Saint Anselm of Canterbury

Saint Anselm of Canterbury was born in the year 1033.  He was a Benedict monk and the second Norman archbishop (Zack, pg.61). Not much is known of his childhood or early years, but in the year 1093, Anselm became the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is said that Anselm did not take direction well and because of this, he suffered from a lot of conflict.

In philosophy, Anselm’s greatest contribution would be the creation of the ontological argument. It states that the greatest being that we can imagine must exist before everything else and everything else must come from that. “Anselm goes on to claim that God, is the greatest being that can be imagined, all created beings, which are created by God, owe their own being and well-being to God” (Zack, 2010, p.62). Anselm felt that in order for us to know more of God, we must seek to understand him better. This understanding of God comes from something greater than reality. Anselm believed that God does exist and only through him do we receive the understanding and knowledge we are looking for (Galdamez, 2011, p.4).

Saint Anselm was known for his Christian faith. His argument has helped believers in a positive way by proving and supporting the existence of God. By understanding his argument, you see the importance of studying your belief and searching for an understanding of the Lord’s being. His argument aligns with Genesis when it says that we were created in the image of God because, as Anselm states, 

as we were created, we must come from something that created us. Furthermore, his argument makes a profound and bold statement that God compared to everything else is the ultimate being. In our world today we have so many distractions that try and disengage us from our faith, things that point to momentary idols. Through internalizing Anselm’s argument, you see that the only answer to life and why we exist must come from the greatest being, God. His argument reminds us of the verse, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-21, NIV). God brought us into this world for his existence to be seen on Earth. He chooses to use us and our surroundings. If we want to know more, then we must challenge ourselves to seek out the wisdom of the Lord.  His wisdom transcends generations and his existence is never hidden. Anselm’s argument challenges us to go deeper into the Lord presence for the answers to life. For those who do not believe, it challenges you to push past your doubt and seek understanding through faith, which will lead to a sound truth.