St. Anselm: Basic Writings

Who is the main character in St. Anselm: Basic Writings by ?

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While God, the prime divinity of the Judeo-Christian tradition, does not speak in the book, Anselm refers to Him on nearly every page. All three major works concern Him and defending not only His existence but a vast number of facts about Him. God possesses no less than the following properties: He exists necessarily, is perfectly good, all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal, indestructible, immaterial, beyond time and space, compassionate, just, perfectly beautiful, the Truth itself, maximally great, is merciful, uncircumscribed, greater than can be conceived, unapproachable light, harmony, wisdom, and every true good. He is also simultaneously three persons, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, that are distinct from one another according to some of their properties but not according to others. God the Father begets God the Son, and God the Son is the essence of God the Father. God the Holy Spirit is the love that God the Father and God the Son have for one another and is itself a personality. Further, God has a plan for fallen humanity. Humanity must be reconciled to God, but God cannot be just and simply forgive them out of mercy. Instead, He must demand satisfaction for sin. Yet no man can repay this debt on His own, so the second person of the Trinity, God the Son, Jesus Christ, must become simultaneously God and man by taking human nature into Himself. He must be born of a virgin, be sinless, obey God's law perfectly, freely offer Himself to God the Father as a sacrifice for humanity to satisfy God to the extent that God the Father can justly forgive humanity due to His mercy.

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St. Anselm: Basic Writings