Modalism

  The concept of the Trinity can be very difficult to understand. The difficulty of understanding the Trinity has led many to become confused about their faith, with some opting to abandon their faith entirely. Others, however, have sought to make a version of the Trinity that makes sense to them, despite their version of the Trinity being in contradiction to the Bible. There are many different flavors of heresy that one may hear about, especially when it comes to the Trinity. This post is about one of the most well-known heresies about the Trinity: modalism.

Modalism denies the existence of the Trinity, which is why modalism is a heretical doctrine. Instead of God existing in three distinct, coexisting, coequal Persons, modalism effectively reduces God to a Being Who can transform into one of three forms. For example, God (as seen in the Old Testament) was in the form of the Father, but God became Jesus when it came time for the events of the New Testament to take place. After ascending to Heaven, Jesus would have become the Holy Spirit. Modalism is the belief that God exists as a single Being, Who can change into different forms, at different times, but cannot be in all three forms at once.

Again, this is a heretical doctrine, which would mean that one cannot believe in modalism and still be a Christian. This belief rejects one of the core beliefs of Christianity.