The Proslogium

Anselm of Canterbury (1033 – 1109) was a Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and theologian of the Catholic Church, who held the office of archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by a bull of Pope Clement XI in 1720.

At first it might seem strange to include The Proslogium in Atheism for Lent. After all, this brief work aims at proving in a single argument the existence of God. The main argument that makes up the book has been called The Ontological Argument. Yet this very argument actually articulates one of the mystical traditions most powerful arguments against religious conceptions of God. Following the argument closely, we can begin to understand why many theologians later argued that atheism is closer to the Absolute than traditional theism.

This is complex excerpt that we will need to dissect in the seminar.