Background
Sommerfeldt, John Robert was born on February 4, 1933 in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Son of Melvin John and Virginia Zita (Gruenheck) Sommerfeldt.
( A thematic and carefully documented introduction to the...)
A thematic and carefully documented introduction to the theology of Saint Bernard and to pastoral application. Readers will gain insights not only into Bernard's influence within twelfth-century monasteries and the church at large, but also into his continuing importance to the spiritual journey today.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0879074256/?tag=2022091-20
(Eminent scholar and educator John Sommerfeldt has written...)
Eminent scholar and educator John Sommerfeldt has written a book that will be welcomed by students as well as seasoned scholars in the academic world. It is a one-volume study of all of the essential aspects of Bernard of Clairvaux's thought. A key figure in the first half of the twelfth century, Bernard offers us solutions to the epistemological question that arises as a result of our search for happiness and self-fulfillment. Bernard's epistemology is complex. He was a human devoted to the classical literary approach to reality that aims at achieving wisdom through the appreciation of beauty. He was also a "mystic," who fostered superrational ways of ascertaining reality: faith, charismatic knowledge, and contemplation. Among the many topics that Sommerfeldt explores are mysticism, humanism, scholasticism, common sense ways of knowing, theology, philosophy, and the Abelard affair. And he emphasizes that Bernard's view of society--and the church--provides the context within which we can best understand his epistemology.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809142031/?tag=2022091-20
(For the medieval Cistercian abbot Aelred of Rievaulx, hum...)
For the medieval Cistercian abbot Aelred of Rievaulx, human beings are capable of happiness because human nature is good-but the self-defeating choices of humans have led to their misery. A loving God leads humans to happiness by nudging their free wills toward choosing the good and then, if they respond positively, giving them the power to realize that good. The power, or virtue, which perfects the human intellect is humility, which is not meekness but self-knowledge, gained through introspection and meditation on and through nature and Scripture. The will is perfected through love, without which no human act is good. Love for oneself, for others, and for God are complementary, not competing acts of the will. A special way of loving is firiendship, on which Aelred's teaching is perhaps the most complete and most sophisticated in the history of Christian thought. Perfection is, for Aelred, attainable in this life, since he sees perfection as a process, not a static condition. That condition will be attained in the total fulfillment of the afterlife.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809142619/?tag=2022091-20
Sommerfeldt, John Robert was born on February 4, 1933 in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Son of Melvin John and Virginia Zita (Gruenheck) Sommerfeldt.
Bachelor of Arts Michigan, 1954. AM, University Michigan, 1956. Doctor of Philosophy, University Michigan, 1960.
Instructor history Stanford University, 1958-1959. From instructor to professor Western Michigan University, 1959-1978. Professor history University Dallas, 1978—2010, emeritus professor, since 2010, chairman department history, 1984-1987, university president, 1978-1980.
Director Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University, 1961-1976. Executive director Institute Cistercian Studies, 1973-1978. Director Center Contemplative Studies, 1976-1978.
President Cistercian Publications, 1973-1979, chairman board, 1976-1979.
(For the medieval Cistercian abbot Aelred of Rievaulx, hum...)
(Eminent scholar and educator John Sommerfeldt has written...)
( A thematic and carefully documented introduction to the...)
Member Medieval Academy American, American Catholic History Association, American Society Church History, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Eta Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi.
Married Patricia Natalie Levinske, August 25, 1956. Children: Ann, James, John, Elizabeth.