Analysis Of Anselm 'Why God Became A Man'

Anselm of Canterbury was Benedictine monk and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Anselm believed sin was an offense to God’s majesty and reparation or atonement for those sins comes through perfect obedience. The main idea of “Why God Became a Man” is that God is owed an immeasurable amount of satisfaction from humanity. Humanity sustained a debt due to Adam’s original sin. It is our obligation to offer God infinite satisfaction, but in all actuality, you can never satisfy him. Anselm states “It is not enough simply to restore what has been taken away; but in consideration of the insult offered, more than what was taken away must be rendered back” (Anselm, Why God Became a Man). What does he mean? He argues that the only way our sin can be forgiven is if we offer back more than was taken. Only a God incarnate or Jesus Christ could satisfy the debt.
Abelard was a critique of Anselm’s ideas. Abelard disagreed with Anselm's legalistic debt-satisfaction theory. The main idea of Peter Abelard, “Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans” is the death of Christ showed how much the Lord loves humanity and humanity should show that same love and passion towards God to make us closer. Abelard states “he has more fully bound us to himself by love. As a result, our hearts should be set on fire by such a gift of divine grace, and true love should not hold back from suffering anything for his sake” (Peter Abelard, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans). Abelard argues that God’s gesture of giving up his son made him closer to us through love, and humanity show be showing and proving their love to him in