The death of renowned United Methodist theologian Richard Hays of Duke Divinity School perhaps marks the almost end of the neo-Anabaptist, pacifist era. His obituaries all cited his very recent liberalized views on sexuality, overturning his previous more traditionalist views explained in his 1996 A Moral Vision of the New Testament. But his pacifism, as also explained in that book, was perhaps more significant and revealing.
Christianity Today hailed that A Moral Vision as one of the 20th century’s most important Christian books. Hays addressesd marriage and divorce, homosexuality, abortion and war, among other issues. He aligned with the modern neo-Anabaptist movement that rejects all violence. It was founded by Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder, author of the 1972 book The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus’ Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted. Yoder redefined the Cross to mean chiefly the rejection of all violence. Yoder’s perspective was popularized by Stanley Hauerwas (still alive), who also, like Hays, taught at Duke Divinity School.
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