It would not have been right for the restoration of human nature to be left undone, and…it could not have been done unless man paid what was owing to God for sin. But the debt was so great that, while man alone owed it, only God could pay it, so that the same person must be both man and God. Thus it was necessary for God to take manhood into the unity of His Person, so that he who in his own nature ought to pay and could not should be in a person who could… The life of this Man was so sublime, so precious, that it can suffice to pay what is owing for the sins of the whole world, and infinitely more.
— Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109), Theologe, Erzbischof
Topics: God, Jesus & the Holy Spirit, Grace & Redemption
Occasions: For Reflection
Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm von Canterbury (1033–1109) war ein aus Italien stammender Benediktinermönch, katholischer Theologe und Erzbischof von Canterbury, der als Mitbegründer der Frühscholastik gilt. Er prägte das Programm eines Glaubens, der nach rationaler Einsicht strebt („fides quaerens intellectum“), und formulierte den ontologischen Gottesbeweis sowie die Lehre von der stellvertretenden Genugtuung Christi. Für Bibelleser bleibt sein Werk ein klassischer Bezugspunkt für das theologische Verständnis der Versöhnung, auch wenn seine an mittelalterlichen Rechts- und Ehrbegriffen orientierte Argumentation bis heute kontrovers diskutiert wird.
All quotes by Anselm of Canterbury (14)
You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.
Augustine of Hippo
Jesus calls us not to a new religion, but to life.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I would not be able to seek you if you had not already found me.
Augustine of Hippo
When you see a child, you catch God in the act.
Martin Luther
God does not love us because we are lovable, but because his nature is love.
Oswald Chambers
God seeks you more than your offering.
Augustine of Hippo
God has his ear at your heart.
Augustine of Hippo
God is closer to us than we are to ourselves.
Augustine of Hippo