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The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium
In our fast-paced secular world, God and theology are second-class citizens. Money, politics, sports, and science seem better suited to the hard realities of our world. As the church steeple has been eclipsed by the skyscraper as the centerpiece of the urban landscape, so has the divine realm been set aside in favor of more immediate human experience. One sad consequence of this shift is the loss of spiritual and theological bearings, most clearly evident in our inability to understand or speak about such things. If the old way of viewing the universe no longer works, something else has to replace it.
The Powers That Be reclaims the divine realm as central to human existence by offering new ways of understanding our world in theological terms. Walter Wink reformulates ancient concepts, such as God and the devil, heaven and hell, angels and demons, principalities and powers, in light of our modern experience. He helps us see heaven and hell, sin and salvation, and the powers that shape our lives as tangible parts of our day-to-day experience, rather than as mysterious phantoms. Based on his reading of the Bible and analysis of the world around him, Wink creates a whole new language for talking about and to God. Equipped with this fresh world view, we can embark on a new relationship with God and our world into the next millennium.
From the Hardcover edition.
The Powers That Be reclaims the divine realm as central to human existence by offering new ways of understanding our world in theological terms. Walter Wink reformulates ancient concepts, such as God and the devil, heaven and hell, angels and demons, principalities and powers, in light of our modern experience. He helps us see heaven and hell, sin and salvation, and the powers that shape our lives as tangible parts of our day-to-day experience, rather than as mysterious phantoms. Based on his reading of the Bible and analysis of the world around him, Wink creates a whole new language for talking about and to God. Equipped with this fresh world view, we can embark on a new relationship with God and our world into the next millennium.
From the Hardcover edition.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
About the author
Walter Wink
50 books65 followersDr. Walter Wink was Professor Emeritus of Biblical Interpretation at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City. Previously, he was a parish minister and taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. In 1989-1990 he was a Peace Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace.
His newer works include:
The Human Being: Jesus and the Enigma of the Son of the Man
(Fortress Press, 2001.)
Peace Is The Way: Writings on Nonviolence from the Fellowship of Reconciliation. (Edited by Walter Wink. Orbis Books, 2000.)
The Powers That Be:Theology for a New Millennium
(New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Homosexuality and Christian Faith: Questions of Conscience for the Churches (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999)
He is author of a trilogy, The Powers:
Naming the Powers: The Language of Power in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984)
Unmasking the Powers: The Invisible Forces That Determine Human Existence (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986)
Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of
Domination (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992)
His other works include:
When the Powers Fall: Reconciliation in the Healing of Nations
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998). Swedish edition: Healing a Nation's Wounds: Reconciliation on the Road to Democracy (Uppsala, Sweden: Life and Peace Institute, 1997)
Cracking the Gnostic Code: The Powers in Gnosticism (Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1993)
Violence and Nonviolence in South Africa (Philadelphia: New Society Publishers, 1987). (Out of print)
Transforming Bible Study, second edition (Nashville: Abingdon, 1990) (Out of print)
The Bible in Human Transformation (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1973). (Out of print)
John the Baptist in the Gospel Tradition (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1968). (Out of print)
Proclamation 5: Holy Week, Year B (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993). (Out of print)
His newer works include:
The Human Being: Jesus and the Enigma of the Son of the Man
(Fortress Press, 2001.)
Peace Is The Way: Writings on Nonviolence from the Fellowship of Reconciliation. (Edited by Walter Wink. Orbis Books, 2000.)
The Powers That Be:Theology for a New Millennium
(New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Homosexuality and Christian Faith: Questions of Conscience for the Churches (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999)
He is author of a trilogy, The Powers:
Naming the Powers: The Language of Power in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984)
Unmasking the Powers: The Invisible Forces That Determine Human Existence (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986)
Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of
Domination (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992)
His other works include:
When the Powers Fall: Reconciliation in the Healing of Nations
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998). Swedish edition: Healing a Nation's Wounds: Reconciliation on the Road to Democracy (Uppsala, Sweden: Life and Peace Institute, 1997)
Cracking the Gnostic Code: The Powers in Gnosticism (Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1993)
Violence and Nonviolence in South Africa (Philadelphia: New Society Publishers, 1987). (Out of print)
Transforming Bible Study, second edition (Nashville: Abingdon, 1990) (Out of print)
The Bible in Human Transformation (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1973). (Out of print)
John the Baptist in the Gospel Tradition (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1968). (Out of print)
Proclamation 5: Holy Week, Year B (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993). (Out of print)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
November 28, 2016
Word of caution here: if you're thinking about purchasing this book to learn more about the myth of redemptive violence, know that the section that covers this topic is only twenty-something pages long. It's plenty informative and I'm glad to have read it, but you can probably find it online and save yourself a couple dollars if you look hard enough.
