John Howard Yoder – författare

In this volume of essays John Howard Yoder projects a vision of Christian social ethics rooted in historical community and illuminated by scripture. Drawing upon scriptural accounts of the early church, he demonstrates the Christian community's constant need for reform and change. Yoder first examines the scriptural and theoretical foundations of Christian social ethics. While personally committed to the "radical reformation" tradition, he eschews "denominational" categorization and addresses Christians in general. The status of Christian community, he argues, cannot be separated from the doctrinal content of beliefs and the moral understanding of discipleship. As a result, the Christian's voluntary commitment to a particular community, as distinct from secular society, offers him valuable resources for practical moral reasoning. From a historical perspective, Yoder reviews the efforts of sixteenth-century radical (or Anabaptist) reformers to return to the fundamental ethical standards of the New Testament, and to disengage the community, as a biblically rooted call to faith that does not imply withdrawal from the pluralistic world. Rather, radical commitment to Christianity strengthens and renews the authentic human interests and values of the whole society. His analyses of democracy and of civil religion illustrate how Christianity must challenge and embrace the wider world.

In this volume of essays John Howard Yoder projects a vision of Christian social ethics rooted in historical community and illuminated by scripture. Drawing upon scriptural accounts of the early church, he demonstrates the Christian community's constant need for reform and change. Yoder first examines the scriptural and theoretical foundations of Christian social ethics. While personally committed to the "radical reformation" tradition, he eschews "denominational" categorization and addresses Christians in general. The status of Christian community, he argues, cannot be separated from the doctrinal content of beliefs and the moral understanding of discipleship. As a result, the Christian's voluntary commitment to a particular community, as distinct from secular society, offers him valuable resources for practical moral reasoning. From a historical perspective, Yoder reviews the efforts of sixteenth-century radical (or Anabaptist) reformers to return to the fundamental ethical standards of the New Testament, and to disengage the community, as a biblically rooted call to faith that does not imply withdrawal from the pluralistic world. Rather, radical commitment to Christianity strengthens and renews the authentic human interests and values of the whole society. His analyses of democracy and of civil religion illustrate how Christianity must challenge and embrace the wider world.

These essays in Christian social ethics, some previously published but most appearing in print here for the first time, are all about the way in which the church, in the midst of the world, is called to think and act on behalf of the world. As the title indicates, this affirmative stance is the opposite of the way John Howard Yoder has often been interpreted under the label of "sectarian." The church is called to serve as a prophetic model and discerning pioneer, addressing the surrounding society's concerns about power and righteousness. The examples chosen for interpretation range from the ancient Jewish experience of dispersion as mission to modern examples like Martin Luther King, Jr.

- 2014 Best Texts of Missiology, from Byron Borger, Hearts and Minds BookstoreJohn Howard Yoder, author of The Politics of Jesus (1972), was best known for his writing and teaching on Christian pacifism.The material in Theology of Mission shows he was a profound missiologist as well. Working from a believers or free church perspective, Yoder effortlessly weaves together biblical, theological, practical and interreligious reflections to think about mission beyond Christendom.Along the way he traces the developments in the theology of mission and argues for an understanding of the church that is not merely a corrective but a genuine alternative. The church is missionary by nature, called to bear witness to the coming kingdom, because it serves the missionary God of the Bible "who comes, who takes the initiative, who reaches across whatever it is that separates us."Decades later, these lectures read just as fresh and relevant as if they were written today. As the editors state in their preface, "those who have followed Yoder?s work over the years will find this book to be some of his most striking unpublished material since The Politics of Jesus." Not just a volume for Yoder enthusiasts, Theology of Mission is for anyone who cares about the mission of the church today. It only reinforces Yoder''s status as one of the most important and prophetic theologians of the last century.

The complete works of one of the most significant theologians of the Reformation.This book contains the complete writings of Balthasar Hubmaier, including his discussion of three marks of a true church: water baptism of adults, the Lord’s Supper, and fraternal admonition.This is the fifth volume in the Classics of the Radical Reformation, a series of Anabaptist and Free Church documents translated and annotated under the direction of the Institute of Mennonite Studies.

The complete works of one of the most significant theologians of the Reformation.This book contains the complete writings of Balthasar Hubmaier, including his discussion of three marks of a true church: water baptism of adults, the Lord’s Supper, and fraternal admonition.This is the fifth volume in the Classics of the Radical Reformation, a series of Anabaptist and Free Church documents translated and annotated under the direction of the Institute of Mennonite Studies.

John Howard Yoder was one of the major theologians of the late twentieth century. Before his death, he planned the essays and structure of this book, which he intended to be his last work. Now two leading interpreters of Yoder bring that work to fruition. The book is divided into three sections: pacifism, just war theory, and just peacemaking theory. The volume crystallizes Yoder''s argument that his proposed ethics is not sectarian and a matter of withdrawal. He also clearly argues that Christian just war and Christian pacifist traditions are basically compatible--and more specifically, that the Christian just war tradition itself presumes against all violence.

