Wikipedia has been my true alma mater in so many ways, however there are days when something irks me in its endless pages. If we understand Evangelical to mean one who is a Christian and places their faith in the saving life, death, and resurrection of Jesus who meritted their salvation, then Evangelicalism can hardly be said to have emerged in the 17th century.
The Middle Ages are a veritable treasure trove of fascinating and surprising theological claims and insights. From William of Ockham claiming that God could’ve saved man by being incarnate as a donkey, to Thomas Aquinas declaring rape a morally superior act to masturbation. However, aside from the merely shocking, there are some beautiful expressions of trust in the Lord that come out of times so often looked at as ‘dark’ or devoid of grace.
One such quote comes from a great Italian archbishop who sat as primate of the Church of England (The medieval phrase ecclesia anglicana was used, so don’t flip on me Anglo-RCs). The man is famous for formulating the satisfaction theory of atonement, wherein we understand Christ to be providing to the Father, something man could never merit, and thus appease God and save us. This would be reversed by Reformed Theologians some five centuries later with the development of the theory of substitutionary atonement. In any case, one liturgy of Anselm’s records his advice to a dying monk to be:
“Come then, while life remaineth in thee: in his [Christ’s] death alone place thy whole trust; in naught else place any trust; to his death commit thyself wholly, with this alone cover thyself wholly; and if the Lord thy God will to judge thee, say, ‘Lord, between thy judgment and me I present the death of our Lord Jesus Christ; no otherwise can I contend with thee.’ And if he shall say that thou art a sinner, say thou: ‘Lord, I interpose the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between my sins and thee. ‘If he say that thou hast deserved condemnation, say: ‘Lord, I set the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between my evil deserts and thee, and his merits I offer for those which I ought to have and have not.’ If he say that he is wroth with thee, say: ‘Lord, I oppose the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between thy wrath and me. ‘And when thou hast completed this, say again: ‘Lord, I set the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between thee and me.’” -St. Anselm of Canterbury