ABSTRACT
The long-term consequence of the abandonment of overtly trinitarian theology was the widespread lack of appreciation of the divine triplicity on the part of believers of which Donne complained, as well as the modern clamour for its rehabilitation. The ascription of creation to the Father by western theologians was subsequently underlined by numerous medieval representations of him in creative mode. The Father has to be content with 'this God of Glory', a lame designation which could just as easily be applied to the undifferentiated godhead. The patent omission of the Father from a passage in which Donne is outlining essential Christian knowledge illustrates how easy it is for the first person of the Trinity to be taken as read. In the New Testament 'God' and 'Father' are more or less interchangeable: Jesus himself uses 'Father' around 170 times to denote God as his or everyone's father and, with his authority behind it, the habit could hardly fail to catch on.
