Dangers of a Modal Trinity

On one particular evening, after training was over, I found myself engaged in theological conversation with those few Soldiers staying in the barracks that night.  While the discussion ranged far and wide, the particular aspect of training that sticks out to me all these years later in our conversation on the nature of the Trinity.  I presented the notion of the Blessed Trinity being Three Persons, distinct from each other yet with one Will, all in one Godhead.  The opposing view, all too commonly held now as it has been through history, is that each of the Three “Persons” were actually different modes and attributes by which the one, same Person in God interacts with His people through the ages.  So, in this view, God the Father was the God of the Old Testament, showing us that God is a just God who exacts judgement on His enemies, while protecting and creating those whom He loves.  Jesus would then be God showing His love, and opening His Salvation to all - not just the Jews.  And finally, the Holy Spirit is just God showing us His inspirational power in our lives, helping us to do good and avoid evil.  Clearly, this modal view of the Trinity is in no way in keeping with the Catholic Faith, and is a heresy that has crept into the faiths of Christians time and again throughout history.  But, does an erroneous view of the Trinity really have much bearing on the mission of the Church?  As long as people are brought to Christ, does it really matter that we have a clear view of God, especially when such a view is so complex and difficult as the Trinity?  The answer is a resounding yes: it matters, and the consequences for operating under a false view of the Trinity can be dire.  Thankfully, we can turn to JPII’s pontificate to see the integral connection between the proper understanding of the Trinity and the mission of the Church.

Were the mission of the Church merely human flourishing - if “human development [were] an adequate goal of the Church's mission, [and if] respect for conscience and for freedom exclude[d] all efforts at conversion (RM, 4),” an erroneous view of the Trinity would be acceptable.  After all, the main characteristics of God still seem to be preserved: God the “Father” creates, God the “Son” became Man, and God the “Holy Spirit” still inspires us with grace, even if these three are simply modes and different ways God interacts with His people.  With such a view, humans could function with a more or less limping understanding of God, still have some knowledge of His love for Man, and claim some level of understanding.  In short, the modal Trinitarian view boils down the unfathomable mystery from a matter of Revelation to something Man can intellectually possess, could believe according to his own function of reason, and would suffice without further wrestling with God as a Person.

But the mission of the Church is Christ-centric, not Man-centric.  We are not called to understand God; we are called to encounter Him as a Person.  Redemptoris Missio puts it this way: “In this definitive Word of his revelation, God has made himself known in the fullest possible way.  He has revealed to mankind who he is. This definitive self-revelation of God is the fundamental reason why the Church is missionary by her very nature. She cannot do other than proclaim the Gospel, that is, the fullness of the truth which God has enabled us to know about himself (RM, 5).”  If the true nature of the Trinity is ignored, then there is no point to the Church having a missionary nature: a modal Trinity is accessible by Man’s own reason and fancy.  

The entire reason for the Church is to bring Man closer to God, to encounter Him as Person.  To cite the Baltimore Catechism, we are called to Know, Love, and Serve God, and to be happy with Him in Heaven.  Without God as the focus of the Church’s missionary work - that is, God as properly revealed in the Trinity - there is no possibility of knowing God if we make up our own versions of Him that fit into our understanding better.  In short, “No one, therefore, can enter into communion with God except through Christ, by the working of the Holy Spirit (RM, 5)”.  Without acknowledging the Trinity as a Triune God, there is no Salvation, and there is no missionary work for the Church.