Atonement, peter abelard, and the moral influence theory. With that runon sentence finally over, lets address that issue, which involves the moral influence theory of the atonement. Thus abelards view of atonement was actually more comprehensive and orthodox than the views of his contemporaries. The doctrine of atonement according to peter abelard a literary and historical analysis denis kaiser seminar paper history europe other countries middle ages, early modern age publish your bachelors or masters thesis, dissertation, term paper or essay. Yet dramatically public as his life was, the analyses he develops in his. The novel was the basis of the play abelard and heloise 1970 by ronald millar.
His extreme debating style of totally deconstructing theological positions and then afterward including some. Peter abelard the french philosopher and theologian peter abelard 10791142 was a leading thinker of the middle ages 1. Abelard places intention at the center of moral responsibility. His reputation outside academic circles is based upon his more human qualities as reflected in his love affair with heloise. The moral influence theory has its roots in the teaching of peter abelard 10791144, a french philosophertheologian and one of the keenest of medieval minds. Pierre abelard april 21, 1079 1142 was a medieval french scholastic, theologian, and preeminent logician. Abelards moral theory of the atonement was also the object of controversy.
Bernard, abelards denial of the devils rights was tantamount to the denial of redemption as a sacrament, making christs example and teaching the only gain of jesus incarnation. Peter abelard born 1074, died 1142 was a french monk, scholar, and philosopher who sought to apply logical to the teachings of the mediaeval church. Ethics and dialogue between a philosopher, a jew and a christian by peter abelard, translated by paul vincent spade, introduced by marilyn mccord adams. The satisfaction theory of the atonement anselm of canterbury anselm and abelard. As a person trained primarily in philosophy, peter abelard employed an intense questioning mentality in fleshing out his theological ideas. Helen waddells novel peter abelard 1933 is loosely based on abelard and heloise. In pagan religions the victim is always evil and remains evil. Reading through abelards theory it is not longer clear to me that moral exemplar is the mechanism for atonement in his view its seems to be located elsewhere. Peter abelard or petrus abaelardus 1079 april 21 1142 was a french scholastic philosopher and theologian. Although peter abelard does not cite cur deus homo, he formulates his theory of redemption in direct response to anselm. Peter abelard 107921 april 1142 abailard or abaelard or habalaarz and so on was the preeminent philosopher and theologian of the twelfth century.
Peter abelard is commonly credited with developing the moral influence theory of atonement. The doctrine of atonement according to peter abelard a literary and historical analysis denis kaiser. Anselm, abelard and the atonement enrichmentjournal. Prior to the recovery of aristotle, he brought the native latin tradition in philosophy to its. The subtitle of julie, or the new heloise 1761, an epistolary novel by jeanjacques rousseau, alludes to the history of heloise and abelard. Cur deus homo describes how the atonement effected the forgiveness of sin. The teacher of his generation, he was also famous as a poet and a musician. He maintained that logic could satisfactorily explain these. Abelard, peter, born at pailais, in brittany, 1079. I will refer to his famous commentary on the epistle to the romans pictured to the right as the source of his view. The moral theory was first fully developed in the writings of peter abelard 1079 1142 in the 12th century ce. The doctrine of atonement according to peter abelard. In his famous book, he presented 158 questions on which contradictory opinions had been given.
Peter abelard, french theologian and philosopher best known for his solution of the problem of universals and for his original use of dialectics. The moral influence or example theory of the atonement in christianity, developed or most notably propagated by abelard 10791142, is an alternative to anselms satisfaction theory of atonement. Peter abelard and the development of scholasticism by. Abelard, peter, dialectician, philosopher, and theologian, b. Anselm rejected the idea of recapitulation, as well as ransom to satan, and unlike peter abelard, he did not subscribe to the idea that the death of christ was only a. Peter abelard french theologian and poet britannica. Peter abelard s theology of atonement the writer of this article sides with the third group. He is sometimes unfairly treated by later theologians who reduce his entire doctrine of the cross to a subjective understanding mcgrath, 2012. The doctrine of atonement according to peter abelard kaiser, denis on. This debate began in the 11th century and continues today. The twentieth century has witnessed the spread of the so called moral.
