Reviews for The Nature of God: An Inquiry into Divine Attributes

The average rating for The Nature of God: An Inquiry into Divine Attributes based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-06-29 00:00:00 Dale Deason Anselm, you charming little monk. I went into this work not expecting to be overly impressed. The only thing I really knew about the Proslogion was that it was the home of the famous (infamous?) ontological argument for the existence of God. I wouldn't really label myself as a religious person, but ontological arguments and the like have always kinda rubbed me the wrong way. The idea of proving the existence or nature of God through reason alone seems vaguely arrogant, and also kinda besides the point: it's always seemed to me that if you could reason God's existence out with human logic, God wouldn't be terribly God-like anyway. But Anselm really surprised me, and I found the Proslogion to be kind of beautiful. The argument for the existence of God is certainly there, and it's elegant if not logically unassailable. Anselm's God is simply defined as "that than which nothing great can be thought" and since existence is better than non-existence, God must necessarily exist. That takes up about two pages of the work. The rest of the work is honestly far more interesting, and it is surprisingly mystical for a work known almost solely for its logical arguments. Anselm's God is explored through a series of dichotomies - He is both incorporeal and perceptive, omnipotent and unable to do all things, just and merciful, seen and unseen. There is a deluge of light/dark imagery. On the whole, the Proslogion is a tract about the process of seeking, and how it must inherently be a dialogue: a diligent search for God through all possible means will not allot the seeker a unobstructed view, but will allow him or her small pieces of understanding. It's a humble and optimistic work. If you don't believe in God already, the Proslogion is not going to change your mind. But's that not a mark against it - Anselm wasn't aiming for that kind of undertaking. Instead, I think the Proslogion is better viewed as a prayer for further understanding, and an attempt at articulation. Anselm and his audience already believed in God and his existence. Anselm was just reaching out for further understanding, and for a better set of words to encapsulate his belief.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-05-23 00:00:00 Robert H Blakesley Read Thomas Williams's translation. This is probably one of the greatest works of theology (not philosophy) I have read. How rich are his words! They drove me to tears -- O, how good it is to meditate on God and his wondrous riches. "Surely [I am] both darkened in itself and dazzled by you. Indeed, [I am] both obscured by its own littleness and overwhelmed by your vastness.... What purity, what simplicity, what certainty and splendor are there! Truly [you are] more than any creature can understand" (§14) "[The eye of the soul] is dazzled by its splendor, vanquished by its fullness, overwhelmed by its vastness, perplexed by its extent." (§16) Those who read this merely philosophically make a categorical mistake. Proslogion/um is more properly prayer, not abstract philosophy done in the confines of a research university. It is not a work of apologetics (defending or proving a belief); rather, it is an exercise of contemplative prayer -- concluding with a plea for the Beatific Vision. "O God, I pray that I will know and love you that I might rejoice in you.... O truthful God, I ask that I may receive, that my joy may be full. Until then, let my mind ponder on it, my tongue speak of it. Let my heart love it and my mouth proclaim it. Let my soul hunger for it, my flesh thirst for it, my whole being long for it, until I 'enter into the joy of my Lord,' who is God, Three in One, 'blessed for ever. Amen.'" (§26)