Cur Deus Homo

It is great to see read Athanasius On the Incarnation and see that he had a very similar understanding to the cross to what we share. The gospel has remained the same. Also it is encouraging that he seems to share my understanding of what is going on with truth and lies in Romans:

it was absurd that, having spoken, God should lie, in that he had established a law that man would die by death if he were to transgress the commandment, and man did not die after he had transgressed, but God's word was made void. For God would not have been truthful, if after he had said we would die, man had not died. And furthermore, it would have been improper that what had once been created rational and had partaken of his Word, should perish and return again to non-existence through corruption [...]

It would have been absurd that for our benefit and permanence God, the Father of truth, should appear a liar. What therefore in this matter had to occur, or what should God have done? Demand repentance from men for the transgression? [...] But repentance would not have saved God's honour, for he would still have remained untruthful unless men were in the power of death [...]

for this reason the incorporeal and incorruptible and immaterial Word of God came to our realm; not that he was previously distant, for no part of creation is left deprived of him, but he fills the universe, being in union with his Father. But in his benevolence towards us he condescended to come and be made manifest. for he saw that the rational race was perishing that death was reigning over them through corruption, and he saw also that the threat of transgression was firmly supporting corruption over us, and that it would have been absurd for the law to be dissolved before it had been fulfilled [...] thus taking a body like ours, since all were liable to the corruption of death, and surrendering it to death on behalf of all, he offered it to the Father. And this he did in his loving kindness in order that, as all die in him, the law concerning corruption in men might be abolished [...] consequently by offering his temple and the instrument of his body as a substitute for all me, he fulfilled the debt by his death. And as the incorruptible Son of God was united to all men by his body similar to theirs, consequently he endued all men with incorruption by the promise concerning his resurrection.

(pp. 147-155, ed. and trans. by Robert W. Thomson, Contra Gentes and De Incarnatione)

Sorry for the long quote. I have this problem whenever a book is really good. I can't decide what to not quote! It seems to me similar to what Anselm argues in Cur Deus Homo.