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John Kern

John Kern

Assistant Professor of Great Books and Religion
Humanities and Teacher Education and Religion and Philosophy Divisions, Seaver College
PLC 106
310.506.7210

Biography

John Kern earned his PhD in historical and systematic theology at Boston College in 2023, and wrote his dissertation entitled, “Charismatic Christ, Charismatic Church: The Development of the Charisms in Thomas Aquinas’s Theology in Light of the Summa Halensis.” Kern’s research approaches the topic of the charisms and mystical experience from a number of vantage points, both historical and systematic. Much of that work centers on the theologies of Thomas Aquinas and Hans Urs Von Balthasar as each sought to understand how subjective spiritual gifts or mystical experiences might be discerned and integrated into the life of the Church. His research also draws from the growing field of neurotheology, which investigates the way in which such experiences might map onto the structures of the human brain and nervous system. Kern teaches courses both in the Great Books Colloquium in the Humanities and Teacher Education Division as well as in the Religion and Philosophy Division. He is also a passionate proponent for breathwork, mindfulness, and meditation, and regularly seeks to bring such practices into the classroom. 

Education

  • PhD, Boston College, 2023
  • MA, Abilene Christian University, 2016
  • BA, Abilene Christian University, 2013

 

Publications

  • “The Simplicity of the Divine Ideas in Light of Aquinas’s Dionysian-Inspired Theology of the Divine Names.” Forthcoming in Nova et Vetera, English Edition. 
  • “Sensing Beatitude: Albert the Great’s Vision of Glorified Sensation and Its Reception in Bonaventure.” Forthcoming in Franciscan Studies.
  • "Oaths and Vows | Christianity | Medieval Times and Reformation Era," Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (De Gruyter, forthcoming).
  • “The Spirit Blows Where It Wills...but Only through the Word of God?: Debates in the Firm Foundation over the Charismatic Movement of the 1960s” Stone Campbell Journal 19/2 (Fall 2016): 177-190.

Book Reviews

  • Review of Shawn M. Colberg, The Wayfarer’s End: Bonaventure and Aquinas on Divine Rewards in Scripture and Sacred Doctrine (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2020) forthcoming in Franciscan Studies. 
  • Review of Brad East, The Doctrine of Scripture (Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2021) forthcoming in Restoration Quarterly.
  • Review of Brad East, The Church’s Book: Theology of Scripture in Ecclesial Context (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2022) forthcoming in Restoration Quarterly.
  • Review of Gonzales, Philip. Reimagining the Analogia Entis: The Future of Erich Przywara's Christian Vision (Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 2019) in Stone Campbell Journal 23/1 (Spring 2020): 110-111.
  • Review of Levy, Ian Christopher. Introducing Medieval Biblical Interpretation: The Senses of Scripture in Premodern Exegesis (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2018) in Stone Campbell Journal 22/2 (Fall 2019): 276-277. 
  • Review of Matthew Levering, Engaging the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit: Love and Gift in the Trinity and the Church (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016) in Stone Campbell Journal 21/1 (Spring 2018): 125-126.
  • Review of Jeffrey Barbeau and Beth Felker Jones, Spirit of God: Christian Renewal in the Community of Faith (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2015) in Stone Campbell Journal 20/2 (Fall 2017): 277-278.
  • Second Place Graduate Student Paper Prize, The Theology of Aquinas Conference: Sources, Insights, Influence, Ave Maria University (2018).
  • “The Devil as Caput Malorum: Thomas Aquinas and the Use of Satanology as Political Theology,” Medieval Association of the Pacific (June 2024)
  • “Rethinking the Natural Desire to See God: Thomas Aquinas and the Contribution of Neurotheology,” Christian Scholar’s Conference (June 2024)
  • “The Promise of Maximian Christology and Deification in Light of 13th Century Theology,” Christian Scholar’s Conference (June 2024)
  • “Grace as Intersubjective in the Church: Balthasar on the Holy Spirit and Charisms” Christian Scholar’s Conference (June 2023)
  • “Suffering Delight: Physical and Spiritual Vision in Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love,” Association for Core Texts and Courses (February, 2023)
  • “Sensing Beatitude: Bonaventure’s Reliance on Albert the Great’s Account of Glorified Sense Perception,” PMR, Villanova (October 2022)
  • “Charisms and Ecclesiology in Thomas Aquinas in Light of the Summa Halensis” Medieval Philosophy and Theology Conference, University of Notre Dame (May 2022)
  • “Charismatic Christ, Charismatic Christians: Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas on Christ’s Gratia Gratis Data,” Aquinas and the Crisis of Christology Conference, Ave Maria University (February 2020)

Topics

  • Pneumatology
  • Ecclesiology
  • Thomas Aquinas
  • Hans Urs Von Balthasar
  • Neurotheology
  • Mysticism
  • Christian Metaphysics
  • Medieval History and Theology 

Courses

  • Great Books Colloquium I, II, III, IV
  • REL 100: The Way of Jesus
  • REL 300: Christianity and Culture – The Holy Spirit, Spirits, and Spirituality