OpenTheo

Q&A#6 Trinity and Modalism

Alastair Roberts

Q&A#6 Trinity and Modalism

May 19, 2018
Alastair Roberts
Alastair Roberts

Today's Question: I follow what you are saying about the error of saying that there are three 'centers of consciousness' in God's Triune nature, and how that would involve a denial of the unity and simplicity of the Divine Being and ultimately involve tritheism. However, isn't that different from affirming three subsistent consciousnesses, or three self-conscious Persons within the nature of God? Would not a denial of that involve the opposite error of modalism? I am concerned that in our right concern to flee from tritheism, we are not seeing an implicit embrace of modalism.

Leave your own questions in the comments, on my blog, or on my Curious Cat account.

http://alastairadversaria.com/

https://curiouscat.me/zugzwanged

Share

FacebookTwitterRedditCopy Link

Transcript

More on OpenTheo

Jesus the Bridegroom in John
Jesus the Bridegroom in John
Alastair Roberts
November 19, 2024
The following was first published over on The Anchored Argosy Substack: https://argosy.substack.com/p/18-johannine-allegory-and-baby-goats. I previous
What Tactical Approach Should I Take with Someone Who Says the Trinity Isn’t Biblical?
What Tactical Approach Should I Take with Someone Who Says the Trinity Isn’t Biblical?
#STRask
January 20, 2025
Questions about a good approach to take with someone who says the Trinity isn’t biblical, how to respond to Jehovah’s Witnesses who say Jesus received
How Would You Respond to Someone Referring to God as “She” in Church?
How Would You Respond to Someone Referring to God as “She” in Church?
#STRask
December 16, 2024
Questions about how to respond to someone referring to God as “she” during a church service, how to handle the tension between respecting the authorit
Are Our Physical Ailments Caused by Spiritual Warfare?
Are Our Physical Ailments Caused by Spiritual Warfare?
#STRask
December 5, 2024
Questions about whether our physical ailments are caused by spiritual warfare, how much agency demons have in light of the fact that God sometimes sen
Psalm-Singing and Our Encounter with Scripture
Psalm-Singing and Our Encounter with Scripture
Alastair Roberts
December 5, 2024
The following was first published over on The Anchored Argosy Substack: https://argosy.substack.com/p/14-coronation. Within it, I mention a talk I gav
Does the Bible Talk About Not Doing Anything That’s out of God’s Timing?
Does the Bible Talk About Not Doing Anything That’s out of God’s Timing?
#STRask
January 6, 2025
Questions about what the Bible says about not doing anything that’s out of God’s timing and whether Amos 4:13 and Isaiah 30:21 point to our hearing sp
What Progressive Christian Teachings Should I Look Out For?
What Progressive Christian Teachings Should I Look Out For?
#STRask
November 7, 2024
Questions about what progressive Christian teachings one should look out for and whether John 16:12–13 provides justification for the views of progres
How Do We Know Moses Interpreted His Experiences of God Correctly?
How Do We Know Moses Interpreted His Experiences of God Correctly?
#STRask
November 4, 2024
Questions about how we know the biblical authors (Moses, etc.) interpreted their subjective experiences of receiving revelation from God correctly as
Will I Have to Give an Account for My Abortion When I Stand Before Jesus?
Will I Have to Give an Account for My Abortion When I Stand Before Jesus?
#STRask
December 9, 2024
Questions about whether a woman who had an abortion as a teen and later became a believer will have to give an account to Jesus for it when she stands
What Is the Mission of the Church? with Brian DeVries
What Is the Mission of the Church? with Brian DeVries
Life and Books and Everything
December 11, 2024
Mission is one of those words that Christians use all the time. So are words like “missions” and missionaries.” But what do they mean? Is “mission” ev
It’s Christmastime with Justin Taylor and Collin Hansen
It’s Christmastime with Justin Taylor and Collin Hansen
Life and Books and Everything
December 18, 2024
We’ve all been waiting, and it’s finally here: the annual Christmas LBE. Listen in as the three amigos talk about Christmas movies, favorite books, wh
If I’m Not Being Persecuted, Does That Mean I’m Not Living a Godly Life?
If I’m Not Being Persecuted, Does That Mean I’m Not Living a Godly Life?
#STRask
November 28, 2024
Questions about whether a lack of persecution means you’re not living a godly life, what to think about your faith if your suffering doesn’t bring you
Life on the Silent Planet (with Susannah Roberts, Rhys Laverty, & Jake Meador)
Life on the Silent Planet (with Susannah Roberts, Rhys Laverty, & Jake Meador)
Alastair Roberts
December 6, 2024
Rhys Laverty (Senior Editor at Ad Fontes and Senior Managing Editor of the Davenant Press), Jake Meador (Editor-in-Chief of Mere Orthodoxy), and Susan
Evaluating the Thought of Cornelius Van Til with Keith Mathison and James Anderson
Evaluating the Thought of Cornelius Van Til with Keith Mathison and James Anderson
Life and Books and Everything
November 27, 2024
It is hard to exaggerate the influence of Cornelius Van Til (1895–1987) in conservative Reformed circles over the past hundred years. And yet, there c
How Can So Many Professing Christians Support Things That Are Anti-Christian?
How Can So Many Professing Christians Support Things That Are Anti-Christian?
#STRask
December 19, 2024
Questions about how so many professing Christians can support things that are anti-Christian, such as LGBTQ issues and abortion on demand, and how to