The Heresy of Tritheism

[redleghunter]

Tritheism is the teaching that the Godhead is really three separate beings forming three separate gods. This erring view is often misplaced by the cults for the doctrine of theTrinity which states that there is but one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the trinity is, by definition, monothestic. That is, it is a doctrine that affirms that there is only one God in all the universe.

Tritheism has taken different forms throughout the centuries. In the early church, the Christians were accused of being tritheists by those who either refused to understand or could not understand the doctrine of the Trinity. In the late 11th century a Catholic monk of Compiègne in France, Roscelin, considered the three Divine Persons as three independent beings, and that it could be said they were three gods. He maintained that God the Father and God the Holy Ghost would have become incarnate with God the Son unless there were three gods.

Present day Mormonism is tritheistic--but with a twist. Mormonism teaches that there are many gods in the universe, but they serve and worship only one of them. The godhead for earth is to them really three separate gods: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Father used to be a man on another world who brought one of his wives with him to this world--they both have bodies of flesh and bones. The son is a second god who was literally begotten between god the father and his goddess wife. The holy ghost is a third god. Therefore, in reality, Mormonism is polytheistic with a tritheistic emphasis.

Tritheism | CARM Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry

 

[Philip_B]

I wonder if the contemporary translations of the Nicene Creed, where the long 'We believe in One God the Father ... and in Jesus Christ ... and in the Holy Spirit ...' has been rendered in separate shorter belief statements 'We believe in one God the Father ... [.] We Believe in One Lord Jesus Christ ... [.] We believe the the Holy Spirit ... [.]', which in a way minimises the impact of the One God, and gives an impression of separate belief statements.

 

[Radrook]

Some understand the Trinity as explained by Trinitarians but still reject it. So lack of understanding need not be the sole reason for rejection.

 

[Paul Yohannan]

Tritheism is the teaching that the Godhead is really three separate beings forming three separate gods. This erring view is often misplaced by the cults for the doctrine of theTrinity which states that there is but one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the trinity is, by definition, monothestic. That is, it is a doctrine that affirms that there is only one God in all the universe.

Tritheism has taken different forms throughout the centuries. In the early church, the Christians were accused of being tritheists by those who either refused to understand or could not understand the doctrine of the Trinity. In the late 11th century a Catholic monk of Compiègne in France, Roscelin, considered the three Divine Persons as three independent beings, and that it could be said they were three gods. He maintained that God the Father and God the Holy Ghost would have become incarnate with God the Son unless there were three gods.

Present day Mormonism is tritheistic--but with a twist. Mormonism teaches that there are many gods in the universe, but they serve and worship only one of them. The godhead for earth is to them really three separate gods: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Father used to be a man on another world who brought one of his wives with him to this world--they both have bodies of flesh and bones. The son is a second god who was literally begotten between god the father and his goddess wife. The holy ghost is a third god. Therefore, in reality, Mormonism is polytheistic with a tritheistic emphasis.

Tritheism | CARM Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry

Tritheism is what non-Trinitarians like to accuse us of. Particularly Muslims.

There were some monophysite Tritheists. Not miaphysite Oriental Orthodox, but actual full-on Eutychians.

 

[thesunisout]

Tritheism is the teaching that the Godhead is really three separate beings forming three separate gods. This erring view is often misplaced by the cults for the doctrine of theTrinity which states that there is but one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the trinity is, by definition, monothestic. That is, it is a doctrine that affirms that there is only one God in all the universe.

Tritheism has taken different forms throughout the centuries. In the early church, the Christians were accused of being tritheists by those who either refused to understand or could not understand the doctrine of the Trinity. In the late 11th century a Catholic monk of Compiègne in France, Roscelin, considered the three Divine Persons as three independent beings, and that it could be said they were three gods. He maintained that God the Father and God the Holy Ghost would have become incarnate with God the Son unless there were three gods.

Present day Mormonism is tritheistic--but with a twist. Mormonism teaches that there are many gods in the universe, but they serve and worship only one of them. The godhead for earth is to them really three separate gods: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Father used to be a man on another world who brought one of his wives with him to this world--they both have bodies of flesh and bones. The son is a second god who was literally begotten between god the father and his goddess wife. The holy ghost is a third god. Therefore, in reality, Mormonism is polytheistic with a tritheistic emphasis.

