Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm follows Augustine not only in time but also his approach to theology. As Augustine mused in the mode of prayer in his Confessions, so Anselm’s Proslogion is a prayerful meditation on the mystery of God. As Augustine’s prodigious mind and rhetorical skill was turned to the service of the church, so Anselm’s considerable learning was leveraged for the pursuit of truth in a spirit summarized as “faith seeking understanding.” Anselm is best known by some for his answer to the question “Why did God become man?” in his work Cur Deus Homo and by others for his ontological argument for the existence of God in the Proslogion. And yet some of his most profound thoughts on the nature of God are found in his Monologion. He also wrote works titled On the Procession of the Holy Spirit and On the Virgin Conception and Original Sin, and addressed difficult theological issues in his works On Free Will and On the Fall of the Devil. There is a reason this issue says the influence of Anselm “evergreen.” Anselm has much to teach us as he models for us a mind devoted to contemplating God.