To be fair, the first half of this book is very interesting. I loved Walter Wink's philosophy of worldviews (how people perceive the relationship between the material and the divine) and his breakdown of what he calls the "domination system." But THE POWERS THAT BE is, first and foremost, a theology book. If you're not Christian, the way I'm not, there are long parts in Wink's book that simply don't address you. They can be interesting. His vision of Jesus as a revolutionary is interesting, but THE POWERS THAT BE is mostly a book about being a good Christian in a late 20th century world. Some of it is outdated. Some of it doesn't apply. It's a take-what-you-need kind of book. I'm still glad I've read it for the insight on the myth of redemptive violence, but you know. Do your homework, guys. Find the material on your own. No need to purchase here. Not if you aren't a religious person.
To be fair, the first half of this book is very interesting. I loved Walter Wink's philosophy of worldviews (how people perceive the relationship between the material and the divine) and his breakdown of what he calls the "domination system." But THE POWERS THAT BE is, first and foremost, a theology book. If you're not Christian, the way I'm not, there are long parts in Wink's book that simply don't address you. They can be interesting. His vision of Jesus as a revolutionary is interesting, but THE POWERS THAT BE is mostly a book about being a good Christian in a late 20th century world. Some of it is outdated. Some of it doesn't apply. It's a take-what-you-need kind of book. I'm still glad I've read it for the insight on the myth of redemptive violence, but you know. Do your homework, guys. Find the material on your own. No need to purchase here. Not if you aren't a religious person.
Read
May 5, 2023Walter Wink wrote a brilliant 3-volume work explaining what the New Testament means by "powers." If they're not little devils in red suits with pitchforks, what are they? Later he did a more accessible summary of those books in this one volume. If you like it, by all means grab the trilogy.
January 28, 2021
Wink's argument is passionate, reasonable, and convincing. He claims that non-violent resistance has always been the Christian response to injustice, and the force of courageous compassion is re-shaping the world. Wink's accounts of the great democratic revolutions of the 1980s and 90s pay tribute to a growing movement for partnership, which is capable of overcoming the old "powers that be," and establishing a "domination-free order." The writing exudes confidence that Jesus' dream for the world is practical, doable, and just good sense.
May 12, 2021
An incredibly, fantastically important and compelling book. My friend John loaned this to me and I consumed it with joy, hope, nodding approval and much more. This book brings the Christian message into a focus and logic which had escaped me, despite some study. The Domination System is the author's description of how the world works against the message of Jesus, in his time and ours. Nonviolent resistance is a Christian principle and confronting the "Powers that Be" is necessary to live the Christian life. Our own worldview and culture is often the enemy within. This theology rings so true to my heart. This book is truly transformational.
September 28, 2024
Es ist schwer eine Rezension zu schreiben, wenn das Buch gerade noch dabei ist, an einem zu arbeiten.
Ich bin da ganz unbedarft reingestolpert. Eigentlich wollte ich nur mal nach ner solideren biblischen Untermauerung von gewissen anarchistischen Ideen suchen. Walter Wink bot sich da an, denn obwohl er selbst zwar keiner ist, wird er ständig von christlichen AnarchistInnen rezipiert. Letztlich hat sich durch den Read aber meine vorher schon recht durchreflektierte Position zu Gewalt ziemlich stark durchgeschüttelt. Muss ich erstma sacken lassen.
Zum Buch selbst kann ich nur sagen, dass es ein absolutes Meisterwerk ist. Poetisch in der Sprache, prophetisch in seinem Inhalt. Sehr kreatives Theologietreiben, das unfassbar anregend ist.
Ich bin da ganz unbedarft reingestolpert. Eigentlich wollte ich nur mal nach ner solideren biblischen Untermauerung von gewissen anarchistischen Ideen suchen. Walter Wink bot sich da an, denn obwohl er selbst zwar keiner ist, wird er ständig von christlichen AnarchistInnen rezipiert. Letztlich hat sich durch den Read aber meine vorher schon recht durchreflektierte Position zu Gewalt ziemlich stark durchgeschüttelt. Muss ich erstma sacken lassen.
