|
|
Article: Bernard of Clairvaux: Between Cult and History.
- Article from:
- Theological Studies
- Article date:
- December 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Theological Studies, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
By Adriaan H. Bredero. Translated from the Dutch by Reinder Bruinsma. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996. Pp. xxi + 320. $30.
Bernard, a man of holiness, charm, and assertiveness, was one of the world's great personalities; were he alive today, we would all be at his feet. But he is easier to love at first sight than after long acquaintance. Jean Leclercq, the noted Bernard scholar, progressed from uncritical adulation to disillusionment, and then to a mature, balanced admiration.
To study Bernard's writings is to be drawn immediately to his experience of God; "experience" was for him a major category. One takes pause, however, in reviewing his mistrust of ...