view, Anselm argues that without the double procession, there is no way to
differentiate the begetting of the Son from the proceeding of the Spirit.
Consistent with the doctrine of double procession is Augustine’s teaching
that the Holy Spirit is the love shared by the Father and the Son. As the Spirit
of the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit is what the Father and the Son have
most deeply in common. Since love is the power of union for Augustine, the
Holy Spirit is the divine Love, which is the bond of union in the Trinity. Thus
the love of God, which is shed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5),
comes from the Love of God which is the Holy Spirit.
The identi¿ cation of the Holy Spirit with love becomes part of a typically
Western strategy of ¿ nding an analogy of the Trinity in the human soul. For
Augustine the clearest analogy to the Trinity in created things is the human
mind properly remembering, understanding,
and loving itself. Psychological analogies of
the Trinity, or what Augustine calls “vestiges”
(vestigia) or “traces” of the Trinity in the soul,
thus become an important part of Western
thinking on the doctrine of the Trinity.
Anselm made a major contribution to the
Western understanding of the doctrine of
atonement with his theory that Christ’s death
made satisfaction for human sin. The doctrine
of atonement has come to mean accounts or
theories of how Christ’s death on the cross brought about forgiveness of sins.
In the Old Testament “atonement” was a word used to describe cleansing
from sin through the blood of sacri¿ ces. The concept of atoning sacri¿ ce
is one of the most prominent ways Christian theology uses to describe the
saving power of Christ’s death, but not the only way. Others include the
notion of ransom or payment to redeem captives.
Anselm’s focus is on the demands of justice that go along with mercy and
forgiveness. He assumes the classical conception of justice as rendering each
his due, that is, paying what one owes. The key concept Anselm introduces
is “satisfaction,” which means paying what is owed to someone who has
Consistent with the
doctrine of double
procession is
Augustine’s teaching
that the Holy Spirit is
the love shared by the
Father and the Son.