John Howard Yoder

John Howard Yoder
Born(1927-12-29)December 29, 1927
DiedDecember 30, 1997(1997-12-30) (aged 70)
Spouse
Anne Marie Guth
​
(m. 1952)​
Academic background
Alma mater
ThesisDie Gespräche zwischen Täufern und Reformatoren in der Schweiz, 1523–1538 (1957)
Ernst Staehelin
Influences
Academic work
DisciplineTheology
Sub-discipline
School or tradition
Anabaptism
Institutions
Doctoral students
Marva Dawn
Notable works
The Politics of Jesus (1972)
Influenced
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John Howard Yoder (December 29, 1927 – December 30, 1997) was an American Mennonite theologian and ethicist best known for his defense of Christian pacifism. His most influential book was The Politics of Jesus, which was first published in 1972. Yoder was a Mennonite and wrote from an Anabaptist perspective. He spent the latter part of his career teaching at the University of Notre Dame.

In 1992, media reports emerged that Yoder had sexually abused women in preceding decades, with as many as over 50 complainants. The Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary acknowledged in a statement from 2014 that sexual abuse had taken place and it had been tolerated partly because he was the leading Mennonite theologian of his day and partly because there were not the safeguards in place that there are today.