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The Pacifism of the Messianic Community: the Christological Social Ethics of John Howard Yoder by Craig A

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The Pacifism of the Messianic Community: the Christological Social Ethics of John Howard Yoder by Craig A INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been repFoduced frwn the mkdih master. UMI films the text diredly hwn the original or copy -. Thus, son18 thesis and dissertation -pies are in typewriter face, while dhm may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this mproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submit&d. Brokem or indistinct print, co+omdor poor quality iUustrations and photographs, print blwdthwh, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reptoduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not senel UMI a complete manusaiqt and there are missing pages, these will be nabd. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6- x W black and white photographic prints are availah for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 4810&1346 USA 860-521-0800 TEE PACIFISM OF TEIE MESSIANIC COMMUNITY: THE CHRISTOLOGICAL SOCIAL ETHKCS OF JOHN HOWARD YODER Craig Alan Carter A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Theology of the University of St. Michael's College and the Department of of the Toronto School of Theology in partial fulfil1ment of the requirements for the degree of l-hv - ~n. Theoloey awarded by the University of St. Michael's College Toronto 1999 Craig Alan Carter National Library Biblioth4que nationale 1S.I of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. me Wdlingtm OttawaON KlAON4 OItawaW KlAW Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde me licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive pernettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prster, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format electronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriete du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protege cette these. thesis nor substantial extracts from it Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or othexwise de celle-ci ne doivent Etre imprimes reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. ABSTRACT The Pacifism of the Messianic Community: The Christological Social Ethics of John Howard Yoder by Craig A. Carter The Department of Theology, Toronto School of Theology and the Faculty of Theology, University of Saint Michael's College 1999 This dissertation examines the theological foundations of the social ethics of John Howard Yoder. Yoder is interpreted as a postliberal who, despite his non-foundationalist epistemology, was an unambiguous advocate of theological realism in the tradition of Karl Barth. Yodefs thought is found to be very coherent and his social ethic is logically derived from his theological system. Chapter One places Yoder in his historical context by examining the two major influences on his thought: "the recovery of the Anabaptist vision" and the "Biblical Realism" of Karl Barth. Yoder is seen as creatively uniting Barth's theological method with themes from his Anabaptist-Mennonite theological heritage to create the most theologically sophisticated account of social ethics to emerge so far from postliberalism. Chapter Two examines Yoder's Christology as the source of his social ethics. His narrative Christology calls for a form of discipleship centered on community and pacifism. Yoder challenges mainstream Christian ethics by making a strong case for viewing pacifism as the ethical meaning of classical, Christological orthodoxy. Chapter Three examines Yoder's eschatology as the contexr of his social ethics. His "disavowal of Constantinen is rooted in his understanding of Constantinianism as the denial of New Testament eschatology and thus as a heresy with highly negative consequences for Christian ethics. Yoder argues that it is Constantinians, not pacifist dissenters, who are actually sectarian. Chapter Four examines Yodef s ecclesiology as the shop of his social ethics. He makes a clear distinction between the church and the world and views the church as a new society and a foretaste of the future Kingdom of God. The ad hoc witness of the church to the state is made possible because of the Lordship of Jesus Christ over the powers, including the state, in this present age. Yoder's believers' church ecciesiology, rather than promoting irrelevance and withdrawal, actually provides a solid basis for true cultural engagement and transformation, while avoiding the tendency toward accommodation to the world inherent in Constantinianism. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have incurred a number of significant debts over the past nine years of pursuing my goal of a doctorate in theology and I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge them publicly. I want to thank the members of my committee: Dr. John Webster, Dr. A. James Reimer and Dr. George Schner for their patient guidance and genuine concern. I especially want to thank John for agreeing to continue to supervise my thesis from England after his move from Wycliffe College, University of Toronto to Oxford University. I have especially appreciated the prompt and encouraging feedback I have received from him all along the way. Most of all, however, I want to thank John for teaching me to appreciate the thought of Karl Barth by pointing out the most important thing about Barth's theology, namely, the utter and sustained seriousness with which he took the reality of God. I want to thank the staff of the George A. Rawlyk Library at Atlantic Baptist University for eficient and helpful service in obtaining necessary materials for this project. Diane Trail, my Administrative Assistant, also has gone far above and beyond the call of duty to help in this project and I appreciate her assistance very much. I also want to thank the president, Dr. Ralph Richardson and the Board of Governors of Atlantic Baptist University for providing me with a leave of absence in the Fall of 1998, during which time I was able to complete the writing of the first draft of this thesis. Without that time to focus exclusively on this project, I would never have been able to finish it. I also want to thank Dr. Gary LeBlanc for filling in for me as Academic Dean during my leave and Dr. Seth Crowell and Diane Trail for taking on extra work during that time. I also want to thank the faculty of the university for supporting me in my pursuit of this goal and in my work as Academic Dean, in general. over the past four years. I want to thank Dr. Douglas Harink and Mark Thiessen Nation for reading parts of this dissertation while it was at the revision stage and Dr. Ronald Mercier and Dr. Gayle Gerber-Koontz for serving as examiners for my dissertation. They were most kind to share their expertise with me. Mark Thiessen Nation was also a help in obtaining certain unpublished materials by Yoder. They would not necessarily agree with all that I have written and the remaining imperfections are my responsibility alone. The biggest debt of gratitude i owe is to my family. My children, Rebecca, Elizabeth and Stephen have gone through two moves during their school years and have spent, quite literally, years waiting for Dad to finish his thesis so that our family could live without it hanging over every holiday and every vacation. My wife Bonnie, however, is the one who deserves the credit for making it all possible. Her unselfish willingness to see her calling as including the provision of support for my academic calling has taught me more about biblical servanthood than all the books I have ever read put together. Her confidence in my ability when I seriously doubted that I would ever finish was essential to my ever getting to this point. It is to Bonnie that this work is dedicated, with more thanks and love than I know how to express. CONTENTS .. Abstract ............................................................................................ 11 Acknowledgments ................................................................................ iv List of Abbreviations ............................................................................ ix INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ I A . The Purpose of This Essay .......................................................... 2 B. A Brief Overview of the Life and Writings of Yoder ........................... 7 C . The Central Thesis of This Essay ............................................ 9 D . An Overview of this Essay ......................................................... 14 CHAPTER I: THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF YODER'S THOUGHT ........ 18 A . Yoder and the Anabaptist-Mennonite Tradition ....................... ... .... 21 I . The Development of Anabaptist Historiography ....................... 22 2 . The "Anabaptist Vision" and Mennonite Identity ...................... 25 3 . The Concern Movement ..................................................
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