Zum Buch selbst kann ich nur sagen, dass es ein absolutes Meisterwerk ist. Poetisch in der Sprache, prophetisch in seinem Inhalt. Sehr kreatives Theologietreiben, das unfassbar anregend ist.
January 8, 2013
I found Walter Wink's treatment of the principalities and the powers intriguing and his understanding of The Domination System, where the myth of redemptive violence is the overarching meta-narrative, extremely insightful. I thought that the best part of this book, however, is the discussion on how Jesus's death and atonement has broken the spiral of violence once and for all, and how those who follow Jesus are called to pacifism - and to taking a stand against systems of injustice through non-violent direct actions. A number of fascinating historical examples show the effectiveness of such non-violent actions. There is also a very good critique of just-war theory and theology. Some of the foundations of Winks theology, however, seem quite unorthodox. He subscribes to an open view of God where God's power is limited by the powers and is enhanced through our prayers. He holds a low Christology where Jesus is affirmed in his humanity but not in his divinity. He holds a low view of the authority of the Christian Scriptures where, at times, whole chunks of the canon (Paul's writings and parts of the OT) are heavily criticised, seen as irrelevant, and set aside when they do not fit in with Winks understanding. I believe that the main aspects of Winks teaching in this book, however, can be better anchored with a more robust and orthodox theology. For example, the atonement theory of breaking the cycle of violence once and for all is by far more convincing if we adhere to both the divine and human natures of Jesus. It is then God, in the person of his Son Jesus, who takes onto himself the violence and sin of humanity, who absorbs into himself the violence of humanity while continuing to offer love and mercy to those who are crucifying him. In his death and subsequent resurrection, therefore, Jesus has fully revealed the love of God as a love that conquers and breaks the cycle of violence. Violence does not have the last word. Death and violence are swallowed up in victory. The resurrection shows that there is a power that is more powerful than violence and that the worst result of violence - the murder of an innocent person - is able to be overcome by the power of God so that new life, resurrection life and a new creation triumphs over the old order of sin, violence and death.
March 12, 2022
“The myth of redemptive violence is the simplest, laziest, most exciting, uncomplicated, irrational, and primitive depiction of evil the world has ever known.”
This book is an examination of redemptive violence and the power structure - what Wink calls “the Domination system” - that we live with. He consistently engages the reader, keeping his points concise and clear with his explanation of the Domination system and how violence in its many forms is very much a part of our culture. When this book was published in 1998, it was estimated that the average child “watched roughly 36,000 hours of TV by age 18, viewing some 15,000 murders.”
As Wink builds his case for the power of non-violence to counter violence and/or create change, readers learn how Christianity has strayed from the transformative message contained in the Gospels. He asks, “How can we find God in our enemies?” To do so is the challenge of non-violence and walking the talk of true Christianity.
An intriguing part of his theme is his critique of the Just-War Theory and the notion of “the warrior mentality and peace through strength.” In doing so, you do not have to be a believer to learn something from this book about countering injustice and inequality.
Wink writes, “History belongs to intercessions who believe the future into being. This is not simply a religious statement. It is also true of Communists or capitalists or anarchists. The future belongs to whoever can envision a new and desirable possibility . . . This is the politics of hope.”
So ends my review. What follows are some of my notes from this book:
Finding creative ways to confront violence is difficult because we are inundated with violence as the answer to violence from an early age, from stories in the Old Testament, cartoons, books, film, & TV. In westerns and mysteries, the gunfighter and the PI take matters into their own hand to bring justice. With spy thrillers “the spy is permitted to murder, seduce, lie, steal, commit illegal entry, tap phones without a court order, and otherwise do anything necessary to protect the values of ‘Christian’ civilization.” All sorts of violence is permissible in the service of one’s country.
Redemptive violence is a myth sustaining “the domination system,” the system of power that we are part of. . . “. Unquestioning obedience is the highest virtue, and order the highest religious value.”
“the myth of redemptive violence uses the traditions, rites, customs, and symbols of Christianity to enhance both the power of a select wealthy minority and the goals of the nation narrowly defined.”
“Christianity’s weaponless victory over the Roman Empire resulted in the weaponless victory of the empire over the gospel. A fundamental transformation occurred when the church ceased being persecuted and became instead a persecutor. Once a religion attains sufficient power in a society that the state looks to it for support, that religion must also, of necessity, join in the repression of the state’s enemies.”
