The Politics of Jesus was convicting. Powerful. It was, however, a little denser than I would have liked - hence 4 instead of 5 stars. I will need to re-read it sometime soon. ( )

If there were 30 stars to give I would. This book made me do an about face, a metanoia, as a Christian, and the freedom to be. ( )

I will never read the Gospels in the same way after reading this book. I also appreciate how he shows this works into Paul's writings as well. Hopefully, one day I'll get to do a class on this book. ( )

If you've followed my blog (http://stephenbarkley.com), you'll know that I've summarized and reflected on each of the 12 chapters that make up The Politics of Jesus. Since all the details have been covered, I'll offer a few final thoughts here.

The Politics of Jesus was a landmark book. It was first published in 1972 in a world that didn't take the ethical-social stance of Jesus seriously. In this right-place-at-the-right-time book, Yoder defended his belief that Jesus' teaching has direct ethical implications today. The book was updated with additional material in 1994 to review the theological and sociological landscape since the first printing.

The book is 40 year old, and it shows its age. We miss the revolutionary impact today that it had in the 1970s because the main battle has been won. Yoder's passionate defense of Jesus' ethical-social relevance feels almost quaint in an age where that point has become a given. It's akin to hearing arguments for the importance of wearing seat-belts. The war's over.

Even though the main point's commonplace now, the book is still worth reading for the wide variety of angles Yoder takes to support his thesis. When I read Hauerwas I'm amazed at the seemingly random conversion of stand-alone essays into chapters. Now I know where he got that style from! In one chapter, Yoder's summarizing evidence for political relevance of Jesus throughout the Gospel of Luke. A few chapters later, he's delving into the Stoic antecedents for the Haustafeln. This style might excite or terrify you, depending on how your brain's wired.

I have to admit that Yoder stretches the exegetical evidence at times to strengthen his case. In the end, though, we're left with a groundbreaking study on the political relevance of the Messiah. ( )

One of the great books. John Howard Yoder considers the ethic of Jesus in terms of his claims about the values of the Kingdom, of poverty, nonviolence, of mutual grace; he scrutinises power and how we use it (or, more often, misuse it); and he places the witness of the gospel in the deep line of prophetic inspiration from the Hebrew Scriptures. It is far more than simply an exegesis of the injunction to love our enemies, but, as such, it is an intelligent and measured plea for peace. It reminds me a lot of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's 'Cost of Discipleship', which, in a similar way, explores the Beatitudes as a basis for profound metanoia and the radical reordering of our lives towards justice. If a few more people actually lived this way, possibly religious commitment would seem plausible to the kind of world we live in. ( )