"Yoder's stature as a major theologian and ethicist is by now secure, and both students of his work and newcomers will find in this book an unparalleled account of the sources, context, and shape of Yoder's social ethics. Careful, irenic, and argued with intellectual vigor, Carter's study gives a coherent reading of Yoder's christocentric moral vision that will provoke debate and renewed appreciation for its subject."--John Webster, Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity, Oxford University"Craig Carter has done a splendid job of analyzing and presenting the theology of John Howard Yoder. He has worked through the hundreds of essays and books which Yoder wrote as well as the secondary literature about him and has given us a carefully crafted systematic view of Yoder's "conversational and occasional writings." If, as he predicts, Yoder's theology is still studied 100 years from now as a new postliberal theological beginning, it will be in part because of the good job done by scholars like Carter."--C. Norman Kraus, Professor Emeritus, Goshen College"A brilliant, probing analysis of one of the most important Christian theologians of the twentieth century. Yoder's central christological argument--precisely because Jesus of Nazareth is true God he is also normative man--challenges both liberal peace and justice activists and traditional evangelicals.

"--Ronald J. Sider, Professor of Theology and Culture, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary"The late John Howard Yoder taught us why ecclesiology is social ethics. In The Politics of the Cross, Craig Carter explains the centrality of this conceptual shift for understanding Yoder's entire body of work. We are in Carter's debt for this carefully researched and thorough study of Yoder's theology and social ethics. In my judgment, The Politics of the Cross has set the standard for excellence for what a theological assessment of Yoder's body of work should be. I suspect this study will prove to be very helpful to those who want to explore more intricate aspects of Yoder's theological oeuvre. Theologians and ethicists will continue to argue about the strengths and weaknesses of John Howard Yoder's theology and social ethics. In the future, however, critics and advocates alike will need to engage The Politics of the Cross if they are going to deal with all the relevant literature and engage the central questions that arise when one attempts to understand why Yoder believed that ecclesiology is social ethics.

" --Michael G. Cartwright.