What Would You Do?

by John Howard Yoder

Book Overview

What would you do if someone attached your grandmother, wife, daughter (or grandfather, husband, sone)? Yoder explores the pros and cons of a nonviolent response. Expanded edition, 148 pages.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0836136039
• ISBN13: 9780836136036
• Release Date: August 1992
• Publisher: Herald Press (VA)
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.2" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

What WOULD you do?

This is an excellent little book. I read it in a day and thoroughly enjoyed it. It gives some sophisticated yet easy to follow analysis of this issue and I now feel much better able to answer this question that is so often posed. It is written specifically for Christians and I am Buddhist, but the principles are the same whether you are Christian, Buddhist, Humanist, whatever. Highly recommended for anyone.

Answering an unobjective question

Nice little book, fun and thought-provoking at the same time, easy to get involved in the book to the point that you've read almost the whole thing without notice! Starts off with Yoder's educated deconstruction of this loaded question, a question that has been asked of pacifists for over a hundred years, perhaps longer. What would you do if....?" Most of the book then leads off to individual stories by mostly unknown pacifist writers, some with their personal experiences, others with their thoughts on the question. Some are humorous, others are inspirational. Includes short writings by: Leo Tolstoy, S.H. Booth-Clibborn, C.J. Furness, Henry Hodgkin, Joan Baez, Dale Brown, Dale Auckerman, Tom Skinner, Gladys Aylward, Terry Dobson, Dorothy Samuel, Sarah Corson, Angie O'Gorman, Peggy Gish, Art Gish, Lawrence Hart, and an anonymous American missionary in South America.

A practical response to a hypothetical question

In this book, pacifists present a variety of ways to respond when you or your family are faced with a violent situation. It is presented in three sections. The first section is an essay written by Yoder to give an answer to this hypothetical situation. He shows that there are more avenues of action than either responding in violence and allowing the violence to occur. The second section presents the responses of others who decline to use violence in such situations. Some of these are funny and others are very serious, but all of them seek alternative means for dealing with the problem. The final section deals with real situations. It shows how people have confronted a violent attack with non-violence and not been harmed. These stories are very touching. This book is for anyone who is considering pacifism or is a pacifist, but can't seem to answer the simple question, "What would you do if..."

Wonderful collection of intelligent writings!

My father gave me this book as a way to thouroughly explain his pacifism. It did. This is truly an inspiring book and a must read for anyone, on either side of the argument! Get this book today; I promise you won't regret it.

Pacifists Take Note

This book is a collection of answers to the age-old question: If a violent person threatened a loved one, what would you do? It is a treasured part of my library because it provides both simple responses (my favorite being courtesy of Joan Baez), and complex discussions of the values shifts necessary to to deny violence in all its forms. You won't come away from this book with a pat answer to a troubling question, but at least you will know there ARE answers.