John Howard Yoder was one of the most important thinkers on just war and pacifism in the late twentieth century. This newly compiled collection of Yoder''s lectures and writings on these issues describes, analyzes, and evaluates various patterns of thought and practice in Western Christian history. The volume, now made widely available for the first time, makes Yoder''s stimulating insights more accessible to a broader audience and substantially contributes to ongoing discussions concerning the history, theology, and ethics of war and peace. Theologians and ethicists, students of Yoder''s thought, and all readers seeking a better understanding of war and pacifism will value this work.

A passionate opponent of Nazism, Karl Barth was required to serve in the Swiss army. At the age of 54, he helped guard the Swiss border at Basel from German intruders. Some would suggest this is all we need to know in order to understand Barth's views on Christianity and war. John Howard Yoder begged to differ. "e;Karl Barth and the Problem of War"e; is an essay in which Yoder articulates the views of his former teacher on war, these views comprising a position he refers to as "e;chastened non-pacifism."e; Through a rigorous examination of Barth's ethical method, Yoder seeks to show how the logic of Barth's basic theological commitments makes him even closer to pacifism than is often noticed. Here five additional essays, three of which have never before been published, join this long essay. These essays offer further reflections on Barth's "e;chastened non-pacifism,"e; as well as offering some of Yoder's fruitful use of Barth's theology for social ethics.

In this groundbreaking study, John Howard Yoder searches for the New Testament vision of ministry. The author examines the vocabulary used by Paul and other New Testament writers in relation to the universal ministry of the church. The theological and sociological distinctions that have since developed between clergy and laity are also examined. Yoder concludes that the biblical texts point to the existence of a spirit-filled ministry given to all believers. While various offices of ministry are mentioned in the New Testament, the author argues that there was no laity as such in the early church. No distinctions were made between those who possessed spiritual gifts and those who did not. All members of the church were considered to have a valid ministry. Even though this radical concept of "e;universal ministry"e; was soon lost from the early church, it may serve as a catalyst for discussion today as the church faces increasing challenges in leadership.

In A Pacifist Way of Knowing: John Howard Yoder''s Nonviolent Epistemology, editors Christian Early and Ted Grimsrud gather the scattered writings of Yoder on the theme of the relationship between gospel, peace, and human ways of knowing. In them, they find the beginnings of a pacifist theology of knowledge that rejects strategies of empire while at the same time avoids a self-defeating relativism.

The ambitious and accessible essays collected in this volume were presented by John Howard Yoder during an extensive visit to South America in 1966. Reflecting and also subverting the acknowledged faddish attempt to address the revolutionary nature of Christianity, these lectures provide an illuminating snapshot of Yoder''s vibrant initial encounter with Latin American Christianity. In these lectures, he thematically addresses the shape of the free church, the Christian practice of peace, and the place of the church in the midst of revolution. In a manner that betrays his confidence in the eventual triumph of faithfulness, Yoder concludes that the peace-witnessing free church is, by definition, always the community that is the soul and conscience of our revolutionary age.

"Of very few people can it be legitimately said that their work fundamentally reconfigured the landscape of two theological disciplines. But if there is anyone in recent memory who would be worthy of such an accolade, it is John Howard Yoder. The two disciplines are, of course, theological ethics and biblical studies--though Yoder would cringe at their separation, and his work was both explicitly and implicitly a prolonged exercise in maintaining their indissoluble union. For him, to hear the word rightly was to do the word publicly. . . . [Yoder] guides us toward a truly ecclesial yet missional reading of Scripture, with a profoundly Anabaptist yet ecumenical and catholic spirit, in historically astute and literarily sensitive ways that are nonetheless "straightforward" and pastoral. Or, as he would himself say, he guides us toward a reading of Scripture that proceeds from and focuses on Jesus: Vicit Agnus Noster, Eum Sequamur; ''Our Lamb has conquered; let us follow him.''"--from the foreword by Michael J. Gorman

Can a war really be considered just"e;? If so, which wars, and under what circumstances? If not, why not? When War is Unjust provides a systematic exploration of these questions for students of ethics, Christian doctrine, and history. For centuries the just war tradition has been the dominant framework for Christian thinking about organized conflict. This tradition sets a number of specific conditions which must be satisfied before a particular war can termed just"e; and therefore supportable by the faithful Christians. John Howard Yoder, himself a pacifist, approaches the just war theory on its own terms. His purpose: to introduce the student to this just-war tradition, and to offer a critical framework for evaluating its tenets and applying them to real conflicts. When War is Unjust takes the just war tradition seriously, and holds its proponents accountable in a critical debate about when - if ever - war can be justified. It is a readable and thought-provoking primer on the history, criteria, and application of just war teaching in Christian churches.