The myth of redemptive violence is so powerful that the oppressed submit to it. For example, “American blue-collar workers, who are among those most victimized by the ruling elite, continue not only to support their oppressors but … are among their most vociferous fans . . .” The wealthiest get the best tax breaks and the tax breaks get the support of those who will be paying the most.
The Domination system rose when conquest became profitable. Warfare meant plunder, the killing of males because “male captives were unreliable,” females then taken to be slaves, concubines, sexual toys, and taxation exists to support occupying army, the warrior caste, and the aristocracy.
By killing off males, “the numerical excess of females depreciated the value of all females, and the system of patriarchy was either born or sharply expanded.” . . . With warfare, “social systems became rigidly hierarchical, authoritarian, and patriarchal.”
“the earliest documented effort to establish legal basic rights for citizens, Urukagina’s edict (c. 2300 B.C.E., Mesopotamia), declares, ‘If a woman speaks . . . disrespectfully to a man, that woman’s mouth is crushed with fired brick.”
Plunder and conquest begets plunder and conquest - defense against a powerful aggressor required society to become like the aggressor - a circle of violence
Christianity strayed from the gospels when the church became a state supported religion, and from mistranslations of the Bible. King James authorizes a new translation of the Bible, in part to eliminate ‘the “seditious . . . dangerous, and trayterous” tendencies in the marginal notes printed in the Geneva Bible, which included endorsement of the right to disobey a tyrant’ removed.“ . . . the public had to be made to believe the that there are only two alternatives, and only two: flight or fight.” The message of Jesus was watered down to “monarchical absolutism.” “Submission is the will of God,” a contradiction of Jesus’ message of resisting unfair, unjust, and other oppressive acts that are part & parcel of the power structure (these are, in my mind, covert and systemic) by not letting “the opponent dictate the methods of … opposition.”
Turning the other cheek - resist not evil - going the 2nd mile: these teachings of Jesus have been turned into passive submission to the state and other authority figures. These teachings were meant to humiliate the oppressor by making the oppressed an equal, one who also has dignity.
The purpose of non-violent resistance is to prevent becoming like the oppressor; to humble the oppressor and reveal the injustice of the system - non-violence is a way to transform relationships.
. . . “violence is not conducive to teaching the respect for persons on which democracy depends.” — John Swomley
Gandhi said, “where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence.”
Just-war theory exists to “free ourselves of guilt.” The criteria of Just-War Theory “have been subordinated to the myth of redemptive violence.” “What happens when both sides believe they can construct a valid case for a just war?” In Northern Ireland, both Catholic and Protestant churches had just-war positions.
Opposing violence in all its forms is not just rejecting war, also child abuse, spousal abuse, degradation of the environment, etc.
In the “But What If . . .?” chapter, examples of successful use of non-violence against the Nazis: Bulgaria saved all its Jews from the death camps; Finland saved all but six; Denmark saved 6,500 out of 7,000)
Non-violence doesn’t always work. It didn’t in Stalinist Russia and not in Burma (as of 1998).
“To write off whole groups of people as intrinsically racist and violent is to use the very same arguments that are employed to support racism. There is no fifference in kind between the argument that blacks are inhuman, a different species altogether, and the argument that whites are irreformably prejudiced and violent, incapable of redemption.”
This book is an examination of redemptive violence and the power structure - what Wink calls “the Domination system” - that we live with. He consistently engages the reader, keeping his points concise and clear with his explanation of the Domination system and how violence in its many forms is very much a part of our culture. When this book was published in 1998, it was estimated that the average child “watched roughly 36,000 hours of TV by age 18, viewing some 15,000 murders.”
As Wink builds his case for the power of non-violence to counter violence and/or create change, readers learn how Christianity has strayed from the transformative message contained in the Gospels. He asks, “How can we find God in our enemies?” To do so is the challenge of non-violence and walking the talk of true Christianity.
An intriguing part of his theme is his critique of the Just-War Theory and the notion of “the warrior mentality and peace through strength.” In doing so, you do not have to be a believer to learn something from this book about countering injustice and inequality.
Wink writes, “History belongs to intercessions who believe the future into being. This is not simply a religious statement. It is also true of Communists or capitalists or anarchists. The future belongs to whoever can envision a new and desirable possibility . . . This is the politics of hope.”
