medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I might add that before blaming Anselm for a false juridicism etc. one
ought at least to read Richard Southern's _Saint Anselm: A Portrait in a
Landscape_ on Cur Deus--"justice" (righteousnesss) as order, harmony,
beauty, not merely as a courtroom concept. Eastern polemics against
Anselm and the West also fail to take adequate account of, say,
Athanasius's language in _De incarnatione_. I would concur with Edwin's
urging that one take account of the Jewish and Pauline heritage common
to both East and West and read Anselm in the light of the tradition he
inherited. Anselm has been the victim of a 20thc fascination by
_theologians_ (Aulen, Barth etc.), with
axes to grind and less attention to hstorical theology than might have
been useful.
Much as Jonathan Edwards will seemingly forever be presented in the
textbooks based on a caricature of his sermon on judgment and hell, a
caricaturethat arose from the sensibilities of late Victorian and 20thc
academics, so too Anselm's place in standard textbook accounts owes more
to 20thc theologians' battle with the demons of their own upbringings
than with his own 11thc context.
Dennis Martin
>>> [log in to unmask] 05/11/04 1:43 PM >>>
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
culture
Fr. Ambrose wrote:
> Dear Elastic Doctor, I have to differ. The Atonement has no place in
the doctrine of the East, and particularly in the form developed by
Anselm taught - the offering of a sacrifice (the Son) to the Father in
order to propiate the divine justice which required the punishment of
the human race as the result of Adam's sin.
Edwin replies:
We have had this conversation between us on another list, so I have no
particular desire to begin it again. To sum up my position then,
Atonement and blood sacrifice is part of the heritage that the Jewish
faith bequethed to the Christian faith. The Passover Lamb was a type
which the Christ fulfulled (hense pascha, from Greek, Passover, from
Hebrew pesah). Leviticus 16 describes the blood atonement which later
became Yom Kippur. Acts 8:25-52 clearly refer to Isaiah's Suffering
Servant in Isaiah 53. This is reinforce in Romans 3:25, Hebrews 2:17,
and other places. This is the enheritance of the whole Church.
Anselm represented a view of Atonement which was representative of his
place and time, but it has been but one perspective. The main
characteristic of Atonement is not (as "River of Fire" would lead one to
believe) the placification of a vengeful God, so much as a demonstration
of Divine justice transformed by Divine mercy. As I read Orthodox
literature, it seems that anyone of the Orthodox who shows support for
Atonement is branded as "corrupted" by Western Theology. Indeed, it
seems that Atonement is a concept used more for polemic argument to keep
East from West, than for any useful thing.
Did I summarize our previous conversation adequately?
Edwin
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