The Politics of Jesus

Book by John Howard Yoder

978-0-8028-1485-2

Dewey Decimal

232LC ClassBT202 .Y63

The Politics of Jesus is a 1972 book by the American theologian and ethicist John Howard Yoder.^[1] In it, Yoder argues against popular views of Jesus, particularly those views held by Reinhold Niebuhr, which he believed to be dominant at the time. Niebuhr argued for a realist philosophy, which Yoder felt failed to take seriously the call or person of Jesus Christ. After showing what he believed to be inconsistencies of Niebuhr's perspective, Yoder attempted to demonstrate by an exegesis of the Gospel of Luke and parts of Paul's Letter to the Romans that, in his view, a radical Christian pacifism was the most faithful approach for the disciple of Christ. Yoder argued that being Christian is a political standpoint and that Christians ought not ignore that calling.

One of Yoder's most widely recognized works,^[2] the first edition sold over 75,000 copies^[3] and it has been translated into at least ten languages. It was ranked by the evangelical magazine Christianity Today as the fifth most important religious book of the 20th century.^[4]^[5]

References

Footnotes

^ Thiselton 2018, p. 67.
^ Reimer 1998, p. 8.
^ Thiessen Nation 1998, p. 76.
^ "Books of the Century". Christianity Today. Vol. 44, no. 5. Carol Stream, Illinois. April 24, 2000. p. 92. ISSN 0009-5753. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
^ "Table of Contents". Christianity Today. Vol. 44, no. 5. Carol Stream, Illinois. April 24, 2000. p. 5. ISSN 0009-5753.

Bibliography

Reimer, A. James (1998). "Mennonites, Christ, and Culture: The Yoder Legacy" (PDF). The Conrad Grebel Review. 16 (2): 5–14. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
Thiessen Nation, Mark (1998). "He Came Preaching Peace: The Ecumenical Peace Witness of John H. Yoder" (PDF). The Conrad Grebel Review. 16 (2): 65–76. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
Thiselton, Anthony C. (2018) [2017]. Approaching the Study of Theology: An Introduction to Key Thinkers, Concepts, Methods & Debates. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-8308-7386-9.