Revolutionary Christianity
the 1966 south american lectures
John Howard Yoder
edited by
Paul Martens, Mark Thiessen Nation,
Matthew Porter, and Myles Werntz
CASACDE Books - Eugene, Oregon
REVOLUTIONARY CHRISTIANITY
The 1966 South American Lectures
Copyright © 2011 Martha Yoder Maust. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
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isbn: 13: 978-1-61097-000-6
Excerpts from Hendrik Berkhof, Christ and the Powers, trans. John Howard Yoder (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1977) in chapter 11 used with permission.
Herald Press has also graciously granted permission to publish the following which include portions of previously published material:
1. Chapter 5—“Discipleship in the Sermon on the Mount” (“The Political Axioms of the Sermon on the Mount,” The Original Revolution: Essays on Christian Pacifism, Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1971);
2. Chapter 9—“The Biblical View of History” and Chapter 12—“Constantinianism Old and New” (“Christ, The Hope of the World,” The Original Revolution);
3. Chapter 10—“The Otherness of the Church,” (“The Otherness of the Church,” The Royal Priesthood: Essays Ecclesiological and Ecumenical, Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1994).
Cataloging-in-Publication data:
Yoder, John Howard.
Revolutionary Christianity : the 1966 South American lectures / John Howard Yoder ; edited by Paul Martens, Mark Thiessen Nation, Matthew Porter, and Myles Werntz.
xvi + 178 p. ; 23 cm.—Includes indexes.
isbn: 13: 978-1-61097-000-6
1. Christian ethics—Mennonite authors—Addresses, essays, lectures. 2. Social ethics—Addresses, essays, lectures. I. Martens, Paul. II. Nation, Mark Thiessen. III. Porter, Matthew. IV. Werntz, Myles. V. Title.
bj1251 y7 2012
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
There is no greater contribution that can be made by the tiny people of God
in the revolution of our age than to be that people,
both separate from the world and identified with its needs,
both the soul of society (without which it cannot live)
and its conscience (with which it cannot be at peace).
—John Howard Yoder
Introduction
In his “Preface” to The Original Revolution, published in 1971, John Howard Yoder sought to distance his work from the “faddist approach to theology” that dominated the late sixties, the approach that yielded “an enormous proliferation of interest and imagery around the concern of Christians for social change.”1 Slightly sarcastically, he noted: “A new book dealing with ‘the revolution in theology’ or ‘theology for the revolution,’ with politicking as a theological concern or with theology as a political event appeared almost every week.”2 Four and a half decades later, we are happy to introduce Yoder’s very accessible subversive contribution to this late sixties proliferation of books on Christianity and revolution.
In 1966, the thirty-eight year old Yoder was invited to offer a series of summer lectures at the Seminario Evangelico Menonita in Montevideo, Uruguay, and the Facultad de Teológia Evangélica and the Seminario Internacional Teológico Bautista in Buenos Aires, Argentina.3 The lectures that are gathered in this volume are part of the lasting legacy of Yoder’s trip to South America, the written legacy that Yoder subsequently arranged, titled, and then left largely unpublished. It is our hope that the reader will come to see that these lectures may yet be as relevant today as they were when they would have been considered rather “faddish.”
Historical Considerations
By 1966, Yoder was becoming well known in Mennonite circles as someone who was broadly educated, ecumenically experienced, and of significant intellectual stature.4 Although he did not know much about Latin America when the invitation was received, he had traveled extensively in Europe since he first left for France in April, 1949, on an assignment with Mennonite Central Committee; although he did not know Spanish, he apparently added Spanish to his language repertoire (which included French, German, and some Dutch at the time) through a program offered on cassette tapes;5 although he did not know many South American theologians, his extensive experience in ecumenical dialogue in Europe (especially around issues related to pacifism and the free church) provided him with the tools necessary to navigate the exciting and challenging theologies and communities he encountered in South America. Further, by 1966, Yoder had six years of experience as an administrative assistant with the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities in Elkhart, Indiana.6
Yoder’s trip to South America was not very long—May 22 to July 8—but the schedule was full. The two series of invited lectures served as the foundation for the trip. It appears that he presented the series of lectures gathered as “The Believers Church” in both Montevideo and Buenos Aires. The series gathered as “Church in a Revolutionary World” was presented in full in Montevideo and in part in Buenos Aires. And, the “Peace” series was only presented in part in Montevideo and not in Buenos Aires.
Aside from the formal lectures, Yoder also spoke in many other locations and contexts. For example, he attended a week-long conference—the first of its kind—sponsored by the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Latin America on the theme “Christian Nonviolence and the Latin American Revolution.” He also met with Mennonite church leaders in both Uruguay and Argentina, with youth and student groups in Buenos Aires and Asunción (Paraguay) and with various people in the German-speaking Mennonite colonies in Asunción (including a visit to the Friesland colony and the Paraguay leprosarium) and in South Brazil. Further, he preached, on average, twice per Sunday in Spanish-speaking Mennonite churches, in German-speaking Mennonite churches, and Methodist churches.7
Reflecting on his experience several months later, Yoder wrote a follow-up letter to José Míguez-Bonino that described what animated his interest in accepting the invitation: “My entire trip confirmed the expectations with which I undertook it, namely, that in my not being acquainted with Latin America I was out of touch with the most exciting part of the life of the Christian Church, and that your part of the world is one in which the rediscovery of the vision of the Free Church is most relevant.”8 As this brief note indicates, there is no question that this trip to Latin America left a lasting impact on Yoder. Not only did it provide him with an opportunity to speak with Mennonites in significantly different cultural contexts, it also forced him to