Milton's Multipartite God

Old Testament Trinity, by medieval
Russian iconographer Andrey Rublev

As I've been reading Paradise Lost and various scholarly resources on the work, I've become somewhat interested in certain of Milton's deviations from traditional Christian thought. One prime example is his portrayal of a multi-person God. In Book III of Paradise Lost, God the Father and Christ discuss the fall of man and the means whereby man might be redeemed. However, oddly, they are presented as separate, sentient Beings, each with His own thoughts and motives. Milton emphasizes this distinction at various points in the text, as in the following excerpt, spoken by Milton's God the Father:

                                . . . But all ye gods,
Adore him, who to compass all this dies,
Adore the Son, and honor him as me. (3:341-343)

In "Milton’s Strange God: Theology and Narrative Form in Paradise Lost," Samuel Fallon notes that this idea of a bi- or tripartite God is in contrast with the prevalent Christian theology of Milton's time, which emphasized the Holy Trinity. Fallon remarks: "even at his most heretical, Milton could agree with nearly all Reformed thinkers when it came to God’s essential attributes," and stipulates various traits, including "oneness." Is this a valid assertion? Does Milton's portrayal of God really suggest a belief in the oneness of God? In what other ways are Milton's theological ideas less than orthodox or even "heretical"?

Article Citation: Samuel Fallon. "Milton’s Strange God: Theology and Narrative Form in Paradise Lost." ELH 79.1 (2012): 33-57. Project MUSE. Web. 25 Sep. 2013.