more “personalities” modalism

Apparently, modalism like Geisler’s is fairly common in the world of evangelical apologetics. Here’s an example I stumbled upon today, this post by Steve Cowan.

The doctrine of the Trinity is not the view that there are three gods. Neither is it the absurd view that there are three gods and one God at one time. Early church leaders explained that the Son and the Holy Spirit were of the same essence or substance with the Father, though they are nevertheless distinct personalities. Though containing an element of mystery that we may never fully understand, the doctrine of the Trinity asserts that there is one and only one God, who exists simultaneously in three personalities. (emphasis added)

The appeal to mystery, I suppose, betrays a suspicion that something here seems awry. Modelling God on some poor soul suffering from this? That’s a hard sell. It’s most often done in an “in house” context – in books read only by fellow travelers, though there are exceptions to this rule.