One inadequate view of the Trinity is known as Tritheism. Tritheism holds that Christians believe in three gods who are independent and self-existing. Tritheism rejects the idea of one God. In Tritheism God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are three separate gods. Tritheism accepts the threeness of God but ignores the unity.

Tritheism Is Not the Trinitarian View

This view is often stated as though it is what Trinitarians believe. But this is not the case. While some Christians may have imprecisely explained the Trinity in a way that sounds like Tritheism this is not what the Bible teaches about the nature of God.

It Overstresses the Deity of the Son and the Holy Spirit

In laying stress upon the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit, some people fall into the error of Tritheism. They want so much to emphasize the deity of these two Persons that they fall into the mistake of making them three Gods.

There Is Only One God

Trinitarians emphatically believe that only one God exists. They do not believe in three separate Gods. Scripture says there is one God who is made up of three distinct persons or centers of consciousness. These three co-operate with each other in one mind and purpose. Therefore in the truest sense they are one.

Summary

Tritheism says the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three separate gods rather than one God in three persons. While the Bible does not teach Tritheism, some Christians have explained the Trinity in such a way that it sounds like they believe in three separate Gods. What the Trinity consists of are three distinct personalities or centers of consciousness within the one God—they are not separate gods or deities.