Practicing the Politics of Jesus:

The Origin and Significance of John Howard Yoder's Social Ethics; The C. Henry Smith Series Volume 8

This book holds potential to be the definitive book on John Howard Yoder's social ethics. Through a treatment of Yoder's thought that is insightful and sophisticated yet surprisingly accessible given the profundity of the issues being analyzed, Zimmerman lays out the relevance of the politics of Jesus for people committed to the power of God's transforming love. As foreward writer John Paul Lederach mentions, the book reads almost like a novel - because Zimmerman skillfully shows how Yoder's personal and church-related narratives helped shape his theology.

“This book is a treasure. It would be worth having for no other reason than its being a well-told tale of an unusually complex life story. Beyond that, it provides at least a partial answer to the most heartbreaking response to Yoder’s call to pacifism: ‘Yes, we want to follow Jesus, but it’s just not practical.’” —Nancey Murphy, Author (with George F. R. Ellis), On the Moral Nature of the Universe: Theology, Cosmology, and Ethics