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The Politics of the Crucified. a Study of the Political Theology of John Howard Yoder, Leonardo Boff and Jon Sobrino with Special Reference to the Crucifixion

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The Politics of the Crucified. a Study of the Political Theology of John Howard Yoder, Leonardo Boff and Jon Sobrino with Special Reference to the Crucifixion i The Politics of the Crucified. A study of the political theology of John Howard Yoder, Leonardo Boff and Jon Sobrino with special reference to the Crucifixion John Christopher Peet Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. The University of Leeds School of Theology and Religious Studies April 2010 The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to my family, my wife Mary, son Andrew and daughter Susan for their loving support and encouragement; to Dr.Kevin Ward, my supervisor, for wisdom and guidance; and to the churches of St.John’s Cononley and St.Mary’s Bradley, for providing a stimulating context for this work. iii ABSTRACT John Peet The Politics of the Crucified. A study of the political theology of John Howard Yoder, Leonardo Boff and Jon Sobrino with special reference to the Crucifixion. Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. April 2010 Jesus died violently on the cross, the form of execution imposed on those who threatened the Roman imperial order. What difference does this make to Christian political theology? What is the revelatory value of Jesus’ death with regard to political theology? This thesis explores these questions, using a Christocentric methodology and taking three theologians in particular as interlocutors -– the Mennonite theologian John Yoder and the Latin American liberation theologians Leonardo Boff and Jon Sobrino – with special reference to an examination of the ways in which their political theologies are shaped by the cross. The first part of the thesis consists of a close analysis and comparison of the writings of the above theologians concerning the cross. In Yoder, the theme of a cruciform, non-violent and non-resistant church is emphasised. In Boff and Sobrino the cross is seen to represent a protest against suffering in the name of a crucified God in solidarity with a crucified people. In the second part of the thesis the perspective widens to examine two issues which particularly arise from this analysis – how a Christian doctrine of political power is affected by the crucifixion, and how the contemporary church, particularly in Britain, might adopt a ‘cruciform’ political praxis. The conclusion is drawn that the chief Christian criterion for analysing political power is victimological – i.e. from the perspective of the victims of power, rather than those who exercise it. In the light of this, and given its increasingly marginalised status, the church in Britain should abandon any pretensions to ‘Christendom’, formulate a cruciform political theology and willingly live out a cruciform status. iv CONTENTS Acknowledgments ii) Abstract iii) Contents iv) CHAPTER 1 Introduction – the cross and political theology 1 a) Methodology 1 Research methodology 1 Theological methodology 2 Some preliminary definitions 4 b) Outline of the thesis 5 c) Hopes and consequences 7 SECTION I – EXAMINING THE FOUNDATIONS 9 CHAPTER 2 The context of the political theology of the cross in Yoder, Boff and Sobrino 9 a) The context of the cross in Yoder 9 The importance of community, Mennonite and ecumenical 9 Barthian Christocentrism 11 Chalcedonian Christology 13 Soteriology 13 The obedient non-resistance of Jesus 16 Resurrection and faith 17 Can the cross bear the hermeneutical weight Yoder places on it? 17 b) The context of the cross in Boff and Sobrino 18 Theology in the service of liberation 18 An orthodox Christology from below 21 Soteriology 23 The ‘necessity’ of the cross 28 c) Conclusion 29 v CHAPTER 3 The historical and political causation of the cross in Yoder, Boff and Sobrino 31 Excursus - identifying the political 31 a) The historical and political causation of the cross in Yoder 32 Jesus’ ministry as inescapably political 32 A different kind of politics 33 Jesus as politically subversive 35 Coherence with historical evidence 36 Crossing Lessing’s ditch 39 Conclusion 39 b) The historical and political causation of the cross in Boff and Sobrino 40 Jesus’ death as a consequence of his life 40 Jesus’ death as a political execution 42 Jesus’ interpretation of his death 46 Coherence with historical evidence 48 Crossing Lessing’s ditch 50 c) Conclusion 51 Summary – towards a political theology of the cross (i) 52 An ambivalence towards the cross 52 The importance of context 52 The centrality of Christ in revelation 53 Christological and soteriological coherence 54 Coherence with historical scholarship 55 Crossing Lessing’s