Religious studies
Topic: Examine the relationship between incarnation and atonement, focusing especially on Anselm’s idea of satisfaction.
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Incarnation and Atonement
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Incarnation and Atonement
Anselm’s concept of satisfaction is drawn from his understanding of sin. According to Anselm’s argument, sin incurs a debt that a person can only pay through satisfaction. He provides an understanding of atonement which is a reconciliation of humankind to God through his son Jesus Christ (McIntosh, 2019). The process of reconciliation occurred through incarnation when the son of God was made flesh and died for the sins of humankind. Incarnation according to Anselm’s concept is to be ‘made flesh.’ He argues that Jesus was made flesh when he was conceived in the womb of a Virgin Mary (Hill, 2018). Jesus walked on earth physically and his miraculous signs were indicators of his divine nature. He finally paid the ultimate price that reconciled humankind to God after their separation by sin.
The incarnation was prophesied before the coming of Jesus Christ. It was essential to pay a burden of debt that occurred after the first man Adam sinned. The sin of Adam caused separation from God of the entire humanity (McIntosh, 2019). However, God desired to be reconciled to man since his efforts to live holy or sacrifice animals were exhausting and insufficient. Therefore, God gave his only son Jesus Christ to pay the ultimate price (Hill, 2018). Paying the price was a way of satisfying or clearing the debt that occurred after sin. Anselm’s concept indicates that the sin of man incurred a debt that had to be paid.
Anselm’s concept also points out that God could not ignore the sin man had committed. Therefore, he chooses one who was greater than man, to act on behalf of men to repay the debt (McIntosh, 2019). Repaying was a painful process that only him who was divine could bear. He also argues that failure to satisfy the sin could lead to dishonoring God (Hill, 2018). However, the satisfaction process was essential to reconcile man to God through the atonement.
The incarnation was a process of paying the sin that man had for years failed to satisfy. According to Farris and Hamilton (2017), the incarnation of Jesus, who is part of the Trinity of God, came as a way of helping man to accomplish the satisfaction. It was through the incarnation, making of Jesus or divine being into a man that the relationship between God and man is restored, in what is called atonement (McIntosh, 2019). Atonement or reconciliation could only be achieved through the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross that those who believe in him should not perish or suffer the consequences of their sin, but live eternally.
References
Farris, J. R., & Hamilton, S. M. (2017). Reparative substitution and the ‘Efficacy Objection’: Toward a modified satisfaction theory of atonement. Perichoresis, 15(3), 97-110.
Hill, J. (2018). ‘His death belongs to them’: an Edwardsean participatory model of atonement. Religious Studies, 54(2), 175-199.
McIntosh, J. (2019). Christ, the Power and Possibility of God in St. Anselm of Canterbury. TheoLogical: An International Journal for Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology, 3(1), 3-21.
