Cur Deus Homo was written by Anselm of Canterbury between 1094–1098 A.D. In this work he asks and answers the question of why God became man. Why he wrote Cur Deus Homo is answered in the preface to his work:


Although he doesn’t provide the reason in this statement, the fact that he has been asked to write about what “gladdens” believers should tell us that it is something quite important–even possibly essential to the Christian life.

And it is.

The doctrine he espouses that brings such joy in understanding is what some call the satisfaction theory of the atonement, which sees the crucifixion of Jesus not merely as a moral example of sacrifice, but as an effectual propitiation for sin. However, as it is true and clearly taught in Scripture, it really ceases to be a theory but can be stated as fact.

This is remarkable. Even in the 11th century, people were craving to hear more and more about the voluntary, substitutionary atonement of Jesus for their sins. As a satisfaction, Jesus’ sacrifice upon a cross fulfilled the just demands of the law.

Because Jesus absorbed the full justice of the law we can absorb the full mercy of the gospel as the recipients of grace and objects of the Father’s eternal, unwavering affection.

Soli Deo gloria!



Leave a Reply


You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Google+ photo


Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: