HOW ORIGINAL WAS SCOTUS ON THE INCARNATION? RECONSIDERING THE HISTORY OF THE ABSOLUTE PREDESTINATION OF CHRIST IN LIGHT OF ROBERT GROSSETESTE DANIEL P. HORAN, OFM Washington Theological Union, Washington DC, USA I. INTRODUCTION Many medieval philosophers and theologians addressed questions related to the necessity of the Incarnation. There exists little variance from one to the next, each arguing that the Incarnation is fitting and necessary. However, one thinker stands out in the history of medieval theology as an exception to the Christological rule. John Duns Scotus (c. 1266 – 1208) is remembered for many theological and philosophical innovations, among them his argument for the absolute predestination of Christ. While often credited for the original insight, Scotus is certainly not the first to propose this view. He is the inheritor of a little- known tradition that developed for centuries before his contribution to the school of thought. In this article I argue that Scotus was not as original in his thought on the Incarnation as many portray him to have been. I will explore the development of the doctrine of the absolute predestination of Christ from its early articulation in the work of a monastic thinker through its further elucidation at Oxford to its theological and philosophical culmination in the work of Scotus. Arguably, the paragon of medieval theologians who have considered the necessity of the Incarnation is Anselm of Canterbury. His treatise Cur Deus Homo 1 serves as an exemplary centerpiece of an exploration of the necessity of the Incarnation. Anselm, motivated to produce an original justification for the doctrine of the Incarnation, models his argument for the Incarnation’s necessity on the feudal model of satisfaction. 2 Concerned with proving the rationality of the argument to both Christians and non-Christians alike, 3 Anselm engages the project in Cur Deus Homo in two parts. The first part seeks to demonstrate that without the Incarnation human salvation is impossible. The second part includes Anselm’s argument that God’s intention for the human race is salvation. 4 Anselm focuses on the role of sin and the fall of humanity as the fundamental impetus for God’s needing to become man. 5 It is precisely due to the dishonor caused to God through human sinfulness that demands satisfaction in order to restore the ‘most precious piece of workmanship’ that is now completely ruined. 6 Anselm’s argument concludes that neither humanity nor anything less than God (e.g. an angel) is capable of restoring the honor of God diminished by human sin. 7 The ultimate conclusion drawn by Anselm is that the r 2010 The Author. The Heythrop Journal r 2010 Trustees for Roman Catholic Purposes Registered. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. HeyJ LII (2011), pp. 374–391