing how a seemingly good intention can produce such a bad result. According to Dr. Joey Guerrero, pastor of the Shepherd’s Independent Baptist Church (SIBC),
“The Shepherd’s Voice’s belief on the Doctrine of God stemmed out of our desire to stop the exodus of the so-called Trinitarians to the fold of the Oneness groups.”[1]
It may be granted that the SIBC’s doctrine about God sincerely came out of the earnest desire to stop the advances of Modalist Monarchians in the Philippines, this, however, does not clear their conscience from the guilt of producing an equally dangerous heresy, that is, Tritheism.
What is Tritheism?
The term “tritheism” came from the combination of the Greek words “tri,” which obviously stands for “three,” and “theism” which means the “belief in a personal God or gods.” In Trinitarian Heterodoxy, Tritheism is the heretic teaching that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three separate and distinct Gods. It comes in at least two forms: (1) the belief that the Father’s essence (Gk. ousia) is not only distinct and separate but is also ontologically greater than that of the Son or the Holy Spirit; (2) the belief that all three (distinct ousia) are ontologically at par with each other. However, regardless of how these variants of tritheism make out the quality of each Person’s divinity, tritheism per se is marked out by the belief that there are three separate and distinct Divinities, dividing thus, the substance of the one true God (Deut 6:4).
What Biblical Trinity?
What is SIBC’s “Biblical Trinity”? What do they mean by “Paganistic Tritheism”? Could it be that what SIBC calls “Biblical Trinity” is actually Tritheism? Could it be that what they mean by Paganistic Tritheism is that version of Tritheism that treats the Son subordinate? In order to “prove all things and hold fast to that which is good (1 Thes. 5:21) we need to get past these labels and find out what SIBC really mean by them.
Dr. Guerrero believes that the Gospel should be advanced by using TV, Radio and Print, calling them “Tri-media,” they produce TV and Radio programs entitled, The Shepherd’s Voice and since the show was aired, they get SMS or TEXT messages as feedback from the Filipino viewers.[2] When a Modalist texter told them that phrase “I am the God” (probably taken from Gen. 26: 24; Matt. 22:32; Mk 12:26 or Acts 7:32) implies Modalism or “Oneness,” and “not holy two, or holy three,” the SIBC replied,
“U qouted it wrong. Ex. 3: 16 The LORD God of your fathers the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, The LORD God means Jehovah-Elohim. More than one.TRINITY. Oneness is a Devil’s doctrine.”[3]
It is not really difficult to find out what they mean with “more than one” in their answer. It is obvious that “more than one” refers to the compound Hebrew name, Jehovah-Elohim. And they know too well that Elohim is a plural noun. And as shown above, while they are impeaching “Oneness as a devil’s doctrine” they are also defending what the texter criticized as “holy three.” But “holy three” what? Three Persons OF the one God or three persons AS three Gods?
When another texter (who might have been either a unitarian or a modalist) criticized the usual Trinitarian symbol “1+1+1 = 1,” the SIBC replied,
“Equals 1? Mahina talaga ang utak mo no? Sabi ko na nga ba, di nakaka-intindi. Di ganyan ang turo naming.”[4]
[Translation: Equals 1? Are you dumb? Just as I thought, you don’t really understand, that is not what we are teaching.]
One what? Three what?
Can it be denied that they are teaching “1+1+1 = 3”? Can it be denied that since the Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God, to the SIBC, there are 3 Gods? Now this is not to say 1+1+1 = 1 is a correct mathematical equation, obviously it’s not. But to to the historic and biblical Trinitarian, it actually means “there are three distinct Persons in one Godhead.” (See also Insights on the Triunity of God.) In the book, The Holy Spirit in the Gospels, p.19, Loraine Boettner said,
Much of the opposition to the doctrine of the Trinity has arisen because of a misunderstanding of what it really is. We do not assert that one God is three Gods, nor that one person is three persons, nor that three Gods are one God. God is not three in the same sense in which He is one. To assert that He is would, indeed, make the doctrine what the Unitarians are ever fond of declaring it to be, mathematical absurdity. We assert rather that within the one Divine “substance” or “essence” there are three mutually related yet distinct centers of knowledge, consciousness, love and will. “Substance” or “essence” is that which the different members of the Godhead have in common, that in which the attributes and powers of Deity inhere; “person” is that in which they differ.
Yet while there are three centers of knowledge, consciousness, love and will, each of the Persons possesses in toto the one indivisible, incorporeal substance of Deity in which the attributes and powers inhere, and therefore possesses the same infinite knowledge, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. They work together or cooperate with such perfect harmony and unity that we are justified in saying that the Triune God works with one mind and one will. What the one knows, the others know; what the one desires, the others desire: and what the one wills, the others will. Independence and self-existence are not attributes of the individual persons, but of the Triune God; hence there are not three independent wills, but three dependent wills, if we may so speak, each of which is exercised for the honour and glory and happiness of the other two.
