How can we talk about the wrath of God unless we conclude that somehow the sacrifice of Jesus caused the Father to change his mind? This indeed would cast the Father in a bad light. This is not, however, what Anselm says; it is a distortion that has unfortunately taken on a life of its own. Hart briskly corrects this distortion: “Christ’s death does not . . . effect a change in God’s attitude towards humanity; God’s attitude never alters; he desires the salvation of his creatures, and will not abandon them even to their own cruelties.”40
