Anselm lived in a feudal society, made up of rights and duties ruled by custom, law, and contractual agreement. Liberty and equality were not even ideals. Social status determined responsibilities and legal status. In this society a crime’s seriousness was measured against the respective dignities of the victim and perpetrator. Thus an offense against one’s lord was worse than a similar offense against one’s peers or inferiors. There was little room for mercy in the system, nor was simple restitution enough for an injury to one’s liege. Even if a lord forgave an offense, the slight to his honor must be satisfied. It was almost impossible for a vassal, because of his inferior status, to repair dishonor to the liege without the intercession of an equally powerful noble.
This mindset is evident in every page of Anselm. Adam’s disobedience offended God and outlawed him and his posterity. Humans could not repair the fault because their inferior status was worsened by sin. It would not be fitting simply for God to forgive the offense, for that would allow sin to go unpunished. This, Anselm said, is unseemly, for it puts sinners and the innocent on an equal footing before God. Further, reparations must be made to the divine honor; otherwise justice is not served.
Thus Anselm builds the case for the Incarnation: On one hand, because sinners are human, a human must make satisfaction; on the other, because God is offended, no one less than God can make amends. Justice is served and God’s love is shown in sending the Son to earth to suffer and die as a human for sinners. In Anselm’s scheme, death is the punishment for sin. Since Jesus was sinless, his death was above anything required of him. His willingness to die to establish solidarity with us went beyond the reparation demanded by justice and made satisfaction for the sins of Adam and all Adam’s descendants. It was out of love for his fellow humans that Jesus willingly suffered the consequences of sin.
Anselm’s ingenuity made his work popular. He emphasizes that “it was for us and for our salvation” that Christ came to earth and was crucified. However, his theory has flaws. He has Jesus’ death alone, apart from his life, constituting “satisfaction.” Nor does he consider the Resurrection. Also, God seems merciless and relentless in pursuit of justice and honor — or if not merciless, helpless by being fenced in by the divine law.
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