THE POLITICS OF JESUS by John Howard Yoder | The Politics of Jesus

Greatest proponent or adversary | The Politics of Jesus | John Howard Yoder

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	• The Politics of Jesus John Howard Yoder Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994 - 270 pages average customer review:based on 19 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

John Yoder gets it!

Truly excellent and biblically sound exposition on the ethical standards a Christian is genuinely called to strive for.

THE POLITICS OF JESUS by John Howard Yoder

The Politics of Jesus is John Howard Yoder's treatise on Jesus' political inclinations, based on and in response to twentieth century biblical scholarship. Yoder was a Mennonite biblical scholar, theologian, and professor of theology. The 1994 version of this book is a revision and expansion of his original version, published in 1972.

Yoder points out early that this book is an ethical methodology, not an exegesis. Indeed, he spends the majority of the work building on and responding to the thought of innumerable other twentieth century scholars. His primary target is twentieth century Christian systematic theology that argues for various reasons that Jesus is not a valid source of personal ethics. Yoder does a thorough job of demonstrating that Jesus was indeed politically-minded, and one of the consequences of this is the discovery that Jesus has intended us to follow his pacifist lifestyle.

Contrary to what at least one reviewer has complained, Yoder does address the Old Testament as it relates to a modern Christian pacifism, albeit briefly. Yoder's treatment of Romans 13, however, is thorough.

Most of the criticism of this book seems to be from people who are inherently opposed to Christian pacifism as many arguments are from that ground rather than on anything Yoder has done incorrectly. That is, people tend to reject his arguments based on their personal beliefs and traditions. Many arguments say "Yoder didn't address such and such"; but a book can only be so long.

The book does contain a lot of the vocabulary and jargon of Christian scholarship, and people unfamiliar with such may have a little trouble with it.

The Politics of Jesus is the finest book on Christianity I have read in a long time. Yoder does an excellent job highlighting parallels and themes running through Jesus' life, and of making the case for Christian pacifism. I recommend this book to everyone.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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Greatest proponent or adversary

If you are looking for the single best argument for why Christians must be nonviolent, this is it. If you are a just-warrior or a Christian realist then it is your faithful duty to contend with this work. The first chapter covers the variety of ways we make everything but Jesus the norm for living and there is a brilliant chapter on Romans 13 that merits a very careful reading. Enjoy!

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The most thorough and honest study of Jesus' political stances.

Always skeptical of any Christian book addressing politics, I found this book absolutely amazing. In it, Professor Yoder first presents the Kingdom that Christ established and the rules by which its citizens would adhere. All that proceeds from this idea, our role in this current earthly kingdom, our ethics, our duties, naturally follow from the fact that Christians have one Lord and Master and there can be no shared allegiance.

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Using the text of the New Testament, this engaging study criticallyexamines the traditional portrait of Jesus as an apolitical figure and clarifies the true impact of Jesus' life, work, and teachings on his disciples' social behavior. This second edition is updated and expanded.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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