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Writings by and about an early leader in Anabaptism show how the
movement coalesced around questions of community, nonviolence, and
religious liberty. Both admirers and critics have called Michael
Sattler the most significant of the first-generation leaders of
Anabaptism. This collection of documents by and about Sattler, with
introductions and extensive notes, makes selected primary source
material available in English for the use of students, pastors,
teachers, and interested readers. It is the first 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.
Schleitheim functioned for many early Mennonites as a confession of
faith, both as a statement of the Christian way of life within
brotherhood, as well as a witness and mission to all people. The
document was sent out far and wide, inviting its readers to
identify with this manifestation of God at work among His people.
The Schleitheim Confession gave substance to a movement which until
then had largely been without form, a movement seemingly as varied
as the individuals espousing the cause. Schleitheim brought
structure and focus.
Tradition has painted a portrait of a Savior aloof from
governmental concerns and whose teachings point to an apolitical
life for his disciples. How, then, are we to respond today to a
world so thoroughly entrenched in national and international
affairs? But such a picture of Jesus is far from accurate, argues
John Howard Yoder. Using the texts of the New Testament, Yoder
critically examines the traditional portrait of Jesus as an
apolitical figure and attempts to clarify the true impact of Jesus'
life, work, and teachings on his disciples' social behavior. The
book first surveys the multiple ways the image of an apolitical
Jesus has been propagated, then canvasses the Gospel narrative to
reveal how Jesus is rightly portrayed as a thinker and leader
immediately concerned with the agenda of politics and the related
issues of power, status, and right relations. Selected passages
from the epistles corroborate a Savior deeply concerned with
social, political, and moral issues. In this thorough revision of
his acclaimed 1972 text, Yoder provides updated interaction with
publications touching on this subject. Following most of the
chapters are new "epilogues" that summarize research conducted
during the last two decades -- research that continues to support
the insights set forth in Yoder's original work. Currently a
standard in many college and seminary ethics courses, The Politics
of Jesus is also an excellent resource for the general reader
desiring to understand Christ's response to the world of politics
and his will for those who would follow him.
Synopsis: 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.
Endorsements: "Revolutionary Christianity will be a welcome
addition to the Yoder corpus for those familiar with his work as
well as those who will read him for the first time. For the latter,
Revolutionary Christianity is a wonderful introduction to the major
themes in his work. For the former, this book is a very helpful
reminder of the interconnectedness of Yoder's thought. We are
fortunate, therefore, to have yet another book by Yoder." -Stanley
Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke
Divinity School "Revolutionary Christianity is vintage Yoder These
lectures from 1966 have aged well. New readers will discover
accessible wisdom from the same vineyard that produced The Politics
of Jesus. Those who have enjoyed later harvests of the fruit of
this vine known for its robust character will enjoy the subtle
differences of this particular vintage. All readers should marvel
at John Howard Yoder's capacity to speak a fresh word then and now"
-Michael G. Cartwright Dean of Ecumenical and Interfaith Programs
at the University of Indianapolis "This volume makes a significant
contribution to the important task of bringing into print all the
treasures in Yoder's unpublished materials. John Howard Yoder is
the greatest Mennonite theologian/ethicist in our history.
Revolutionary Christianity provides further insight into his
fertile, creative mind." -Ronald J. Sider Professor of Theology,
Holistic Ministry & Public Policy Palmer Seminary at Eastern
University "For those of us that heard some of these lectures in
the atmosphere of social turmoil of Latin America in the 1960s and
1970's, it is a joy to see them gathered and published in book
form. Yoder's fresh and creative way of reading both Scripture and
the Anabaptist tradition is still surprising and challenging. I am
amazed by the continued relevance of his theological reflection and
thankful for it." -Samuel Escobar Professor Emeritus Palmer
Theological Seminary and Theological Seminary of the Spanish
Baptist Union, Madrid Author Biography: John Howard Yoder taught at
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary and later became a professor
of theology and ethics at the University of Notre Dame and a fellow
of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. He
is the author of The Politics of Jesus (1972), The Priestly Kingdom
(1984), For the Nations (1997), and several other books.
Description: ""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 Endorsements: ""Yoder's biblical
exposition, perhaps more than his work in either ethics or history,
inspired a whole generation to re-engage 'Word and World.' I, like
so many others, am grateful and indebted. This volume gives us
unique insights into Yoder's integral approach to reading
scripture, which remains instructive, compelling and fruitful.""
--Ched Myers, Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries and author of
Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark's Story of
Jesus ""For anyone interested in theological interpretation of
Scripture, this book is a welcome event. This updated version of To
Hear the Word brings together a compelling collection of John
Howard Yoder's many writings on biblical interpretation and
theology. Those engaged in current discussions about how to
interpret and embody Scripture in the church will find that on many
of the most pressing issues in the current debates, Yoder has
already engaged the issues in provocative and challenging ways. It
only sharpens our sorrow that his voice has been lost."" --Stephen
E. Fowl author of Theological Interpretation of Scripture (Cascade
2009) About the Contributor(s): John Howard Yoder (1927-1997)
earned his PhD from the University of Basel and taught theology at
the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries and the University of
Notre Dame. For nineteen years he served the Mennonite Fellowship
in church relations and education. His published books include The
Politics of Jesus, The Priestly Kingdom, To Hear the Word, When War
Is Unjust, What Would You Do?, and He Came Preaching Peace.
At a time when the Evangelical wing of the church is beginning to
show some signs of soul searching over the issues of war and peace,
the Pentecostals would do well to study their own heritage.Whether
they accept or reject their earlier world view, they need to
interpret the motivation for their original beliefs and those which
they now hold.As people of the word of God, have Pentecostals
altered their pacifistic views as a result of new biblical insights
or cultural accommodation?-- From the Introduction
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.
The study of Christian ethics in North America has been profoundly
influenced during this century by the work of H. Richard Niebuhr.
That influence is felt nowhere as keenly as in the widespread use
of his classic text, Christ and Culture. Yet certain central flaws
exist in Niebuhr's work on Christ and culture, particularly in its
lack of concrete norms for the church's transformative engagement
with the world. Scholars have long realized that further work must
be done in this area if the church is to speak the word of the
gospel adequately in the midst of a pluralistic and changing
culture. In this book, Glen H. Stassen, D. M. Yeager, and John
Howard Yoder push Christian ethical reflection beyond Niebuhr by
offering an analysis and critique of Niebuhr's well-known fivefold
typology of the relation of Christ to culture. They wrestle with
the issue of how the actual, working church goes about being an
agent of the transformation of culture. Unlike Niebuhr, whose
description of the transformationist ideal had little grounding in
the concrete existence of the church, the authors reflect on those
practices through which congregations seek both to embody
faithfulness to Jesus Christ and to be the church in their culture.
As a prologue to this analytical and constructive task, the volume
contains a previously unpublished essay by H. Richard Niebuhr,
"Types of Christian Ethics", in which he laid out the framework of
the typology he would later expand in Christ and Culture.
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.
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.
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