Landmarks in Theology

John M. Brentnall, 'Just a Talker': Sayings of John ('Rabbi') Duncan, p. 264:

A good way of determining the progressive landmarks of theology might be by selecting typical texts to describe the points made emphatic by the principal teachers of the church. Thus, to take only six. I would connect the name of Athanasius with the word, 'Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost'; Augustine, with the words, 'By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God'; 'Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly'; Anselm, with the words, 'Christ suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God'; Remigius: 'I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. My sheep hear my voice'; etc.; Luther: 'Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified'; and Calvin: 'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who...hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.'

Credo ut intelligam: Anselm's 900th Anniversary

Nine hundred years ago today, the great Christian philosopher Anselm died (on April 21, 1109). Dr. Jerry W. Crick once wrote that "it was St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) who helped to span the historical and theological gap between the labors of men in the early Church and the groundwork that led finally and directly to the Reformation in Europe, first under Martin Luther, and then more thoroughly and effectively under John Calvin" (Jerry W. Crick, "The Doctrine of the Satisfaction of the Divine Justice by the Lord Jesus Christ as Seen in St. Anselm of Canterbury's Cur Deus Homo," n Joseph A. Pipa, Jr. and C.N. Willborn, eds., Confessing Our Hope: Essays Celebrating the Life and Ministry of Morton H. Smith, p. 57).

The life and work of the man who wrote (Proslogion) Neque enim quaero intelligere ut credam, sed credo ut intelligam. Nam et hoc credo, quia, nisi credidero, non intelligam. (Nor do I seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe that I may understand. For this, too, I believe, that, unless I first believe, I shall not understand) -- building on Augustine's statement (Sermons 43.7, 9) crede, ut intelligas (believe so that you may understand) and Paschasius Radbertus' argument in Faith, Hope and Love that faith precedes reason (cf. Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. 4, Chap. 14, § 173) -- is being celebrated by conferences and other events at Canterbury Cathedral, the University of Kent at Canterbury and elsewhere this week.

In dark times for the Christian Church, God shined forth his light and raised up an Anselm. May the Lord be pleased to raise up such giants of the faith in our day.

Anselm, Meditations and Prayers to the Holy Trinity and our Lord Jesus Christ, p. 125:

O Christ, my God, my Hope, of men Thou Lover and Delight,
My Life, Light, Health, Peace, of Thine the Grace and Glory bright,
For whose salvation Thou didst deign their every ill to bear,
The flesh, the bonds, the cross, the wound, the death and sepulchre;
Then after three days, over death triumphant didst arise,
To raise Thy servants' drooping hearts, to glad their downcast eyes;
Then on the fortieth, high above the Heaven of Heavens didst soar,
Where now Thou ever livest, where Thou reignest evermore.