Christian Attitudes to War, Peace, and Revolution

Book

John Howard Yoder. Christian Attitudes to War, Peace, and Revolution. Edited by Theodore J. Koontz and Andy Alexis-Baker. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2009.

Reviewer

Nathan Funk, Assistant Professor, Peace and Conflict Studies, Conrad Grebel University College, Waterloo, ON

From 1966 to 1997, John Howard Yoder taught a course surveying the history of Christian ethical stances toward war, peace, and revolutionary insurrection at the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) and at the University of Notre Dame. In the early 1970s his lectures were recorded and made available to students in written form; by 1983 a refined version of these extensive course notes became available for purchase at the AMBS bookstore. Now, thanks to the efforts of Theodore J. Koontz and Andy Alexis-Baker, these writings are available to a much broader audience in edited, highly readable form with a title reflecting the name of Yoder’s course: “Christian Attitudes to War, Peace, and Revolution.”

In its original format, Yoder referred to his compilation of lecture notes as an “unbook book” to signal that the volume was not intended to be as tight, seamless, and systematically documented as a traditional book. Nonetheless, the contents are richly descriptive, thought provoking and well developed. 

Although this volume does not seek to provide a unified narrative advancing a formally stated thesis, it manifests coherence through thematic consistency and chronological progression as well as through the probing, intellectually nimble manner in which the author approaches the subject matter.

The book’s 417 pages of text and 40 pages of supplemental study guides provide a fascinating window into the breadth and depth of Yoder’s scholarship, while also enabling the reader to more vividly imagine a classroom experience with one of the defining Mennonite thinkers of the 20th century. 

Yoder’s survey of eras, leading thinkers, and ethical positions is sweeping but far from superficial. His disquisition on the just war tradition offers a sophisticated treatment of a wide range of developments, including the Constantinian shift, medieval just war principles, the secularization of just war thinking in modern international law, and recent debates over nuclear pacifism, selective conscientious objection, and liberation theology.

Even when making a case for pacifism vis-à-vis just war doctrine, Yoder is consistently disciplined and at times generous toward other readings of the Christian ethic, from Ambrose to Reinhold Niebuhr. Appreciating potential applications of justifiable war thinking to restrain and not merely enable leaders, he observes that strict just war reasoning often has a “radicalizing” effect on those who pursue it, by drawing to their attention to the consistency with which war degrades rather than improves the human condition. 

With respect to pacifism, Yoder identifies powerful resonances across epochs, linking early church traditions to practices of the Middle Ages, reformation currents, and more recent revival experiences. Tying together diverse threads, from Franciscans, Mennonites, and Quakers to the Czech reformation’s Unity of Brethren, 19th-century American revival movements, and the Berrigan brothers, he crafts a case for the claim that whenever Christians return to scripture and particularly to Jesus’ teachings, potential for affirming nonviolence emerges. In Yoder’s words, “pacifism tends to arise wherever there is church renewal” (269). 

Though some readers may be inclined to argue for a more nuanced position, particularly in light of contemporary North American renewal movements that embrace a millennialist vision and make little attempt to differentiate between religious and national attachments, Yoder ably demonstrates the vitality of pacifism as an expression of Christian faith commitment. He also illuminates a wide range of resources upon which Christians can draw – not only in scripture but in historical experience and its many localized expressions and movements.

In his treatment of nonviolence, Yoder calls for close study of modern nonviolent movements, engagement with leading practitioners and strategists (including Gene Sharp and other protagonists of strategic nonviolent action), and active exploration of how Christians can be both faithful and relevant.

There are many ways in which a new generation of theologians and ethicists can build upon Yoder’s legacy and extend its boundaries. The post-9/11 era bears many comparisons to the Vietnam experience that powerfully shaped the context within which Yoder wrote and taught, yet there is arguably a new urgency to engage more substantially not only with “neo-Constantinian” currents in contemporary Christianity but with the spectre of hostile inter-religious encounter as a theme in current international conflict dynamics.

On the whole, Christian Attitudes to War, Peace, and Revolution is an enlightening, timely, and invigorating read. Accessible to the layperson, it is also sure to prove valuable to the specialist for its unique presentation of material -- and for its combination of substantive historical exposition with perceptive commentary informed by Anabaptist-Mennonite faith commitment.