Its curious and very instructive to notice how both anselmian and abelardian atonement theorizers excluding, however, peter abelard himself, as findings from nearly fifty years ago have shown indisputably, if ironically. Peter hearing the cock crow is not something that happens in pagan religions. Peter abelard 10791142 the students companion to the. For abelard, the biblical term reconciliation spoke only of the setting aside of mans misinformed hostility to ward god. The best place to look for abelards theory of the atonement is in his commentary on the epistle of paul to the romans. Pdf in this paper, we examine abelards model of the incarnation and place it within the wider context of his views in metaphysics and logic. Reductionistically speaking, the moral influence theory was invented or taught, depending on your perspective by peter abelard in the 11 th century. In his letter to pope innocent concerning certain heresies of peter abelard bernard charged abelard with exemplarism and pelagianism. Atonement in the views of anselm and abelard essay example. Scholasticism is the discipline and method of bringing together philosophy and theology to make god and his ways understandable. The doctrine of the atonement has gone through a gradual evolution from the days of christ. Abelard focussed on changing mans perception of god as. Peter abelard also spelled abeillard, abailard, etc.
World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive. The outline of abelards career is well known, largely because he. According to the standard typology, anselm and abelard represent two diametrically opposed interpretations of the crucifixion. His father, berengar, was lord of the village, his mothers name was lucia.
Calvins appropriation of anselm is exceptional since cur dues homo. The moral influence theory of the atonement is a doctrine in christian theology related to the meaning and effect of the death of jesus christ. Medieval feudalism and chivalry, dishonor can be satisfied with blood. The protagonists were anselm of canterbury 10331109 and peter abelard 10791142. The french philosopher, theologian, and logician peter abelard 10791142, a contemporary of anselm, resolved this question in a way that gave rise to theological controversies among his contemporaries and numerous generations of scholars. Peter abelard is perhaps best known for having taken the role of master in the schools to celebrity status.
Hastings rashdall, abelards doctrine of the atonement. Anselm and peter lombard, for example, denied that the devil had any right. A critique of penal substitution atonement theory and its influence. Anselm proposes an objectivist theory, in which the crucifixion is primarily about making satisfaction for sin and repaying a debt, while abelard. He must have begun his education in italy, most likely at the cathedral schools of novara and lucca. Anyway here is a quick overview of abelards atonement theory. In this view, the purpose and result of christs death was to influence mankind toward moral improvement. Peter abelard ad 10791142 served as professor of philosophy and theology at the university of paris and was a notable scholastic theologian. His life was one of strange chances and changes, brought about mainly through his love for heloise, the niece of one fulbert, a canon of. Anselm and abelard are often regarded as two poles in christian understanding of the atonement see articles cited in the entry for anselm. Margaret barkers essay on the atonement pdf is very good. Peter abelard sinful human beings need to see how much god loves them so that they will mend their ways.
A literary and historical analysis denis kaiser download here. Vlach assistant professor of theology recently, at least since t he ei ghteent hcent ury l iber ali sm gained a plac e in pro testant ism, the penalsubstitution view of christs atonement has come under attack. Peter abelard project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Yet one may legitimately ask what statements from the writings of abelard gave rise to.
Peter abelards theology of atonementa multifaceted approach and reevaluation. Designed for the military profession, he followed those of philosophy and theology. Abelard fell in love with a woman whose uncleguardian owned the house where he was boarding. Peter abelards commentaria in epistolam pauli ad romanos should lend itself to a variety of treatments if for no other reason than the diverse ways abelard addresses and. Abelards ideas about the trinity, the atonement, and original sin and human volition caused much debate among his contemporaries. Subjective and objective atonement abelard,girard monday, october 16, 2006. Peter abelard 10791142 developed his moral influence theory, also known as. In this article i will explain peter abelards theory of redemption in christ, in which abelard portrays christs death on the cross as the supreme and redeeming example of gods love for human beings. Therefore abelard emphasized that christs passion and death was a manifestation of divine love that touches the believer and awakens in him love towards god. One is only culpable for an act one does with intent and knowledge. From the discussion this paper presents, atonement, in the views of anselm and abelard is. Anselm, abelard and the atonement enrichment journal. The heavenly birthday of anselm is also that of peter abelard, a brilliant lecturer, debater, and philosopher of the following generation.
The protagonists were anselm of canterbury 10331109 and peter abelard 1079 1142. A subject that continually haunts the church is the nature of the atonement. After anselm, peter abelard 10791142 promoted the exemplary theory of the atonement, in which christ died as the supreme example of gods love. We are like dwarves standing on the shoulders of giants. Lombard was born in lumellogno, near novara, italy, to a poor family. The accomplishment of jesus death was that sinful humans could see the depth of gods love and thus be restored into a loving. Peter abelards theology of atonement the writer of this article sides with the third group. God god must sacrifice his son to show how much he loves humanity. Start reading the doctrine of atonement according to peter abelard on your kindle in under a minute.
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