Brian Hamilton-Vise

Yoder on “nonresistance”

‘This [i.e., Mt 5:39] is the origin of the label “nonresistance.” The term is stronger and more precise than “nonviolence”; for one can hate or despise, conquer and crush another without the use of outward violence. But the term is confusing as well. It has been interpreted–by those who reject the idea–to mean a weak acceptance of the intentions of the evil one, resignation to his evil goals. This the text does not call for. The services to be rendered to the one who coerces us–carrying his burden a second mile, giving beyond the coat and cloak–are to his person, not to his purposes. The “resistance” which we renounce is a response in kind, returning evil for evil. But the alternative is not complicity in his designs. The alternative is creative concern for the person who is bent on evil, coupled with the refusal of his goals.’

—John Howard Yoder, The Original Revolution, p. 48

6 April 2009 | Comments (0)
Tags: Ethics, John Howard Yoder, Sermon on the Mount