When another texter challenged them about the scripture which says, “Beside me there is no God,” (found in Isa. 44:6, 8; 45:5, 21 and Hos. 13:4) they replied,
“Do you know who is talking there? It’s God the Son. He is the only God the Son, no other else. But there is also God the Father and God the H.Ghost.”[5]
In effect, they read these scriptures as saying that there is no other God the Son beside God the Son who was speaking. And then added that beside God the Son, is also God the Father and God the Holy Ghost, who are of course, not other God the Sons. It is true, there is only one Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:5; 1 Cor. 8:6), it is true that there is only one begotten Son of God (Jn. 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; Heb 11:17; 1 Jn. 4:9), but, is that what the context of those passages is really telling us?
“Beside me there is no God.”
Let’s take Isa. 44:6 for instance. It says, “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” It doesn’t say, “I am God the Son.” It doesn’t say, “Beside me there is no other God the Son.” To think so is to add to the word of God (cf. Deut 4:2). But if we must remain faithful to the scriptures we should not go beyond what is written (cf. 1 Cor. 4:6). The text simply tells us that Yahweh, the King and Redeemer of Israel, is the first and the last, that beside Yahweh there is no other God. And as we jump to v.8, we read, “Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.”
Now if tritheism is true, why did Yahweh ask, “Is there A GOD beside me?” If there really are three separate Gods, don’t you think Yahweh who was speaking here just denied the existence of Gods separate from Him by answering His own question–“Yea, there is no God; I know not any”? Don’t you think that if God the Son is separate from the Father, the Father would be beside the Son?
On the other hand, this does not pose a problem to a genuine Trinitarian, because the plurality in the Trinitarian faith is confined within the Godhead. The Son is not a separate God, the Holy Spirit is not a separate God, they are one not only in their harmonious relationship, they are also numerically one in substance. And so the Son is not a separate God beside the Father, the Holy Spirit is not a separate God beside the Father, and the Son is not a separate God beside the Holy Spirit. The term coined for mutual indwelling of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit is called perichoresis also called consubstantiation. As the Lord Jesus himself puts it in Jn. 10:38b, “The Father is in me, and I in him.” And in Jn. 10:30, “I and my Father are one.”
SIBC’s Statement of Faith.
Having gone through the ambuigity of their labels we should now be able see how misleading their Statement of Faith can be to the uninitiated,
“We believe in the TRINITY (1 John 5:7). One means Unity. It is not referring to a number nor to a position. They are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. All of the Three are supreme. We accept the Hebrew rendering of God as ELOAH in the singular, and ELOHIM in the plural. We are Biblical Trinitarians. We reject the ONENESS and the PAGANISTIC TRI-THEISM beliefs.”[6] (Emphasis added.)
They say they believe in the “Trinity” (or “three in one”), they also say that the “one” there pertains to unity. But while we don’t deny the harmony (syn., unity) of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit with one another, the “unity of the Godhead” in the historical and biblical confessions of Christianity is the unity of essence (Gk., ousia) or the oneness of being. Meaning to say, in the historic and biblical Christianity, there is only one Supreme Being (one ousia) called God, in three distinct Persons. These Persons are not three united Gods, they are three distinct Persons who are not only in unity (or harmony with each other) but also in unity of substance.
Historic and biblical Trinitarian confession is not what we read in their Statement of Faith, instead we learn that to them there is a unity among the three [Gods]: Father, Son and Holy Ghost, even saying that “All of the Three are supreme,” which is to say that all the three [Gods] are ontologically equal. We are yet to find a confession that there is only one God in three Persons or three Persons in the only one God in any of what they published so far in the internet. Instead what we do find is a confession that goes along this line: “That there is one God the Father, as there is one God the Son, as there is one God the Holy Spirit, and these three [Gods] are equal and one [not in number but] in unity.”
So whenever we hear them tell us that they reject the “PAGANISTIC TRI-THEISM,” let’s remember that they are actually rejecting the other version of tritheism that ontologically subordinates the Son and the Holy Spirit–not tritheism in general.
