The term Modalism was first used by Trinitarian scholar Adolf von Harnack, referencing this belief.
Followers of Modalistic Monarchianism consider themselves to be monotheistic in a strict sense--similar to Jews and Muslims--and they argue for no plurality of persons in the theology of God.
[7] During that time period, Christian theologians were attempting to clarify the relationship between God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
[8] Concerned with defending the absolute unity of God, modalists such as Noetus, Praxeas, and Sabellius explained the divinity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as the one God revealing himself in different ways or modes:[9] By the 4th century, a consensus had developed in favor of Trinitarianism, and modalism was generally considered a heresy.
It also seeks to avoid use of theological categories produced by Platonic-Aristotelian epistemologies, preferring rather to tell the story of redemption through narrative.