Karl Barth and the Problem of War, and Other Essays on Barth

A passionate opponent of Nazism, Karl Barth was required to serve in the Swiss army. At the age of 54, he helped guard the Swiss border at Basel from German intruders. Some would suggest this is all we need to know in order to understand Barth's views on Christianity and war. John Howard Yoder begged to differ. "Karl Barth and the Problem of War" is an essay in which Yoder articulates the views of his former teacher on war, these views comprising a position he refers to as "chastened non-pacifism." Through a rigorous examination of Barth's ethical method, Yoder seeks to show how the logic of Barth's basic theological commitments makes him even closer to pacifism than is often noticed. Here five additional essays, three of which have never before been published, join this long essay. These essays offer further reflections on Barth's "chastened non-pacifism," as well as offering some of Yoder's fruitful use of Barth's theology for social ethics.

John Howard Yoder taught at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary and later became a professor of theology and ethics at the University of Notre Dame and a fellow of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. He is the author of The Politics of Jesus (1972), The Priestly Kingdom (1984), For the Nations (1997), and several other books.