Toward an Anabaptist Political Theology: Law, Order, and Civil Society
A. James Reimer's (1942-2010) theopolitical project, intended to be a fully theologically conceptualized political theology, offers a constructive and creative contribution to this burgeoning field of theological inquiry. Reimer's thesis for this theologically derived politics focuses on the necessity to take seriously the biblical-Trinitarian foundations for all Christian social ethics, but also on the importance of astute and faithful engagement by Christians in public institutional life, including the political realm. While Reimer understood himself to be working as an Anabaptist, and hoped to invite that tradition to embrace a more positive view of civil institutions than has historically been the case, he was not limited by that tradition or beholden to take only its sources into account. Ever alert to the problems inherent in every kind of reductionism, and especially so in cases where theology is reduced to either ethics or politics, Reimer's political theology pursues the investigation of theological realities that are to serve as the engine, the generative force of a political theology that seeks to articulate both a critical and a positive-constructive approach to public/political life and institutions.
"These working-papers composed in preparation for a wide-ranging
political theology will certainly make us feel how much we have
lost by James Reimer's death. Yet the result is not simply a
might-have-been. They show us enough of his historical and
conceptual inquiries to encourage us to reopen questions we may
have thought closed, and to find more plausible the prospect of a
convergence of Radical and Magisterial Protestant traditions, true
to the commitments of both sides."
--Oliver O'Donovan, Emeritus Professor, University of Edinburgh,
Edinburgh, Scotland
"At once pushing the boundaries of Anabaptist theology and offering
a critical perspective from within that same tradition, these pages
offer no less than an annotated roadmap on how to read the world
both politically and theologically. A cherished gift and must-read
for all who desire to heed God's call to faithful living!"
--Harry Huebner, Director, International and Inter-Faith
Theological Initiatives, Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg,
Canada
"These working-papers composed in preparation for a wide-ranging
political theology will certainly make us feel how much we have
lost by James Reimer's death. Yet the result is not simply a
might-have-been. They show us enough of his historical and
conceptual inquiries to encourage us to reopen questions we may
have thought closed, and to find more plausible the prospect of a
convergence of Radical and Magisterial Protestant traditions, true
to the commitments of both sides."
--Oliver O'Donovan, Emeritus Professor, University of Edinburgh,
Edinburgh, Scotland
"At once pushing the boundaries of Anabaptist theology and offering
a critical perspective from within that same tradition, these pages
offer no less than an annotated roadmap on how to read the world
both politically and theologically. A cherished gift and must-read
for all who desire to heed God's call to faithful living!"
--Harry Huebner, Director, International and Inter-Faith
Theological Initiatives, Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg,
Canada
Product Details
- Title : Toward an Anabaptist Political Theology: Law, Order, and Civil Society
- Authors:
- Reimer, A. James
- Doerksen, Paul G.
- Publisher: Cascade Books
- Publication Date: 2014
- ISBN: 9781630875176
A. James Reimer (1942-2010), professor of religious studies and
Christian theology at Conrad Grebel University College and at the
Toronto School of Theology, was named Distinguished Professor
Emeritus upon his retirement in 2008.
Paul G. Doerksen is associate professor of theology and Anabaptist
Studies at Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Canada. He is the author of Beyond Suspicion: Post-Christendom
Protestant Political Theology in John Howard Yoder and Oliver
O'Donovan.