Abstract
Despite John Howard Yoder’s (1927-1997) regrettable penchant for sexual misconduct, the influence of his theology continues to loom large (even if only as an undercurrent, especially for progressive streams within popular Protestantism today). Though many explicitly mention or use Yoder in their theological and ethical reflections, full-length treatments of his thought continue to be in short supply. For this reason, Pitts’ revision of Yoder’s ‘sociological theology’—which Pitts rightly sees through the lens of Yoder’s (Hendrik-)Berkhofian conception of the principalities and powers, and which Pitts creatively re-casts by way of constructive engagement with Pierre Bordieu’s ‘reflexive sociology’—is a welcome addition to the secondary literature on Yoder.
Pitts structures his argument around ‘the basic creation-fall-redemption framework Yoder [also] inherited from Berkhof’ (p. xxxviii). Two chapters are devoted to each part of this triad in an effort to pinpoint the strengths and the reductive imbalances and weaknesses of Yoder’s programme before proposing Bordieu-inspired correctives. Along such lines, in chapters one and two (creation), Yoder’s theology of creation is augmented by Bordieu’s ‘relational sociology’ (featuring the notions of habitus, capital, and field) towards recovering the personal, the spiritual, and the Trinity (ch. 1) while Yoder’s overly voluntarist theological anthropology is reframed by Bordieu’s emphasis upon the structural realities of sociological contexts (ch. 2). In chapters three and four (fall), the pacifist contours of Yoder’s theology of violence—skewed by Yoder’s ‘tunnel vision’ upon war and peace—are balanced through Bordieu’s theory of symbolic violence (ch. 3) while the reduced cosmology, linguistic haste, slanted hermeneutics, and cynical historiography of Yoder’s theological method are critically elucidated by the reflexivity of Bordieu’s applied rationalism (ch. 4). Finally, in chapters five and six (redemption), Yoder’s sectarian, pneumatologically-lacking, and state-focused ecclesial politics are redirected towards a ‘sociological ecclesiology’ through Bordieu’s ideas concerning ‘circuits of legitimation’, ‘the corporatism of the universal’, and ‘negative philosophy’ (ch. 5) while the inherent ambiguities of Yoder’s theology of Christian particularity are concretely reoriented by Bordieu’s sociologically-historicist conception of universals (ch. 6).
Whether the results can truly be considered ‘Yoderian’ (as Pitts hopes) is subject to debate. Nevertheless, Pitts proves his expositional and constructive prowess through his thick yet concise descriptions and his critical yet integrative appropriations of Yoder’s and Bordieu’s proposals as well as the relevant discussions surrounding them. In this regard, the book is commendably deserving of being appreciated by those interested in Yoder and what’s left of his theological legacy.