SIBC’s Rejection of Monotheism
Dr. Guerrero, also called the Shepherd, seems so sure that his version of Tritheism (which he calls “Biblical Trinity”) is not Monotheism, when a certain John Mark asked him what the Lord Jesus meant when he cried, “My God, My God why has thou forsaken me,” he said,
May problema nga dito kung ang paniniwala ng isang tao sa Doctrine of God ay Monotheism. Totoo nga naman. Kung isa lang ang Dios at tumawag si Cristo na Dios ang Ama, kung ganon,hindi Dios si Cristo dahil, isa lang ang Dios. Pero kung Biblical Trinitarian ang isang tao, walang problema sa kanya ito sapagkat nanininiwala sya na may God the Father, God the Son at God the Holy ghost. Tatlo yAN PAGDATING SA BILANG ngunit may UNITY sila o kaya ONE MIND AYON SA 1 John 5:7 KJV, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” Nang tumawag si Cristo na Dios sa Ama, ang God the Father ang tinutukoy nya. Walang conflict dahil s’ya naman ang Dios-Anak. Katunayan, ang Ama din ay tumawag sa kanya na Dios sa Hebrews 1:8, ” But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.” Sa Monotheist, di pwede ito. Pero sa mga Trinitarians, di masama na magtawagan sila ng Dios dahil lahat sila ay eternal. Tatlo yan na makikita natin sa Langit pag tayo ay umuwi na. [7]
[Translation: There really is a problem if man believes that the Doctrine of God is Monotheism. Really. If there is only one God and Christ called the Father, God, it goes to say that Christ is not God, because [Monotheism teaches] there is only one God. But if man is a Biblical Trinitarian [referring to his version of Tritheism], he’s got no problem, because he believes that there is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy ghost. That’s three IN NUMBER but they have UNITY or they HAVE ONE MIND ACCORDING TO 1 John 5:7 KJV, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” When Christ called God, he was referring to God the Father. There’s no conflict because [he is not God the Father rather] he is God the Son. In fact, the Father even called Him, God in Hebrews 1:8, “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.” To a Monotheist, it cannot be. But for the Trinitarians [referring to his version of tritheism], there is nothing wrong when they call each other God because they are all eternal. Three [Gods] is what we will find in Heaven when we return home.
Could it be that Dr. Guerrero and SIBC are only guilty of imprecise thinking but not really guilty of tritheistic intent? You be the judge. But as far as their writings are concerned to The Bereans: Apologetics Research Ministries, they are guilty not only of imprecise thinking, but by twisting the historic and biblical Doctrine of the Trinity [See the Athanasian Creed [447-484AD] in Refuting the Arians: Common Objections Against the Deity of Christ] while advancing their tritheistic intent. And what further seals our findings is that we have yet to see any explicit confession from Dr. Guerrero or any of the writers from SIBC saying there is essentially only one God.
Surprisingly, Dr. Guerrero and the SIBC seems to be unaware of this confusion, they complained,
“The Shepherd’s Voice has fortified its belief about the Trinity, so that when believed, there is no way an Oneness doctrine can gain control. The Oneness people did not like it. That’s understood. But when a fellow Trinitarian shows animosity against it in the open, that’s horrible if not unforgivable.”[8]
It’s just amazing how Dr. Guerrero and the SIBC couldn’t figure out why their “fellow Trinitarians show animosity against their teachings.”
Calling All Our Brothers in the Baptist Circle
As a result, we appeal to our Baptist brothers, particularly those who included this cult group, Shepherd’s Independent Baptist Church, in their list and as one of their ranks, to assist us in correcting this grave error.
Other Beliefs and Practices
- Salvation that is preceded by repentance, faith and the calling upon the name of the Lord. [9] To them this is salvation that is not by works. [10]
- They believe that the King James Version 1611 of the Holy Bible is the inspired and the preserved word of God for the English-speaking people. (Along this line, they also believe in the Textus Receptus and the Masoretic texts) [11]
- They also teach Malachi 3:10 tithing, which they include in their Statement of Faith. [12] They claim that tithing cannot save them, but they teach that “only the saved can give tithes.” Those who do not tithe are selfish and cursed in God’s eyes, according to them. [13]
- They reject the membership salvation that most cults of Christianity teach. They also reject the official name doctrine –the teaching that the only true Church has an official name. [14]
- They also believe that hell is located at the earth’s core and that it is scientifically verifiable as the earth’s molten core. [15]
References
1] Thoughts On Apologetics, http://www.shepherdsmessage.org/shep5.html(last accessed: 30 May 2005)
[2] Fortunately for us, they published some of those messages in their official website, http://www.shepherdsmessage.org.(Their old website when this article was published online was http://www.shepherdsmessage.com.
[3] Text Messages Nov. 2003, Question #4, http://www.shepherdsmessage.com/TextMsgs/112003-a.htm.(This came from their old website.)
[4] Text Messages Sep. 2003, Question #23, http://www.shepherdsmessage.org/text7.html(last accessed 30 May 2005).
[5] Sep, 2003, Question #33, http://www.shepherdsmessage.org/text7.html (last accessed: 30 May 2005).
[6] Statement of Faith, Article 1, http://www.shepherdsmessage.org/statement.html (last accessed: 30 May 2005).
[7] A Televiewer’s View, http://www.shepherdsmessage.org/shep6.html (last accessed: 30 May 2005).
[10]Text Messages, Oct, 2003, Question #9, http://www.shepherdsmessage.com/TextMsgs/102003-a.htm.(This came from their old website.)
[13]The Doctrine of Tithes, http://www.shepherdsmessage.org/doc4ba.html (last accessed: 30 May 2005).
[14] Ang Doktrina ng “Local Church”, http://www.shepherdsmessage.org/doc5ba.html (last accessed: 30 May 2005).
[15] Doctrine of Hell, http://www.shepherdsmessage.org/doc13.html (last accessed: 30 May 2005).
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