¶ … satisfaction," according to Anselm, preserves the understanding of God as Abba or does it remove God to a distance, to that of a remote ruler?

According to Anselm, the sacrifice of Jesus made satisfaction for the sins of humanity. Only Jesus could make atonement for humanity's sins, not an ordinary, fallen human being. This distances God to some degree, in that other methods of atonement traditionally used to make satisfaction before the Almighty, such as prayer and fasting for example, are rejected in favor of Jesus' relationship with God. On one hand, this seems to make Jesus' relationship with God the Father more personal and important than the rest of humanity's relationship with God. On the other hand, because Jesus is partially human, he can act as a better intermediary between God and humanity. The relationship of humanity with Jesus is more personal than the previous relationships of humans with God as a Father-figure. But because Jesus is also God, this does not mean that the new relationship, after Jesus' sacrifice on earth, is more distant. The relationship of humanity and the divine merely changed and improved upon because of its newfound directness.

How might the Sermon on the Mount challenge contemporary Christians?

Jesus' words in his "Sermon on the Mount" conflict with many of the values of contemporary society, including the values of many professed Christians. The Sermon demands that the first are made last and the last made first, and the lowly are not simply honored but that the poor will be seen as greater by God in the life to come. The materialism of contemporary society and the inequality in a world of capitalist striving is seen as antithetical to what it means to be a Christian. Jesus' message is radically against the accepted tenor of the contemporary world, and requires Christians to live in conflict with the values and even the economy of modernity. The meek shall inherit the earth, and what we pray for on earth to better ourselves will not help us in heaven as Christians.