So ends my review. What follows are some of my notes from this book:
Finding creative ways to confront violence is difficult because we are inundated with violence as the answer to violence from an early age, from stories in the Old Testament, cartoons, books, film, & TV. In westerns and mysteries, the gunfighter and the PI take matters into their own hand to bring justice. With spy thrillers “the spy is permitted to murder, seduce, lie, steal, commit illegal entry, tap phones without a court order, and otherwise do anything necessary to protect the values of ‘Christian’ civilization.” All sorts of violence is permissible in the service of one’s country.
Redemptive violence is a myth sustaining “the domination system,” the system of power that we are part of. . . “. Unquestioning obedience is the highest virtue, and order the highest religious value.”
“the myth of redemptive violence uses the traditions, rites, customs, and symbols of Christianity to enhance both the power of a select wealthy minority and the goals of the nation narrowly defined.”
“Christianity’s weaponless victory over the Roman Empire resulted in the weaponless victory of the empire over the gospel. A fundamental transformation occurred when the church ceased being persecuted and became instead a persecutor. Once a religion attains sufficient power in a society that the state looks to it for support, that religion must also, of necessity, join in the repression of the state’s enemies.”
The myth of redemptive violence is so powerful that the oppressed submit to it. For example, “American blue-collar workers, who are among those most victimized by the ruling elite, continue not only to support their oppressors but … are among their most vociferous fans . . .” The wealthiest get the best tax breaks and the tax breaks get the support of those who will be paying the most.
The Domination system rose when conquest became profitable. Warfare meant plunder, the killing of males because “male captives were unreliable,” females then taken to be slaves, concubines, sexual toys, and taxation exists to support occupying army, the warrior caste, and the aristocracy.
By killing off males, “the numerical excess of females depreciated the value of all females, and the system of patriarchy was either born or sharply expanded.” . . . With warfare, “social systems became rigidly hierarchical, authoritarian, and patriarchal.”
“the earliest documented effort to establish legal basic rights for citizens, Urukagina’s edict (c. 2300 B.C.E., Mesopotamia), declares, ‘If a woman speaks . . . disrespectfully to a man, that woman’s mouth is crushed with fired brick.”
Plunder and conquest begets plunder and conquest - defense against a powerful aggressor required society to become like the aggressor - a circle of violence
Christianity strayed from the gospels when the church became a state supported religion, and from mistranslations of the Bible. King James authorizes a new translation of the Bible, in part to eliminate ‘the “seditious . . . dangerous, and trayterous” tendencies in the marginal notes printed in the Geneva Bible, which included endorsement of the right to disobey a tyrant’ removed.“ . . . the public had to be made to believe the that there are only two alternatives, and only two: flight or fight.” The message of Jesus was watered down to “monarchical absolutism.” “Submission is the will of God,” a contradiction of Jesus’ message of resisting unfair, unjust, and other oppressive acts that are part & parcel of the power structure (these are, in my mind, covert and systemic) by not letting “the opponent dictate the methods of … opposition.”
Turning the other cheek - resist not evil - going the 2nd mile: these teachings of Jesus have been turned into passive submission to the state and other authority figures. These teachings were meant to humiliate the oppressor by making the oppressed an equal, one who also has dignity.
The purpose of non-violent resistance is to prevent becoming like the oppressor; to humble the oppressor and reveal the injustice of the system - non-violence is a way to transform relationships.
. . . “violence is not conducive to teaching the respect for persons on which democracy depends.” — John Swomley
Gandhi said, “where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence.”
Just-war theory exists to “free ourselves of guilt.” The criteria of Just-War Theory “have been subordinated to the myth of redemptive violence.” “What happens when both sides believe they can construct a valid case for a just war?” In Northern Ireland, both Catholic and Protestant churches had just-war positions.
Opposing violence in all its forms is not just rejecting war, also child abuse, spousal abuse, degradation of the environment, etc.
In the “But What If . . .?” chapter, examples of successful use of non-violence against the Nazis: Bulgaria saved all its Jews from the death camps; Finland saved all but six; Denmark saved 6,500 out of 7,000)
Non-violence doesn’t always work. It didn’t in Stalinist Russia and not in Burma (as of 1998).
“To write off whole groups of people as intrinsically racist and violent is to use the very same arguments that are employed to support racism. There is no fifference in kind between the argument that blacks are inhuman, a different species altogether, and the argument that whites are irreformably prejudiced and violent, incapable of redemption.”
March 16, 2020
A smattering of writings on Wink’s favorite subjects: nonviolence isn’t passive, Jesus was a revolutionary who embodied nonviolent resistance to the Dominion, Powers are neither good nor evil, but can be persuaded one way or another and can be changed, “just war” doesn’t exist.
