Tritheism and Christian Faith

Abstract

Though the word “tritheism” is often used without being defined, it actually has more than one meaning in theological usage. Careful definition of the term is important, especially in the current atmosphere of internet theology where the word is being used rather promiscuously. Of course, since I have been accused of holding views that tend to tritheism, I have a special interest in calling attention to the definition of the word. In this essay, I will introduce various notions of tritheism and indicate how my own beliefs differ, demonstrating that the only sense in which I could be accused of tritheism is the sense in which Karl Barth might charge the theology of Van Til with inchoate or implicit tritheism. I shall also argue that even this sense of the word is not rightly applied to Van Til.