Spiritual Canterbury, St. Anselm of: Proslogium, Monologium. V1. 19-May-2012

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Full title: Proslogium; Monologium; An Appendix in Behalf of the Fool by Gaunilon; and Cur Deus Homo

Anselm of Canterbury (Aosta c. 1033 – Canterbury 21 April 1109), was a Benedictine monk, a philosopher, and a prelate of the Church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. Called the founder of scholasticism, he is famous as the originator of the ontological argument for the existence of God. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1720 by Pope Clement XI. On 21 April 1909, 800 years after his death, Pope Pius X issued an encyclical "Communium Rerum", praising Anselm, his ecclesiastical career, and his writings. His symbol in hagiography is the ship, representing the spiritual independence of the church.

Description from www.ccel.org:

In this compilation of St. Anselm's most important works, St. Anselm uses reason and philosophical argument to defend the Christian faith against non-believers. St. Anselm stresses the importance of our rational nature as humans, encouraging Christians that they should be "always ready to convince anyone who demands of them a reason of that hope which is in us." In his Proslogium, St. Anselm presents the Ontological Argument, an argument for the existence of God in which God is defined as, "a being than which none greater can be conceived."
In Behalf of the Fool by Gaunilon, St. Anselm discusses a counterargument offered by his contemporary, Gaunilon, a Benedictine monk who questioned St. Anselm's definition of God. Monologium considers the attributes of God, while Cur Deus Homo (translated, "Why God Became Man") addresses difficult questions about the Incarnation. This collection is a fine example of the intertwining of medieval philosophy and Christian apologetics. St. Anselm's argument for the existence of God influenced many philosophers in the early modern era and continues to influence thinkers today.

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