"_Cur Deus Homo_." In this book Anselm elaborated his interpretation
of the reconciliation. "Sin," he said, "is debt, and sin against an
infinite being is an infinite debt. A finite being can not pay an
infinite debt, hence an infinite being must become man in order that
the debt may be paid. The Son of God, therefore, assumes the form of
man, and by his sufferings on the cross pays the debt which allows
humanity to go free." The interpretation was an advance upon that of
Origen and Gregory, but it was not final. It was repudiated by men of
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and finally, in the day of the
Reformation, it was either modified or cast away altogether.

Martin Luther, Calvin, and the other reformers seized upon the
word "propitiation," and made that the starting-point of their
interpretation. According to these men, God is a great governor and
man has broken the divine law--transgressors must be punished--if the
man who breaks the law is not punished, somebody else must be punished
in his stead. The Son of God, therefore, comes to earth to suffer in
His person the punishment that rightly belongs to sinners. He is not
guilty, but the sins of humanity are imputed to Him, and God wreaks
upon Him the penalty which rightfully should have fallen on the heads
of sinners. That is known as "the penal substitution theory."

It was not altogether satisfactory, many men revolted from it, and in
the seventeenth century a Dutchman, Hugo Grotius, a lawyer, brought
forth another interpretation, which is known in theology as "the
governmental theory." He would not admit that Christ was punished.
His sufferings were not penal, but illustrative. "God is the moral
governor," said Grotius, "his government must be maintained, law can
not be broken with impunity. Unless sin is punished the dignity of
God's government would be destroyed. Therefore, that man may see how