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Ordinary Time

Movements & -isms

Satisfaction Theory

Anselm's view that sin dishonors God's majesty, and Christ's death renders the satisfaction owed — restoring the moral order.

Not To Be Confused With

Anselm's satisfaction (honor/justice owed to God) is the medieval forerunner of penal substitution but frames the debt as honor and fittingness rather than penalty borne. Both differ from the moral-influence view, which locates the effect chiefly in us.

From Anselm's Cur Deus Homo (“Why God Became Man,” c. 1098): humanity owes a debt of honor it cannot pay, and God will not simply waive justice; the God-man alone can both owe it (as man) and pay it infinitely (as God). The theory reshaped Western atonement thought.

Related Terms

Related Word Studies

Satisfaction Theory — Definition | Theologos Media