The Priestly Kingdom: Social Ethics as Gospel

"We call a nonviolent man 'Lord' and in his name rekindle the arms race. We call a poor man 'Lord' and with his name on our lips deepen the ditch between rich and poor. We call 'Lord' a man who told us to love our enemies and we polarize the globe in the name of Christian values, approving of 'moderate repression' as long as it is done by our friends.' - From the book's final essay, "Civil Religion in America"



My John Howard Yoder kick continues with this collection of essays. I find aspects of Yoder attractive - his rigorous critique of the church's collaboration with nationalist projects, his uncompromising commitment to pacifism. But at the same time, I continue to find him elusive. As I mentioned in my earlier review of The Politics of Jesus, Yoder believes the church should engage in "revolutionary subordination" vis-a-vis the state. I understand the subordination piece, but have yet to figure out the content of the revolutionary - and in the absence of that, his social ethic devolves, in my view, into an unacceptable quietism. I was reassured to find in this volume, however, praise for the likes of William Lloyd Garrison, Martin Luther King, Jr., and William Jennings Bryan. Maybe I am a Yoderian yet...