Power and Practices: Engaging the Work of John Howard Yoder

by Jeremy M. Bergen (Editor), Anthony G. Siegrist (Editor)

In this collection of essays, a new generation engages the theology of John Howard Yoder. In conversation with Yoder, these essays wrestle with questions of power and its implications for social practices including policing, nonviolence, sexism, governmentality, dialogue, political critique, theological construction, and the work of inheriting a theological tradition. Other essays develop biblical or theological frameworks for appropriating Yoder s insights on power and practices.

The authors and their approaches to Yoder s work are diverse. They bring a wide array of backgrounds to the task, from activism and church leadership to advanced studies and the professorate. What each has in common is an instinct to place Yoder s work into new conversations and to examine it through new lenses.

Authors include Chris K. Huebner, Nekeisha Alexis-Baker, Paul Martens, John C. Nugent, and Paul C. Heidebrecht.

Genres: Theology

188 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 20, 2009

Reviews

[Jeremy Garber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of essays from a 2007 symposium at the Toronto Mennonite Theological Center highlights the ongoing significance of the work of theologian/historian John Howard Yoder in a new generation of theological scholarship. The collection might be characterized as a series of “Yoder and…” essays: Yoder and womanist theology, Yoder and Foucault, Yoder and neoCalvinism, etc. Highlights include Nekeisha Alexis-Baker’s essay on the connection between womanist critiques of the cross and Yoder’s understanding; Philip Stolzfus’ critique of Yoder’s lack of an enunciated concept of God proper; and Branson Parler’s exploration of Yoder’s unenunciated doctrine of creation. Useful for Yoder scholars who want to see particular essays on combining Yoder’s thought with new intellectual trends, but nothing ultimately groundbreaking or revolutionary here.