Tritheism | CARM Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry

I heard a good testimony once about a man who was witnessing to a Jehovahs Witness about the Trinity. She said the idea of a Triune Godhead was impossible. He showed her the scripture which said that there was nothing impossible for God. A few/days weeks later she came back and he or someone in his church community led her to the Lord.

 

[ken777]

Tritheism is the teaching that the Godhead is really three separate beings forming three separate gods. This erring view is often misplaced by the cults for the doctrine of theTrinity which states that there is but one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the trinity is, by definition, monothestic. That is, it is a doctrine that affirms that there is only one God in all the universe.

Tritheism has taken different forms throughout the centuries. In the early church, the Christians were accused of being tritheists by those who either refused to understand or could not understand the doctrine of the Trinity. In the late 11th century a Catholic monk of Compiègne in France, Roscelin, considered the three Divine Persons as three independent beings, and that it could be said they were three gods. He maintained that God the Father and God the Holy Ghost would have become incarnate with God the Son unless there were three gods.

Present day Mormonism is tritheistic--but with a twist. Mormonism teaches that there are many gods in the universe, but they serve and worship only one of them. The godhead for earth is to them really three separate gods: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Father used to be a man on another world who brought one of his wives with him to this world--they both have bodies of flesh and bones. The son is a second god who was literally begotten between god the father and his goddess wife. The holy ghost is a third god. Therefore, in reality, Mormonism is polytheistic with a tritheistic emphasis.

Tritheism | CARM Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry

Many lay people are quite content with the concept of "tritheism" though they do not call it that. For many the analogy of three separate persons who are one family is how they view the Trinity. The difficulty is that it is impossible to explain how the persons of the Trinity are one in any way that can be easily understood.

 

[redleghunter]

Many lay people are quite content with the concept of "tritheism" though they do not call it that. For many the analogy of three separate persons who are one family is how they view the Trinity. The difficulty is that it is impossible to explain how the persons of the Trinity are one in any way that can be easily understood.

You hit on a good point. The duty of the pastor or local ordinary using the teaching office should educate the flock.

 

[Dkh587]

…

 

[Shempster]

Not to be a butt-insky here, but as a fan of church history I always find it odd that people should fight over something that they cannot conclusively prove either way.
If you disagreed with a group after Constantine, you might just find your head separated from the rest of you.
Those scholars of old had access to far far more crucial documents than we will ever know. Yet even they could not agree.

Did you ever consider that perhaps it is not important for us to know? Does it make any difference if jesus was all-God or half-God? I would think that if it were that important that we believe the correct nature of Jesus, why bible so vague about it?

 

[Daniel Marsh]

interesting thread.

 

[SkyWriting]

Tritheism is the teaching that the Godhead is really three separate beings forming three separate gods.

There is no comparison to anything else, so one explanation is no more accurate than another.
Or none is more provable than another.

 

[Saint Steven]

Tritheism is what non-Trinitarians like to accuse us of. Particularly Muslims.

There were some monophysite Tritheists. Not miaphysite Oriental Orthodox, but actual full-on Eutychians.

Sounds like dialog from an episode of Star Trek. - lol

 

[SkyWriting]

Paul Yohannan said: ↑
Tritheism is what non-Trinitarians like to accuse us of. Particularly Muslims. There were some monophysite Tritheists. Not miaphysite Oriental Orthodox, but actual full-on Eutychians

 

[Philip_B]

Paul Yohannan said: ↑
Tritheism is what non-Trinitarians like to accuse us of. Particularly Muslims. There were some monophysite Tritheists. Not miaphysite Oriental Orthodox, but actual full-on Eutychians

He was most probably correct, though he has not been around for a long time now. I have certainly seen some Islamic websites that can not resolve Trinitarian Belief as Monotheistic.

The debates about Monophysites and Miaphysites, and Monothelites emerged in and around the 4th Great Oecumenical Council at Chalcedon, and largely resolved in the Chalcedonian Definition. In recent years some work done between the Anglicans and the Oriental Orthodox, sought to Clarify the position of the Oriental Orthodox, and resolved it was clearly a mistake to understand it as a Monophysite position.