Abstract
Things Hold Together: John Howard Yoder’s Trinitarian Theology of Culture
Branson L. Parler
Harrisonburg, VA: Herald, 2012. 262 pp. $24.99
James Davison Hunter, in his recent book, To Change the World, acknowledges that “neo-Anabaptism” is one of the options that must be given serious consideration when deliberating the nature of Christian involvement in the larger culture. This is due mostly to the huge influence of the writings of John Howard Yoder over the last 40 years.
Hunter’s portrayal is less of a caricature than are many summaries of Yoder (and Hauerwas). From now on, however, there will be no excuse for anyone writing on this subject not to understand Yoder on the set of issues that H. Richard Niebuhr dubbed “Christ and culture,” for Branson Parler, Associate Professor of Theological Studies at Kuyper College, has in Things Hold Together done the hard work that needed to be done—reading deeply and broadly in Yoder’s extensive body of writings—to provide a careful and theologically holistic account of Yoder on this set of issues.
Parler is aware that the Niebuhr brothers—Reinhold and H. Richard—have decisively shaped the paradigms for many Christians in understanding this set of issues. He is also aware that Yoder engaged the thought of both men early and directly as well as often writing in light of their work throughout his career. Thus, the first main chapter (chapter 2) is devoted to an informed summary of the work of the Niebuhrs as well as an incisive critique of them. He has, in fact, given a taste of the argument of the book by showing that Yoder is more orthodox and more broadly rooted in the whole of the biblical witness than either of the Niebuhrs.
Chapters 3 through 5 have overlapping purposes. Chapter 3 provides a nuanced discussion of Yoder and his relationship to orthodox creeds. Yoder’s (merely) relative affirmation of the creeds results from a strong commitment to the authority of the Scriptures combined with a consciousness of the contextual nature of, say, fourth-century philosophical categories for specifying what it means to affirm the Trinity. Chapter 4 helps fill out details of Yoder’s understanding of New Testament christology that amplifies what readers see expressed in The Politics of Jesus. Chapter 5, on “the power of Jesus and the politics of creation,” shows that Yoder’s theology and theological ethic is indeed centered in Jesus the Christ, but in a way that is trinitarian and linked to a holistic understanding of how the radical newness of Jesus fits within a biblical understanding of creation, the fall, and God’s relationship to ancient Israel—and how all of this fits with the need for Christian discernment regarding how faithfully to live within any given culture.
In fact, chapter 6, on the “sword-bearing state,” reminds us both of God’s original intention for creation and how, after the fall, we have to refuse to behave in ways that are inconsistent with God’s intentions. Order was always a part of God’s creation. However, violence as a way to enforce order comes after the fall. As portions of this chapter and the following chapter make clear, the “Spirit-pioneering culture” (the church) is to reflect the empowerment and the teachings of its Lord—being an example of the neighbor and enemy-loving existence made possible in Christ.
All in all, Parler gives a compelling account of how all this holds together in Yoder’s thought and is coherent with a trinitarian account of God’s ways in the world and through God’s people. This is not to say I would offer no criticisms of the book. First, the book shows signs of the fact that it was originally written to convince Reformed theologians and ethicists. But this limitation fits Yoder’s own tendencies. He mostly engaged in debates with the Niebuhrs and with (certain streams of) Reformed thought on this set of issues. Second, I would want to discuss the contrasts between Yoder and Hauerwas alluded to several times; these can easily be over-done. Finally, because of the focus of Parler’s book, one could be tempted to forget what is arguably Yoder’s most significant contribution to the fields of biblical studies and social ethics. The Politics of Jesus was more than the title of a book. It was an invitation to notice How God Became King, as N.T. Wright recently put it—that is, to notice the inherently social dimensions of the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah.