For the Nations: Essays Evangelical and Public

by John Howard Yoder

This book is a masterwork from a master theological craftsman. John Howard Yoder is perhaps the best worker in Christian theology in America today, though his modesty (and others' presumption) still hides his accomplishment from some. Here, answering the question raised by The Politics of Jesus, Yoder addresses the major challenge facing American churches--the authentic mode of Christian existence in society today. In full command of his material, Yoder provides a powerfully stated, radically catholic answer. --James Wm. McClendon Jr. Fuller Theological Seminary It has been Yoder's vocation to proclaim a gospel of biblical realism that challenges both the biblicism of many other self-identified 'evangelicals' and the pretenses of 'political realism' of many of his theological and secular contemporaries. He has insisted on a coherent witness that is at once 'sectarian' and 'catholic, ' even while it celebrates both the diaspora of Judaism-become-Christianity and the radical New Testament theology of the cross. These essays from several decades all testify to 'the politics of Jesus' that transforms conventional assumptions about both power and weakness. They combine to offer what Yoder calls 'one holistic, Christological, paradigmatic servanthood, enemy love, forgiveness. --Alan Geyer Wesley Theological Seminar

Genres: Theology

258 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1997

About the author

Yoder 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".

Reviews

[M Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd actually like to give this book 3 1/2 stars -- some of the essays were powerful, some were hopelessly tangled in professional jargon. That would seem to be a result of the book's origin as a collection of occasional essays by John Howard Yoder. Those essays which were originally delivered to more general audiences are accessible and exciting. Those which were written for more specialized groups likely had those attributes for those audiences but, removed from their contexts, they seem needlessly obscure.

On the whole, however, this is a fine review of the thought of one of America's most important theologians of the free church / radical reformation tradition. Yoder's Mennonite background shines through as he offers powerfully constructive ideas about being the contra-culture church in the second half of the 20th century. His ideas are inspiring, despite the tinge of sadness that accompanied my reading as I reflected on how this champion of Kingdom ethics had fallen so far from his own standards in his relationships with women. But even with Yoder's "feet of clay" accounted for, there is much to be gained by a thoughtful encounter with his vision of the Church in relationship to the Kosmos.

Recommended.