Radical catholicity

Christian Century, Jan 21, 1998 by Michael G. Cartwright

Always more than a Mennonite yet never less than a Radical Reformation scholar and churchman, Yoder aimed at nothing less than engaging the full range of Christian brothers and sisters in the church catholic. This work unfolded from the deeply held conviction that the embodiment of the Christian faith is "the original revolution, one that the final words of The Politics of Jesus display so emphatically: "Our Lamb has conquered; let us follow him."

John Howard Yoder's fraternal admonitions across the lines of scholarly disciplines, denominational traditions, national boundaries and linguistic barriers will be missed, but our vision of the oikoumene is larger because of the questions he persistently urged us to ask.

Michael G. Cartwright is a United Methodist minister and assistant professor and chairperson of the philosophy and religion department at the University of Indianapolis. He edited The Royal Priesthood,a collection of John Howard Yoder's essays on ecclesiology and ecumenism.