January 26
Applying Yoder's 'Politics' to current events
By Tom AireyPage:
- 1
- 2
This year I will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of John Howard Yoder’s classic book The Politics of Jesus, with a series of blog posts connecting it to current issues and events.
Yoder passionately advocated for a radical option that he believed ought to be normative for all Christians, a conviction that he never apologized for. His voice was received by many as confrontational and thus controversial. He audaciously called followers of Jesus to a gospel that was adamantly political (transcending personal piety and heavenly salvation), pacifist (rejecting violence no matter what) and participatory (following, not believing, Jesus’ teaching).
In the first chapter, Yoder laid out his six-fold claim of Jesus’ irrelevance. These were the various ways Christians “set the authority of Jesus aside” in regards to political matters, the arguments that sincere Christians had learned to shelve the political Jesus altogether. Yoder posited that these claims replaced the political Jesus of the New Testament with a spiritual Christ of Western civilization, transferring him presently to the heart of the “believer” and into the future in a disembodied heaven where he transferred the soul of every believer when they died. This turned the gospel into a game of personal piety and individual salvation, blind to the systems of (in)justice that Jesus came to expose and confront, leading to his torture and death.
Yoder’s list of typical Christian apolitical claims for Jesus:
-
The ethic of Jesus is an ethic for an “interim,” which Jesus thought would be very brief. The world was passing away soon, so Jesus believed.
-
Jesus was a simple rural figure, living in a completely different kind of society where knowing everyone and having the time to treat everyone as a person was culturally an available possibility.
-
Jesus and his followers were minorities living in a world they had no control over and exercising social responsibility was not on the agenda.
-
His message was spiritual, not social.
-
Jesus pointed people away from concrete issues of this present world to a focus on worshipping God.
-
The purpose of Jesus’ life was his death … so that sins would be wiped away and relationship with God could be restored (atonement).
Page:
- 1
- 2
Comments
-
Bring it on, brother Tom!
-
In my research of JHY, I came across a video of him giving an 11 minute speech on pacifism. He read most of his speech, had very poor eye contact with his audience, and swayed back and forth from one foot to the other. He appeared very insecure in his thinking. I was not impressed, therefore, have no intention of reading his book.
From comments of those who speak favorably of his book, I conclude it contains flawed thinking of the religious left.
Tom’s last paragraph also displays flawed theology of the religious left. If Jesus came to bring heaven to Earth, where is the evidence? Why did Jesus not stay here and govern heaven rather than he returning to wherever after his resurrection? Does Tom think the UN is governing heaven here on earth in the absence of Jesus?
Jesus told the repentant thief that today you will be with me in Paradise. He did not mean heaven on earth. Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you and when I come again, I will receive you unto myself that where I am, there you will be also. I suggest Tom put aside his JHY book and read the Bible, inspired by God.
-
Good summary, Tom. I look forward to more.
Dale, there is a lot in the Bible that may seem rather "left" in this day and age, just as there is plenty that can be labeled conservative. However, why impose those labels on holy scripture? Do today's definitions of "left" and "right" trump God's revealed truth?
Are Isaiah 65:17-19 and Revelation 21:1-4 true? If so, then Jesus is making a new heaven and earth, and bringing heaven to earth. Sure, the man crucified with Jesus will be in Paradise, but that does not hide God's ultimate goal of recreating all things (Revelation 21:5), the final resurrection. There is life after death, but there is also, as I have heard one person put it, "life after life after death": God's final hope, the end to which the powerful and true stories of the Bible ultimately point.
And, crazy thing, our following of Jesus now, as individuals, as church, makes this hope come about all the sooner (2 Peter 3:11-12). We live now as signs of the restoration Jesus is about.
And, yeah, I certainly have my doubts. Your question, "If Jesus came to bring heaven to Earth, where is the evidence?" is such a real one for me, and for many Christians throughout history who struggle with the realities of a broken world. But that is why I pray for faith.
-
Jonathan, thank you for your comments.
First, the scriptures you referred to all pertain to the new heaven and new earth after the present earth and heavens have been dissolved with fervent heat as stated in II Peter 3. The heavens in these passages refer to the celestial heaven and not the prepared place (heaven) Jesus referred to in John 14.
Next, Tom lists six items of Bible truth that JHY debunks as counterfeit claims. That is why I said Tom should read the Bible and not any of false doctrine in JHY’s book.
Tom’s last paragraph is full of false theology. I make no apology for using the term flawed theology of the religious left which is my way of identifying false teaching. Jesus, the divine Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit came to earth through the womb of Mary to be the sacrificial lamb of God.
For over 3 years, Jesus displayed his authenticity as the Son of God through teaching, miracles and forgiving sins. When his time of atonement was come, he voluntarily and willingly went to the cross and shed his blood. That shed blood was there for God to see and for us to believe unto salvation, birthing us into the Family of God.
This truth was first revealed to us in Egypt when the death angel of God passed over all homes which he saw had blood painted on the door posts.
-
Dale, you do a fine job of describing the dry husk of Christian religion as it has evolved in its accommodation with power and privilege. It takes all that Jesus loved and died to save and makes it into a cardboard prop for metaphysical transactions in some far-away place.
In your desiccated version of the Gospel, Jesus isn’t the pivotal figure in world history. There is no before Jesus and after Jesus. He’s shows up for a few years, performs some magic tricks to get our attention and “display his authenticity as the Son of God” (as you put it), surrenders to inevitable death, and then leaves the world pretty much as he found it. I say “pretty much” because under your view, Jesus did leave behind a secret knowledge (you describe it well in your posted comment) that God uses as a litmus test to separate future generations into winners and losers.
The heart of the Gospel - that “God so loved the world” and “sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world but to save it” – is nowhere to be found in your empty husk. The scandal of the Gospel – that God Almighty refuses to engage in violence but instead bets it all the willingness of people like you and me to follow Jesus – is nowhere to be found either. It’s all been replaced by a sweet fantasy about another world that you prefer to the one Jesus died to save.
Yoder noticed that God in Christ demonstrated again God's commitment to save this world. Shouldn’t those of us who claim Jesus as our Lord do better than to fantasize about another one?
-
Berry, you do an excellent job of distorting what I and others say and then responding to the distortions you create. Therefore, I have no intention to wallow around with you in a religious quagmire of your making.
A question for Sheldon: I have noted for some time that Tom and his wife Lindsay are experimenting with Anabaptist intentional community in Orange County, Calif. as stated above. Could you or Tom share what this experimenting is all about and what is Anabaptist intentional community?
-
Dale, You are one passionate brother. Although we interpret the significance of Jesus' life and ministry (including their implications for our current context) quite differently, I sense that you are committed to genuine dialogue. I think Jonathan and Berry did a fine job answering your first questions, so I'll just share a little in response to your last question about the Anabaptist intentional community that my wife and I experiment with in Southern California. While at Fuller Seminary, we became compelled by the highly-committed, peace-loving, simple-living & abundantly-sharing Anabaptist vision of the Radical Reformation of the 16th century (Sattler, Marpeck, Denck, Menno and many others) and the 20th century writings of Harold Bender, JH Yoder, Jim McClendon ("the baptist vision"), Wilbert Shenk and many others. The ecclesiology of Anabaptism was/is of particular interest: a low-church structure giving voice to all members of the community through open dialogue (Acts 15), the multiplicity of gifts (I Cor 12/Romans 12), generous resource & meal-sharing (the breaking of the bread), a whole-hearted commitment to follow Jesus (discipleship signified by adult baptism) and a commitment to interpersonal conflict resolution and truth-telling within the community ("binding and loosing" in Matthew 18). There are only a couple of Mennonite churches in our county (both of which are about 30 minutes away) so we started a series of communities in our apartment living room about 6 years ago, committed to these Anabaptist church distinctives. We read the lectionary Gospel passage every week together and share critical comments, questions and concerns about the text, seeking to connect our own lives to the Story of God in Christ. We also have intentional time to confessionally share about our previous week: the times when we were triggered by anxiety and pain, how we coped in counterfeit ways, always working towards transformation & redemption. We are currently examining the role of grief in our lives and the various myths and copings that we've been patterned by in our respective family systems (and wider cultural and political systems). We don't believe in having a jack-of-all-trades senior pastor and we don't believe that a church has to exist in a building now called a "church" in the West. Our current community called Open Hearts is celebrating our 2-year anniversary of discipleship together this week. Truly, the Anabaptists have always heard the Spirit speak through the opening of our hearts to each other in intentional community.
-
Tom, thank you for your response to my question.
-
Dale, you mentioned "Tom lists six items of Bible truth that JHY debunks as counterfeit claims."
Am I reading you right? Are you meaning to say that those six points are true and biblical? That Jesus' life has no bearing on how we live now (ethics) because his message was 1. temporary, 2. out of touch, 3. impotent, 4. only "spiritual", 5. abstract, and 6. only bent on his own death?
Reading the other things you write, I am surprised you would say that these reasons for being apolitical are "Bible truth."
Am I misunderstanding?
-
Jonathan, 1) Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” 2) Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” 3) Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” 4) Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” 5) Jesus said, “Therefore doth my Father love me, that I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it up again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” Without the shedding of Jesus’ blood, there is no remission of sins. Jesus said, “Ye must be born again.”
Jesus did not come to tell Herod to implement a healthcare or a welfare program for the poor. Jesus did not come to address the government’s death penalty and other social injustice ills. Jesus could have established an everlasting heavenly program to feed the poor and stayed on earth forever to administer it, but he didn’t because God the Father had other plans that included the birthing of the Church. The true eternal and everlasting program is in heaven awaiting his people.
He told the adulterous woman to go and sin no more. He remarked of the unusual faith of the military officer but did not tell him to resign is position. As I stated earlier, Jesus, the divine Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit came to earth through the womb of Mary to be the sacrificial lamb of God. In three plus years, he established who he was and his purpose in coming. While hanging on the cross, said it (my atonement assignment) is finished.
I trust I have satisfactorily addressed any misunderstanding on your or Tom's part.
Comment on the blog post Applying Yoder's 'Politics' to current events
The purpose of comments is to engage in dialogue. We expect commenters to treat authors and each other as each would want to be treated. Respectful criticism is welcomed; offensive comments or parts of comments will be removed by the site administrator. Name and comment will be posted; email address is for follow-up only and will not be made public.
Download
Download a free PDF showing the populations of
Mennonite groups and other Anabaptists.
