The Politics of the Crucified
The Cross in the Political Theology of Yoder, Boff, and Sobrino
- Theology
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2021
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Publisher's Description
Jesus died, not peacefully in bed, but on the cross, the instrument of execution used by the Romans to keep potential disturbers of the established political order in their place. Until the pioneering work of Jurgen Moltmann, the cross has been the "elephant in the room" in Christian political theology. This book explores the difference Jesus's crucifixion makes (or should make) to Christian political theology, by examining the crucifixion in the theologies of the Mennonite John Howard Yoder and the liberation theologians Leonardo Boff and Jon Sobrino. In the light of the cross and of the kenotic God revealed by the cross, questions of political power are explored, and a kenotic political ethic outlined. In conclusion, suggestions are made as to how the contemporary church can live out a cruciform, or cross-shaped, political spirituality and ecclesiology.
Endorsements (3)
“Financial austerity and pandemic have exposed poverty and oppression in the heart of the West as in the less affluent parts of the world. In this context, for those seeking to make cruciform political theology a gift to all humanity and not only the community of the faithful, Peet’s clearly expressed analysis is quite literally, vital and crucial. It will greatly strengthen our theology and political activism. I’d be glad to have written it!”
“With sensitivity and forensic skills, Dr. Peet shows how the politically engaged liberation theologies of Latin America, and the peace witness of the Mennonites, have much to say to a post-Christian Europe and North America. Churches must urgently learn to exist without privilege and power. They must not become self-interested pressure groups, but embrace the way of the cross, with hope and responsibility. This is a deeply moving, compassionate work.”
“It is one thing to point to the centrality of the cross for Christian life and thought. It is quite another to acknowledge that living out this observation is an endlessly difficult task. It is rarer still to place our inevitable failure to embody the cross at the very heart of our reflection on its centrality. The value of John Peet’s work is that it does all three of these things with insight and grace.”
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