Discipleship as Political Responsibility

Discipleship as Political Responsibility
Author: John Howard Yoder
Publisher: MennoMedia, Inc.
Total Pages: 70
Release: 2003-10-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0836197216

John Howard Yoder went to Europe after the Second World War as a young volunteer. Yoder worked as an aide in a children's home in Elsace, France and completed his doctorate under Karl Barth in Basel, Switzerland. Because of his incomparably clear and sharp thinking he quickly became one of the most sought after speakers on pacifism at seminars as he worked towards an Anabaptist renewal of the church. In this context Yoder succeeded in reopening the theological debate on Christians and political responsibility with the larger church to which persecution had put an end 400 years earlier. Biblical scholar Timothy J. Geddert translated two of these lectures, originally given in Germany, as a resource to understand Yoder's invitation to begin an exploratory journey that leads to Jesus Christ's peace church.

The Political Disciple

The Political Disciple
Author: Vincent E. Bacote
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 66
Release: 2015-05-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310516080

What might it mean for public and political life to be understood as an important dimension of following Jesus? As a part of Zondervan’s Ordinary Theology series, Vincent E. Bacote’s The Political Disciple addresses this question by considering not only whether Christians have (or need) permission to engage the public square, but also what it means to reflect Christlikeness in our public practice, as well as what to make of the typically slow rate of social change and the tension between relative allegiance to a nation and/or a political party and ultimate allegiance to Christ. Pastors, laypeople, and college students will find this concise volume a handy primer on Christianity and public life.

The Trace of the Face in the Politics of Jesus

The Trace of the Face in the Politics of Jesus
Author: John Patrick Koyles
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2013-06-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1610976223

Taking its cue from Mark Nation's regret that John Howard Yoder refrained from a fuller engagement with the Western philosophical tradition, this book is an effort to explore the possibilities inherent in that conversation. It develops a dialogue between Yoder and the French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas. The placement of Yoder's work alongside of Levinas' conception of otherness cashes out the embedded hope in Nation's remarks by demonstrating the continuing relevancy of Yoder's thought for current Christian sociopolitical discourse. This book is especially aimed at those who seek to continue exploring the themes and ideas of John Howard Yoder.

The Politics of Discipleship and Discipleship in Politics

The Politics of Discipleship and Discipleship in Politics
Author: Jurgen Moltmann
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2006-02-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1597524832

'The Politics of Discipleship and Discipleship in Politics' is a work of dialog and cooperation at every level. At the core of this volume are lectures by Jÿrgen Moltmann, originally delivered at two Mennonite seminaries at the height of the Cold War. Theologians at those seminaries then responded to each of Moltmann's lectures, and those are included as well. Added to this collection are: a new essay by Moltmann on peacemaking and dragonslaying, a new foreword by Willard Swartley, and a new preface by Moltmann. In this post-9/11 world, this dialog has fresh relevance.

Deep Discipleship

Deep Discipleship
Author: J.T. English
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2020-09-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1535993537

Everyone is being discipled. The question is: what is discipling us? The majority of Christians today are being discipled by popular media, flashy events, and folk theology because churches have neglected their responsibility to make disciples. But the church is not a secondary platform in the mission of God; it is the primary platform God uses to grow people into the image of Jesus. Therefore, as church leaders, it is our primary responsibility to establish environments and relationships where people can be trained, grow, and be sent as disciples. There are three indispensable elements of discipleship: Learning to participate in the biblical story (the Bible) Growing in our confession of who God is and who we are (theology) Regularly participating in private and corporate intentional action (spiritual disciplines) Deep Discipleship equips churches to reclaim the responsibility of discipling people at any point on their journey.

Discipling Nations

Discipling Nations
Author: Darrow L. Miller
Publisher: YWAM Publishing
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2001-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781576582480

The power of the gospel to transform individual lives has been evident throughout New Testament history. But what of the darkness and poverty that enslave entire nations? Miller builds a powerful, convincing thesis that God's truth can free whole societies from deception and poverty. Excellent study of worldviews!

Buddhism and Political Theory

Buddhism and Political Theory
Author: Matthew J. Moore
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2016-04-04
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0190465522

Despite the recent upsurge of interest in comparative political theory, there has been virtually no serious examination of Buddhism by political philosophers in the past five decades. In part, this is because Buddhism is not typically seen as a school of political thought. However, as Matthew Moore argues, Buddhism simultaneously parallels and challenges many core assumptions and arguments in contemporary Western political theory. In brief, Western thinkers not only have a great deal to learn about Buddhism, they have a great deal to learn from it. To both incite and facilitate the process of Western theorists engaging with this neglected tradition, this book provides a detailed, critical reading of the key primary Buddhist texts, from the earliest recorded teachings of the Buddha through the present day. It also discusses the relevant secondary literature on Buddhism and political theory (nearly all of it from disciplines other than political theory), as well as the literatures on particular issues addressed in the argument. Moore argues that Buddhist political thought rests on three core premises--that there is no self, that politics is of very limited importance in human life, and that normative beliefs and judgments represent practical advice about how to live a certain way, rather than being obligatory commands about how all persons must act. He compares Buddhist political theory to what he sees as Western analogues--Nietzsche's similar but crucially different theory of the self, Western theories of limited citizenship from Epicurus to John Howard Yoder, and to the Western tradition of immanence theories in ethics. This will be the first comprehensive treatment of Buddhism as political theory.

Radical Discipleship

Radical Discipleship
Author: Jennifer M. McBride
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2016-12-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1506401902

Reminiscent of Bonhoeffer's Discipleship, Jennifer McBride's Radical Discipleship utilizes the liturgical seasons as a framework for engaging the social evils of mass incarceration, capital punishment, and homelessness, arguing that to be faithful to the gospel, Christians must become disciples of, not simply believers in, Jesus. The book arises out of McBride's extensive experience teaching theology in a women's prison while participating in a residential Christian activist and worshipping community. Arguing that disciples must take responsibility for the social evils that bar "beloved community," Martin Luther King's term for a just social order, the promised kingdom of God, McBride calls for a dual commitment to the works of mercy and the struggle for justice. This work seeks to form readers into an understanding of the social and political character of the good news proclaimed in the Gospels. Organically connecting liturgy with activism and theological reflection, McBride argues that discipleship requires that privileged Christians place their bodies in spaces of social struggle and distress to reduce the distance between themselves and those who suffer injustice, and stand in solidarity with those whom society deems guilty, despises, and rejectswhich makes discipleship radical as Christians take seriously the Jesus of the Gospels.

Political Visions & Illusions

Political Visions & Illusions
Author: David T. Koyzis
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2019-05-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 083087206X

In this freshly updated, comprehensive study, political scientist David Koyzis surveys the key political ideologies of our era, unpacking the worldview issues inherent to each and pointing out essential strengths and weaknesses. Writing with broad international perspective, Koyzis is a sensible guide for Christians working in the public square, culture watchers, and all students of modern political thought.

Beyond Suspicion

Beyond Suspicion
Author: Paul G. Doerksen
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2010-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1608994392

The modern era includes a two-fold tradition of radical suspicion--the suspicion that politicians corrupt morality, and that politics is corrupted by theology. However, such a view has been challenged in recent theological thought which seeks to move beyond such suspicion to recover a constructive role for political theology. By pursuing a critical comparison of the political theologies of John Howard Yoder and Oliver O'Donovan, The present work shows how post-Christendom Protestant political theology has attempted to move beyond suspicion without putting forward some hidden attempt to reassert a contemporary version of Christendom. O'Donovan's political theology, written from within the British Anglican tradition, Is a bold project in which he attempts to push back the horizons of commonplace secularist politics and open it up theologically, a move that he believes will offer crucial resources for thinking about justice And The common good. A related response is presented by Yoder, who, As an American Mennonite, represents Anabaptism. From this more marginal ecclesial location, Yoder's thought stands both as a challenge to regnant liberal notions of the relation of church and state, and as an important interlocutor for O'Donovan's political theology. Yoder argues that political theology entails a particular kind of focus on the church, where the very shape of the church in the world is a public witness For The world, and not first of all a withdrawal from the world. The critical comparison brings to view areas of significant convergence and divergence in understandings of the Hebrew Scriptures as well as the New Testament. O'Donovan and Yoder's respective interpretations of Christendom are also fundamentally divergent, As are their views on the legitimacy of the use of force by government, clearly seen in O'Donovan's support of Just War Tradition and Yoder's promotion of Messianic Pacifism.