View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Chapter thirty-six explains that God creates and knows His creation in what kind of manner?

2. Why must the answer to number 35 exist?

3. In chapter forty-one we discover that God "begets" in the most perfect and true way but is also __________ in the most perfect and true way.

4. God and His idea of Himself exist as what?

5. All things live through whom?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is learned about the Holy Spirit?

2. What set of problems does Chapter 9 of the Proslogium introduced? How does Chapter 10 add to this?

3. Why does Anselm say that only a fool would not believe in God?

4. What is the only absolutely true thing that can be said about God? What might this mean?

5. Give an example showing why God must exist.

6. What does Anselm say about God's eternality and omnipresence?

7. How is Chapter 4 connected to Chapters 1 and 2?

8. How does Anselm explain that God creates from nothing but that everything, in a sense, already exists?

9. What does Chapter 3 of the Proslogium make?

10. How does Jesus derive existence from God? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

St. Anselm's project of proving God's existence is a case of "faith seeking understanding."

Part 1) What is meant by this? How does St. Anselm go about seeking this understanding? Is he successful? Why or why not?

Part 2) Might these writings effectively convince a non-believer to believe, or are these writings purely for believers? Why?

Part 3) How important is understanding to having faith in something? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

St. Anselm defines God as the being "than which nothing greater can be conceived."

Part 1) How does he support this definition? Could there be other, better, definitions of God? Why or why not?

Part 2) How does this definition support Anselm's other beliefs and claims?

Part 3) What is your own definition of God? How have you come to this definition? What might Anselm think of your definition? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Christ was not compelled to offer himself to die.

Part 1) How does Anselm attempt to prove this statement? Is he successful? Why or why not? How is this important in setting up Book 2 of the Cur Deus Homo?

Part 2) What else does Anselm say to set up Book 2? Why does he say this? How does it prepare the reader for Book 2?

Part 3) What have you learned about the Christian faith through Cur Deus Homo? Do you agree with what Anselm has to say? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,301 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample