21
April 1109 A.D. Anselm of Canterbury Passes
Christianity.com carries the
story.
When St.
Anselm died on this day, April 21, 1109, the church
was poorer by a great mind and England by a zealous reformer. Anselm won a name
for reform because he attempted to end abuses such as the slave trade. He urged
the holding of regular synods and, while he was archbishop, enforced clerical
celibacy within his see. Because of his powerful intellect, some scholars
consider him one of the creators of scholasticism. But his most notable gift to
history was what has become known as the ontological proof for the existence of
God.
Can the
existence of God be proven? Anselm thought so. Modern philosophers and
theologians disagree. However, it is Anselm's argument, the ontological proof,
which remains the most troublesome for them to disprove.
Anselm's
argument went something like this: When we discuss the existence of God, we
define him as a perfect being, greater than anything else which can be
conceived. If God does not exist, then the name "God" refers to an
imaginary being. This makes the definition of "God" contradictory,
for to be real, to be living, to have power is greater than to be imaginary. It
is clear I cannot even discuss the word "God" as defined if he does
not exist, because I have to conceive of him as really existing in order for
him to be greater than anything else, for a God who does not exist is not
greater than anything else.
In short, no
philosopher can legitimately argue that God does not exist if he defines God as
a perfect being greater than any which can be imagined; for to be perfect, God
must have real existence. Those who acknowledge He exists do not have a problem
with self-contradiction when they affirm his existence. Since we can indeed
raise the question of God's existence and argue the point, then God must exist.
Bertrand Russell, one of the greatest logicians and mathematicians of the
Twentieth Century, no friend of Christianity, grappled with
Anselm's proof and at one time is said to have thought the proof worked.
As Archbishop
of Canterbury, the zealous Anselm struggled with King William for church
rights. He was exiled. Similar conflict would shortly afterward lead to the
murder of Becket. As a theologian, the pious Anselm is remembered for his book,
Why
Did God Become Man? In it he argued that each of us has run up such
a debt of sin that there is no way we can repay God. Christ, as infinite God,
has merit enough and to spare to pay our debts. As a scholar, the learned
Anselm argued that we must believe in order to understand. We could restate his
insight in modern terms like this: truth only begins to come clear when one is
committed to it. You cannot see around a bend in a trail unless you walk toward
it.
Anselm died
surrounded by friends who placed his body in ashes on the floor. He was
probably canonized in 1494, although there is debate whether this occurred at
all. His beatific status aside, Anselm will long be remembered as the author of
the ontological proof.
Bibliography:
1. "Anselm, St". Dictionary of National Biography.
Edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee. London: Oxford University Press, 1921
- 1996.
2. "Anselm, St." The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.
Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1997.
3. Copleston, Frederick. A History of Philosophy. Westminster, Maryland:
Newman Press, 1953-
4. Dark, Sidney. Seven Archbishops. London: Eyre &
Spottiswoode, 1944.
5. Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Scribner's,
1974.
6. Eadmer. The Life of St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury. Edited
with introd., notes, and translation by R.W. Southern. New York: T. Nelson,
1962.
7. Hook, Walter Farquhar, 1798-1875. Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury.
London: R. Bentley, 1865 - 1884.
8. McKilliam, Annie E. A Chronicle of the Archbishops of Canterbury.
London: J. Clarke, 1913.
9. Rigg, J. M. St. Anselm of Canterbury, a chapter in the history of religion. London: Methuen & co., 1896.
10. Rule, Martin. The Life and Times of St. Anselm: Archbishop of
Canterbury and Primate of the Britains. London: Kegan Paul, Trench,
1883.
11. Runes, Dagobert D. A Treasury of Philosophy. New York:
Philosophical Library, 1945.
12. Russell, Bertrand. Wisdom of the West. New York: Fawcett,
1964.
13. Various encyclopedia and internet articles and references in histories
of philosophy.
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