[Maureen]

Originally Posted by rameumptom

The problem with the Trinity is that NO ONE can understand it. It is by definition a mystery.

I disagree. I understand the doctrine of the Trinity the best I can; that is why I believe it. No one can understand God completely, because God is an infinite divine being, while mankind is finite and human.

Too many "Trinitarians" do not believe in the Trinity, but in modalism, which was condemned by St Augustine as heresy. Modalism is easier to understand.

It is true that many people, not necessarily trinity believers, confuse the trinity with modalism.

The description Maureen gives is a balance between a Trinity and modalistic viewpoint. Most I've spoken with, however, give modalist descriptions.

I disagree again. If you look at both definitions you can see a distinct difference:

Modalism:

In Christianity, Sabellianism (also known as modalism, modalistic monarchianism, or modal monarchism) is the nontrinitarian belief that the Heavenly Father, Resurrected Son and Holy Spirit are different modes or aspects of one God, as perceived by the believer, rather than three distinct persons in God Himself.

Modalism - Information from Reference.com

Trinity

The Trinity is a Christian doctrine, stating that God is one being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a mutual indwelling of three persons:[1] the Father, the Son (incarnate as Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. Since the beginning of the third century[2] the doctrine of the Trinity has been stated as "that the one God exists in three Persons and one substance, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit".[3] Trinitarianism, belief in the Trinity, is a mark of Oriental and Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism and all the mainstream traditions arising from the Protestant Reformation, such as Anglicanism, Lutheranism and Presbyterianism; and the Trinity has been described as "the central dogma of Christian theology".[3]

Trinity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

M.