Books by John Howard Yoder

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.

""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""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. Fowlauthor of Theological Interpretation of Scripture (Cascade 2009)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.

Description: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"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. SiderProfessor of Theology, Holistic Ministry & Public PolicyPalmer 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 1960¿s 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 EscobarProfessor Emeritus Palmer Theological Seminary and Theological Seminary of the Spanish Baptist Union, MadridAbout the Contributor(s):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: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.Endorsements:"Whether in Yoder's approach to Christology within the first portion of this collection or in other important areas, epistemology is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the legacy of John Howard Yoder. Bringing these essays on Yoder's way of knowing together in one volume should go far toward correcting these misperceptions."--J. Denny Weaverauthor of The Nonviolent Atonement"I am not a pacifist, but reading John Howard Yoder the past several years, I am moving in his direction. Meanwhile, this remarkable collection of Yoder's writings offers wisdoms, bearing many other names, that enrich me in mind and spirit right now. There are wisdoms about the truth universal that resides in the particularity of my scriptural tradition, about the covenantal context in which ethics may be received, about why serving the good begins only where we are and why we can talk about it only from where we are, and about why, oh why, we have to be patient."--Peter Ochseditor of The Return to Scripture in Judaism and ChristianityAbout the Contributor(s):Christian E. Early is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Theology, Eastern Mennonite University.Ted G. Grimsrud is Professor of Theology and Peace Studies, Eastern Mennonite University.

Description: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"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. SiderProfessor of Theology, Holistic Ministry & Public PolicyPalmer 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 1960┬┤s 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 EscobarProfessor Emeritus Palmer Theological Seminary and Theological Seminary of the Spanish Baptist Union, MadridAbout the Contributor(s):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. GormanEndorsements:""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. Fowlauthor 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.

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 "e;radical reformation"e; tradition, he eschews "e;denominational"e; 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.