ditch 56 SECTION II - BUILDING ON THE FOUNDATIONS 1) A CRUCIFORM RESPONSE TO SUFFERING AND OPPRESSION 58 CHAPTER 4 The cross as a definitive source for Christian political ethics 58 a) Yoder – the cruciform nature of Christian politics 58 Cruciformity as normative 58 vi Redefining the nature of ‘Christian politics’ 59 Some criticisms 60 b) Boff and Sobrino – the ‘cross against the crosses’ and the ‘crucified God’ 62 Boff – the cross as a protest against suffering 62 Boff – modern theologies of the cross examined 63 Sobrino – Jesus as the revealer of the crucified God 67 The crucified God and political salvation 70 c) Conclusion 71 CHAPTER 5 The cross and political discipleship 73 a) Yoder - The cross and nonconforming political discipleship 73 Discipleship as bearing the cross of nonconformity 73 Discipleship as an imitation of the crucified 74 Martyrdom and ‘revolutionary subordination’ 75 b) Boff and Sobrino – cruciform spirituality and martyrdom 78 Boff - a cruciform spirituality for political discipleship 78 Boff – the power of martyrdom 79 Sobrino – a spirituality of martyrdom 81 Martyrdom, the crucified people and the church 83 c) Conclusion 85 CHAPTER 6 The cross and a response to violence 86 a) Yoder - The cross and non-violence 86 Christological pacifism 86 Some questions 88 Some criticisms 89 Excursus – British liberal pacifism of the 1930’s 91 The cross and non-resistance 92 The cross and non-coercion 94 Excursus – Yoder and Gandhian peacemaking 95 b) Boff and Sobrino - A cruciform response to oppression 97 Boff – violence and the cross 97 Sobrino – the question of violence 99 c) Conclusion 101 vii Summary – towards a political theology of the cross (ii) 103 A cruciform imitation of the crucified God in a crucified world 103 A different criterion for political success 104 A spirituality of costly commitment 105 Non-violence the default option for the Christian 106 Martyrdom, and resistance to privatizing the cross 107 The inevitability of conflict and the necessity for engagement 108 SECTION III - BUILDING ON THE FOUNDATIONS 2) THE CRUCIFORM AND CRUCIFIED PEOPLE 109 CHAPTER 7 The cruciform people – the church and political responsibility 109 a) Yoder – The church, the cross and the question of responsibility 109 The question of ‘social responsibility’ 109 ‘Moving history in the right direction’ 110 The cross against Constantinianism 113 Criticism – an unwarranted suspicion of power 114 Criticism - ethics of conflicting duty 117 Criticism – the social responsibility of the church 118 A new way of ‘doing politics’ – through a cruciform church 120 Church, kingdom and world 122 Criticisms of Yoder’s doctrine of a cruciform church 124 Cruciformity as suffering non-resistance 126 b) Boff and Sobrino – politics and a cruciform church 128 Sociological repositioning 128 Persecution and martyrdom 130 Redefinition of accessing power 131 c) Conclusion 132 CHAPTER 8 The crucified people – solidarity between the poor and the crucified Christ 134 a) Sobrino – the crucified people 134 Introduction – the theme of the crucified people 134 viii What is meant by the crucified people? 136 Who are the crucified people? 138 Interpreting the role of the crucified people 139 The crucified people and a theology of cruciform discipleship 140 The crucified people, solidarity and salvation 141 b) Boff and Yoder – a theology of solidarity 148 Boff and cruciform solidarity 148 Yoder – discipleship and solidarity 150 c) Conclusion 151 Summary – towards a political theology of the cross (iii) 153 The corporate Christ and the people of God 153 The cross and a modified responsibility 153 The cruciform people, the state and the church 155 Powerlessness and persuasive witness 156 The crucified people – metaphor and reality 157 The crucified people and salvation 158 The crucified people, ideology and idolatry 159 SECTION IV - BUILDING ON THE FOUNDATIONS 3) HOPE, PROVIDENCE, POWER AND THE CROSS 161 CHAPTER 9 Hope, eschatology and the cross 161 a) Yoder - The cross, the church, and the political providence of God 161 An ethic of faith and hope 161 An eschatological ethic 163 Discerning the presence in history of ‘the lamb who was slain’ 164 b) Boff and Sobrino – hope for the victims 166 Boff – hope for the oppressed through the cross and resurrection 166 Sobrino – the crucified as participating in the resurrection 169 c) Conclusion 171 ix CHAPTER 10 Power, providence and the cross 173 a) Yoder – the cross, power and providence 173 Yoder – kenosis and politics 173 The cross as the hermeneutical key to God’s providential action 174 Methodological and ethical criticisms 176 Conflict with ‘the powers’ 177 The church as sharing in the victory of the cross over the powers 180 The cross, power and the powers 181 b) Boff and Sobrino and the question of power 182 Liberation
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