Anselm

Anselm’s Proslogion has sparked controversy from the time it was written (c.1077) to the present day. Attempts to provide definitive accounts of its argument have led to a wide and contradictory variety of interpretations. In this book, Ian Logan goes back to basics, to the Latin text of the Proslogion with an original parallel English translation, before tracing the twists and turns of this controversy. Helping us to understand how the same argument came to be regarded as based on reason alone by some and on faith alone by others, as a logically sound demonstration by its supporters and as fatally flawed by its opponents, Logan considers what Anselm is setting out to do in the Proslogion, how his argument works, and whether it is successful.

Some commentators claim that Anselm’s writings contain a second independent “modal ontological argument” for God’s existence. A. D. Smith contends that although there is a second a priori argument in Anselm, it is not the modal argument. This “other argument” bears a striking resemblance to one that Duns Scotus would later employ.

In this book, Richard Campbell reformulates Anselm’s proof to show that factual evidence confirmed by modern cosmology validly implies that God exists. Anselm’s proof, which was never the “ontological argument” attributed to him, emerges as engaging with current philosophical issues concerning existence and scientific explanation.

Anselm is a major figure in theological, philosophical and historical studies. This book provides a fresh approach to the study of this great figure; one which provides critical interaction with current critical thinking whilst arguing in favour of the idea of theological unity in Anselm's corpus. Exploring the Proslogion, but also more 'minor' works, David Hogg interacts with the theological content of Anselm's writings: showing how Anselm's ontological argument fits into the wider context of his theology; comparing the holistic approach of Anselm's thought with that of other medieval personages and fitting him into the wider medieval context; and revealing how Anselm's theology integrates the atonement and questions of predestination, the fall of the Devil and free will, and other issues. The book concludes with an assessment of the impact of Anselm's theology during his own time, and the continuing effect his thinking has had on succeeding centuries of theological development.

Can human beings be free and responsible if there is a God? Anselm of Canterbury, the first Christian philosopher to propose that human beings have a really robust free will, offers viable answers to questions which have plagued religious people for at least two thousand years: If divine grace cannot be merited and is necessary to save fallen humanity, how can there be any decisive role for individual free choice to play? If God knows today what you are going to choose tomorrow, then when tomorrow comes you have to choose what God foreknew, so how can your choice be free? If human beings must have the option to choose between good and evil in order to be morally responsible, must God be able to choose evil? Anselm answers these questions with a sophisticated theory of free will which defends both human freedom and the sovereignty and goodness of God.

Sandra Visser and Thomas Williams offer a brief, accessible introduction to the life and thought of St. Anselm (c. 1033-1109). Anselm, who was Archbishop of Canterbury for the last 16 years of his life, is unquestionably one of the foremost philosopher-theologians of the Middle Ages. Indeed he may have been the greatest Christian thinker in the 800 years between Augustine and Aquinas. His keen and rigorous thinking earned him the title 'The Father of Scholasticism.' The influence of his contributions to ethics and philosophical theology is clearly discernible in figures as various as Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, the voluntarists of the late-thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and the Protestant Reformers. The prevalence of self-identified Anselmians - and anti-Anselmians - in contemporary philosophy of religion attests to the enduring importance of his approach to the divine nature. Visser and Williams's book falls into two main parts. The first will elucidate Anselm's metaphysics, concluding with an examination of Anselm's account of truth, which serves as a capstone for his metaphysical system. The second part focuses on Anselm's theory of knowledge. Topics considered include Anselm's general account of cognition and his odd but compelling theory of language-acquisition and the role it plays in discourse about the divine. The third section of the book is devoted to the moral life. Anselm's account of the foundations of ethics is philosophically of great interest, the authors show, because it effectively combines insights that contemporary philosophers have thought to be antithetical. In the fourth and last section, they turn to Anselm's philosophical explorations of Christian doctrine, including Redemption, the Trinity, and the Incarnation. They show how Anselm puts his metaphysical system to work in establishing the coherence of Christian doctrine and explain how his philosophical theology rests on his theory of knowledge.

Anselm is probably the greatest theologian who lived during the time between Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas. His compelling yearning to know and love God as He is revealed to us in Scriptures shaped his life and permeates all of his writings. He found the greatest joy in communion with God, but was thrusted into the difficult political scene of the 11th-12th centuries. He didn't work well with kings and, at one point, he had most of the English leaders against him. Still, his writings have had a great influence on the Christian church, and his teachings about Christ's sacrifice and about the relation between faith and reason are a vital part of the historical Christian Confessions. What can Anselm teach our children? To be inquisitive and use their minds as God's gifts to discover and understand what He has revealed in His word (Deut.29:29). Particularly, I hope the children will take time to consider and explore Anselm's question: Why a God-man? What is the meaning of Christ's sacrifice on the cross? What do we mean when we say, "Jesus died for our sins"? Our understanding of Christ's atonement shapes all of our theology and our lives.