What do you think?
Rate this book
Discipleship As Political Responsibility
Both of the essays in this book originated in 1957. The first concerns the state in the New Testament. The second deals with following Christ as a form of political responsibility. Paperback,72 pages.
70 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2003
1 person is currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
John Howard Yoder
119 books68 followersYoder was a Christian theologian, ethicist, and Biblical scholar best known for his radical Christian pacifism, his mentoring of future theologians such as Stanley Hauerwas, his loyalty to his Mennonite faith, and his 1972 magnum opus, "The Politics of Jesus".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 20, 2020
A short book containing two lectures Yoder gave in the 1950s on the relationship between the state and the church. The first takes a look at what the New Testament says about that relationship (and how it still applies or doesn't apply to today), and the second talks about what it means politically for a follower of Christ to bear the cross.
As a lifelong Anabaptist, I have often pondered the questions Yoder discusses here. Can the state ever unwittingly do the work of the church? Is it ever appropriate for a crossbearing Christian to serve in a governmental organisation if that seems like the most effective route? Do the New Testament passages concerning the state and the church still apply given the significant changes that have taken place in how government is carried out, and also, in the post-Constantanian West, its changed attitude toward Christians?
Yoder's answers are at least moderately satisfactory and can be summarised as follows.
1) The government ought to be a servant of the church, an instrument God uses to advance the church's mission. There are many ways in which it will advance the mission of the church, whether knowingly or unwittingly. Yet as Christians we must be vigilant and not be too optimistic about any government agency. Here Yoder can seem a little simplistic but I will be charitable and acknowledge that that might have been for lack of space. (I would have loved to hear his thoughts, for instance, on how to view the state when it really does seem committed to the way of Christ; this would shock many of my Anabaptist relatives, but I see a moderately strong flavouring of the way of Christ when I look at how a number of current regimes in Western Europe operate: they feed the poor, they care for the homeless, and they prioritise global needs almost as much as national needs.
2) We should not make a priori assumptions about the state when its agents center the narrative of world history around the state, or when they enforce rules that seem draconian or quasi-religious (the current covid-19 crisis comes to mind; if I had ten bucks for every time a conservative Christian has compared governmental action to the mark of the beast I would be as rich as Bill Gates:). Yet we should be alert lest the narrative of the state tries to supersede the narrative of the church.
3) Jesus was a political figure through and through (a thoroughly Yoderian idea). In the second lecture, Yoder gives us fresh insights into that, with a brief but brilliant treatment of the passages surrounding Jesus' death. The cross doesn't exist "to help people find strength to deal with their rheumatism or get along with an annoying mother-in-law...but [is] the cost of obedience in the midst of a rebellious world." Seen in this way, the cross now becomes more cosmic; the means by which worldwide redemption will come about; the welcome replacement for the sword which entered the world, whether symbolically or literally, with Cain's murder of Adam, and whose dark leitmotif is picked up again and again in the more tragic stories of the Bible and subsequent world history.
Finally, reading the book brought up a wild thought for me: since the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord, does that mean it is conceivable that world governments will, at some stage, replace the sword for the cross and operate wholly in the realm of Christ? Probably not, but it is an interesting thought nonetheless.
Accessible (definitely more so than some of his other works such as the Politics of Jesus), relevant, succinct, and enjoyably polemical. Highly recommended.
As a lifelong Anabaptist, I have often pondered the questions Yoder discusses here. Can the state ever unwittingly do the work of the church? Is it ever appropriate for a crossbearing Christian to serve in a governmental organisation if that seems like the most effective route? Do the New Testament passages concerning the state and the church still apply given the significant changes that have taken place in how government is carried out, and also, in the post-Constantanian West, its changed attitude toward Christians?
Yoder's answers are at least moderately satisfactory and can be summarised as follows.
1) The government ought to be a servant of the church, an instrument God uses to advance the church's mission. There are many ways in which it will advance the mission of the church, whether knowingly or unwittingly. Yet as Christians we must be vigilant and not be too optimistic about any government agency. Here Yoder can seem a little simplistic but I will be charitable and acknowledge that that might have been for lack of space. (I would have loved to hear his thoughts, for instance, on how to view the state when it really does seem committed to the way of Christ; this would shock many of my Anabaptist relatives, but I see a moderately strong flavouring of the way of Christ when I look at how a number of current regimes in Western Europe operate: they feed the poor, they care for the homeless, and they prioritise global needs almost as much as national needs.
2) We should not make a priori assumptions about the state when its agents center the narrative of world history around the state, or when they enforce rules that seem draconian or quasi-religious (the current covid-19 crisis comes to mind; if I had ten bucks for every time a conservative Christian has compared governmental action to the mark of the beast I would be as rich as Bill Gates:). Yet we should be alert lest the narrative of the state tries to supersede the narrative of the church.
3) Jesus was a political figure through and through (a thoroughly Yoderian idea). In the second lecture, Yoder gives us fresh insights into that, with a brief but brilliant treatment of the passages surrounding Jesus' death. The cross doesn't exist "to help people find strength to deal with their rheumatism or get along with an annoying mother-in-law...but [is] the cost of obedience in the midst of a rebellious world." Seen in this way, the cross now becomes more cosmic; the means by which worldwide redemption will come about; the welcome replacement for the sword which entered the world, whether symbolically or literally, with Cain's murder of Adam, and whose dark leitmotif is picked up again and again in the more tragic stories of the Bible and subsequent world history.
Finally, reading the book brought up a wild thought for me: since the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord, does that mean it is conceivable that world governments will, at some stage, replace the sword for the cross and operate wholly in the realm of Christ? Probably not, but it is an interesting thought nonetheless.
Accessible (definitely more so than some of his other works such as the Politics of Jesus), relevant, succinct, and enjoyably polemical. Highly recommended.
June 24, 2012
As usual, I love anything Yoder writes. But only four stars because it doesn't cover any ground that I haven't already read about in "The Politics of Jesus" or "Body Politics."
JHY is probably the clearest writer I have ever read. His arguments have very compelling, narrative-like logical structures, and yet you don't feel like you're reading academic work at all. Check out my previous reviews of the above-mentioned books if you want to know more about him.
JHY is probably the clearest writer I have ever read. His arguments have very compelling, narrative-like logical structures, and yet you don't feel like you're reading academic work at all. Check out my previous reviews of the above-mentioned books if you want to know more about him.
September 6, 2023
It was okay, even if largely descriptive and winding, giving few negative examples, and not really any engaging narratives or positive examples of how discipleship can be done in political sphere in modern times.
April 6, 2024
It’s Yoder… I’d recommend it as a short easy entry into the topic… but it’s Yoder so I also don’t recommend and would rather Ellul or someone who wasn’t a sexual predator…
May 3, 2016
While I am generally a fan of Yoder's writing and theological perspective, this is weak. In his defense, it is a compilation of lectures, not a book he wrote - but he makes a number of claims that must be assumed in order to reach his conclusions, and in many of those places, I wish he had taken the time to more carefully spell out an argument for them rather than just leaving them as assumptions. I found that I couldn't get behind those assumptions, and I wish for an opportunity to better engage them.
March 5, 2009
Ah, Yoder. If only I could have been in tune enough to catch a lecture or take a class from this intellectual giant. This collection of two lectures is as close as I am going to get. As usual, short and to the point, but profound. Highly recommended.
October 30, 2011
Not as good as his other books.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews