Customer Reviews

For the Nations: Essays Evangelical and Public

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A text from the later years of JH Yoder's life, his consistent commitment to the politics of the cross reverberate throughout this volume of essays. Yoder spends time linking Old Testament themes of peace and justice with themes evident in the early Christian church in a way consistent with that of the work of Walter Brueggeman. As such, these essays do not disappoint and deepen one's appreciation for the need to trace themes throughout all of the Bible rather than just focusing on the New Testament per se. Yoder shifts seamlessly between current day issues and scriptural texts. His words are no less relevant today than they were when they were first penned--and seem in fact to directly address our modern day issues of a post-9/11 America and world. While his works and words do not always seem penetrable at first glance(I found the first chapter particularily difficult to plow through), let the reader be encouraged to remain engaged, for there is much wisdom to be embraced within these chapters. Moreover, while many have suggested that the theology of Yoder encourages followers of Christ to disengage and seperate from the world, here is a text that stands as inspiring evidence of Yoder's driving passion to engage in public conversation about life in the world, not on the world's terms but rather in the spirit of, and for the sake of Jesus Christ.