For the Nations: Essays Evangelical and Public

by John Howard Yoder

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802843241
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	09/25/1997
Pages:	257
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.59(d)

About the Author

(1927–1997) A Mennonite theologian most widely known for his work in Christian social ethics. His other books inlude The Politics of Jesus, The Royal Priesthood, and Preface to Theology

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"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 proclamation: servanthood, enemy love, forgiveness."
—Alan Geyer
Wesley Theological Seminary

Editorial Reviews

"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 proclamation: servanthood, enemy love, forgiveness."
—Alan Geyer
Wesley Theological Seminary

From the Publisher