Uses of Haiti or The Politics of Jesus

Uses of Haiti

Author: Paul Farmer

"The Uses of Haiti tells the truth about uncomfortable matters-uncomfortable, that is, for the structures of power and the doctrinal framework that protects them from critical scrutiny. It tells the truth about what has been happening in Haiti, and the U.S. role in its bitter fate."-Noam Chomsky

"A classic"-Jonathan Kozol, author, Death at an Early Age and Savage Inequalities

Publishers Weekly

In this impassioned, sometimes unwieldly, synthesis of history and report, Harvard-based Farmer, who alternates research with medical practice in rural Haiti, offers an indictment of American policy. He traces Haiti's long standing injustice from the sufferings of the 18th century slave economy, and the post-revolution establishment of a still-persistent feudal economy to the U.S. Marine invasion in 1915 and our subsequent support, based on business interests and anticommunism, for tyrants like Papa Doc Duvalier. The democratically elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was deposed in a 1991 coup shortly after he began to redress Haiti's ugly inequalities; Farmer (AIDS and Accusation) notes how media reports meshed with the Bush administration's line, and criticizes the Clinton administration's inaction. Departing from his historical narrative, Farmer also decries harassing U.S. policy toward Haitian refugees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; describes the torture death of a peasant as an outgrowth of U.S. military training; and suggests that AIDS in Haiti should not be blamed on images of squalor, but more on ``an established political and economic crisis.'' American remorse, he suggests, would be the first step toward a new commitment to justice. (Sept.)

Booknews

Published by Common Courage Press, Box 702, Monroe, ME 04951. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Book review: Keto Kid or A Reason for Hope

The Politics of Jesus: Vicit Agnus Noster

Author: John Howard Yoder

Tradition has painted a portrait of a Savior who stands aloof from governmental concerns and who calls his disciples to an apolitical life. But such a picture of Jesus is far from accurate, according to John Howard Yoder. This watershed work in New Testament ethics leads us to a Savior who was deeply concerned with the agenda of politics and the related issues of power, status, and right relations. By canvassing Luke's Gospel, Yoder argues convincingly that the true impact of Jesus' life and ministry on his disciples' social behavior points to a specific kind of Christian pacifism in which "the cross of Christ is the model of Christian social efficacy." This second edition of The Politics of Jesus provides up-to-date interaction with recent publications that touch on Yoder's timely topic. Following most of the chapters are new "epilogues" summarizing research conducted during the last two decades - research that continues to support the outstanding insights set forth in Yoder's original work.

Christian Century

I am convinced that when Christians look back on this century of theology in America, The Politics of Jesus will be seen as a new beginning.

Max L. Stackhouse

Although most Catholics, Calvinists, and Christian realists will remain skeptical of Yoder's view of Jesus and of politics, we are always challenged by him. This new edition includes acute responses to many critics. It will keep the discussion vibrant as Christians today decide how to engage our emerging cosmopolitan, global civilization.

Dennis P. McCann

When it was first published, The Politics of Jesus effected a coup de grace against neo-orthodox biblical theologies that had managed to depoliticize the ethical significance of Jesus' message. This second edition is no less provocative in contesting the reevaluations of New Testament ethics emerging from recent scholarship on the historical Jesus. Yoder presses beyond the question of whether Jesus was political to ask what sort of politics is the mark of Christian discipleship.

Table of Contents:

	Preface to the Second Edition
	Preface to the First Edition
	Abbreviations
1	The Possibility of a Messianic Ethic	1
2	The Kingdom Coming	21
3	The Implications of the Jubilee	60
4	God Will Fight for Us	76
5	The Possibility of Nonviolent Resistance	89
6	Trial Balance	93
7	The Disciple of Christ and the Way of Jesus	112
8	Christ and Power	134
9	Revolutionary Subordination	162
10	Let Every Soul Be Subject: Romans 13 and the Authority of the State	193
11	Justification by Grace through Faith	212
12	The War of the Lamb	228
	Index of Names	248
	Index of Scripture References	251