About the man who put us on the map

John Howard Yoder: Mennonite Patience, Evangelical Witness, Catholic Convictions Mark Thiessen Nation. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2006. 211 pages.

Author Nation may be right when he states, “John Howard Yoder is largely responsible for the fact that Mennonites are now on the theological map.” Certainly Yoder’s prolific output has stimulated widespread interest in the U.S., Canada, and beyond.

Jim Wallis of Sojourners fame stated, “John Yoder inspired a whole generation of Christians to follow the way of Jesus into social action and peacemaking.” Walter Wink observed, “More than any other person, Yoder has labored to bring the Peace Church witness against violence into the mainstream of theological discussion.”

Probably most significantly, the April 2000 edition of Christianity Today, the flagship of American evangelicalism, described Yoder’s The Politics of Jesus (1972, 1994) as one of the ten best books of the 20th century. Clearly, Christians generally, and Mennonites in particular, should become familiar with this Anabaptist giant.

Yoder’s crucial contribution was to extend the Anabaptist/Mennonite peace perspective to a broad spectrum of social and political issues and to do it in such a way that it was taken seriously by the larger Christian community. The fact that he carefully challenged many traditional assumptions – and with erudite scholarship – enhanced his significance.

Mark Thiessen Nation, described by Stanley Hauerwas as “the scholar of record about matters Yoder,” is associate professor of theology at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, Va. Nation acknowledges he was a close friend and admirer of the great ethicist, but his treatment is both well-informed and thorough.

The book’s five sections deal with Yoder’s biography, Yoder and Anabaptism, Yoder and ecumenism, Yoder and peace theology, Yoder and Christian social responsibility, and Yoder’s enduring legacy. The treatment of the various topics is consistently clear, logical, thorough, and highly readable.

While I would quibble with some of Nation’s assertions, for example that Yoder “was in fact profoundly evangelical in his witness” and that he was consistent in his treatment of the acceptable use of violence by governments, the presentation of Yoder’s thought is generally fair and convincing.

Having travelled with Yoder to a peace conference in Eastern Europe, and having read much of his writing, listened to many of his lectures, dialogued with him, and been privileged to offer him hospitality on several occasions, I am an admirer of this brilliant ethicist. But I do have some concerns, which surface in Nation’s analysis. When Yoder states, for example, that “the Christian life is defined most basically in ethical terms” I would counter with the assertion that it is defined most basically as a new life in Christ made possible by transforming faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ. I also question whether in New Testament teaching there is one ethical norm for both church and state and whether God’s central political purpose is expressed through the church.

John Redekop is adjunct professor of political science at Trinity Western University, Langley, B.C. and a member of Bakerview MB Church, Abbotsford. His latest book, Politics Under God, was recently released by Herald Press.