Christianity has gone through many theories of salvation and religions have branched solely due to differences in theories of salvation. Different theories argue about the most important aspect of what Jesus Christ did to redeem humanity and therefore save humanity. Some focus on the crucifixion, resurrection, or life of Jesus Christ, etc. Abelard and Anselm are two authors completely opposite to each other; one focused on the death and the other on the life of Jesus Christ. Abelard proposed the theory of the Moral Exemplar centered on the life of Jesus, shedding light on the mercies of God while completely neglecting the death of Jesus. The theory proposed by Anselm shifts towards a transactional relationship between humanity and God. The theory of satisfaction proposed by Anselm describes Jesus Christ as the transaction necessary to pay the debt owed to God while ignoring the life of Jesus Christ. These two authors have two different, divergent views on salvation that have been greatly influenced by their separate experiences. They have opposing views on salvation, but what might connect the two is their agreement on the effect the death of Jesus Christ had on humanity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Anselm proposed the satisfaction theory that humanity owes a debt for its sins to God and only Jesus Christ could pay the debt to save humanity. Anselm's main problem was that God could not be satisfied simply by giving mercy to humanity, he needed something that corresponded to his divinity. Anselm called his work “Why God Became Man” to emphasize his point that the debt could only be paid by someone or something that corresponded to God himself. So there was a need for Jesus Christ because he was enough to satisfy the debt. Humanity is not worthy enough to simply receive and accept God's mercy. Jesus Christ was worthy enough to “balance the scores” and satisfy God. Abelard proposed the moral theory in which salvation is achieved by living according to the actions of Jesus Christ in his life and God will show you mercy and forgiveness. Abelard rejected Anselm's reason based primarily on the ideology that two evil actions do not constitute one reason. This means that the evil act of sinning should not be atoned for with the death of an innocent man, Jesus Christ. Abelard departed from Anselm's theory by believing that Jesus' death was neither necessary for salvation nor for forgiveness. Abelard shifts the focus to a more loving relationship between God and humanity rather than a transactional relationship. This change in views can be explained by Abelard and Anselm's different experiences of being raised differently in the world. Abelard was raised in a lower class than Anselm allowed Abelard to be free from worldly goods, without thinking that God required a debt from you. Anselm grew up in a richer world and this privilege was what allowed him to orient his theory of salvation towards a more transactional aspect between God and humanity. These two authors have completely opposite experiences of the world that have greatly influenced their divergent views on salvation. The different experiences had created this divergence of points of view. Although the divergences of paths can be linked to each other through the effect that both seek to convey with the death of Jesus on humanity. Anselm describes Jesus' death as necessary to repay humanity's sins and satisfy God to save humanity..
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