Wink’s worldview is that God’s people can engage and change the Powers for good using nonviolent resistance just like Jesus himself did.
Wink’s worldview is that God’s people can engage and change the Powers for good using nonviolent resistance just like Jesus himself did.
August 2, 2009
Can’t write enough - replaces non-violent resistance as the meaning of the cross instead of substitution atonement. Allows us to stop seeing God as needing to be appeased with blood. Challenges the Christian to stop allowing violence to be perpetrated by the state or other powers. Reaffirms the value of prayer. Says that institutions have a spirit and that evil is when this spirit no longer conforms to God’s plan for it. Instead of casting out this spirit which has temporarily become demonic, the spirit is prayed for to go back to God’s plan for it. Points out that we should see this in others and not make anyone an enemy but give the person room for transformation.
March 27, 2023
Walter Wink is the author of the "Powers" trilogy: Naming the Powers, Unmasking the Powers, and Engaging the Powers. The "Powers" refers to the "powers and principalities" that St. Paul -- or someone writing under his name -- uses to refer to the earthly forces that separate humans from the love of God and each other. The Powers That Be is a condensation of the ideas from all three books.
Wink begins with an outline of human history which is unlike anything I ever learned in any history class, and certainly not in the "history of western civ" class I was required to take in college. In particular, Wink shows how the rise of agriculture made possible the transformation of an egalitarian society to a domination society in which a few people controlled the lives of many.
He then proceeds to reinterpret Jesus's teachings such as "turn the other cheek," not as preaching passivity, but as calls to creative nonviolent responses to the prevailing domination system. The final third of the book focuses on real-world applications and successes of non-violence.
The early Christians modeled the egalitarian society that Jesus preached, but by the time the emperor Constantine adopted Christianity as the official state religion, the old hierarchical, patriarchal, domination system had taken hold again. Wink points the way to redemption for individuals, for organizations, for governments, for society, for all the powers and principalities that separate humans from full humanity.
Wink begins with an outline of human history which is unlike anything I ever learned in any history class, and certainly not in the "history of western civ" class I was required to take in college. In particular, Wink shows how the rise of agriculture made possible the transformation of an egalitarian society to a domination society in which a few people controlled the lives of many.
He then proceeds to reinterpret Jesus's teachings such as "turn the other cheek," not as preaching passivity, but as calls to creative nonviolent responses to the prevailing domination system. The final third of the book focuses on real-world applications and successes of non-violence.
The early Christians modeled the egalitarian society that Jesus preached, but by the time the emperor Constantine adopted Christianity as the official state religion, the old hierarchical, patriarchal, domination system had taken hold again. Wink points the way to redemption for individuals, for organizations, for governments, for society, for all the powers and principalities that separate humans from full humanity.
June 12, 2020
One of the most influential thinkers to my theology, this concise work offers an easy-to-digest version of Wink's most important contribution.
April 25, 2020
This is the most important book of our time. Once you read it you will be able to critique the stories you know, the new ones you read, the movies you watch, in a new way. Do they promote the myth of redemptive violence? How can we find stories that tear down the myth?
January 6, 2017
I would prefer to give this book a 3.5, but I'm happier with a 4 than a 3.
Chapters 1,2,9, and 10 are fantastic. Wink's understanding of principalities and powers, centred in an 'integral' worldview are very helpful; and they lead way to very practical application. His continued usage of examples in real life situations always flesh out his understanding of non-violent resistance to 'evil' use of power.
His chapter on 'The Gift of the Enemy' was superb, and I think that you should read the book just based off of the first two chapters and this chapter. 'Loving our enemies may seem impossible, yet it can be done. At no point is the inrush of divine grace so immediately and concretely perceptible as in those moments when we let go of our hatred and relax into God's love. No miracle is so awesome, so necessary, and so frequent.'
Now, the reason that I want to give this book a lower review (3.5) is because of Wink's exegesis. I'm just not that convinced by his reading of 'turn the other cheek.' He just didn't persuade me. But I am willing to explore his reading further in other scholarship.
Also, he continues to make N.T. authors disagree with one another: John the Baptiser vs. Jesus; Jesus vs. Paul; Jesus vs. the author of Hebrews and so on. I just don't think that the stark contrasts are necessary. If you take the Gospels seriously, you can't escape Jesus' prophetic warning of coming judgment.
That being said, this book is definitely worth a critical reading (though with a careful hermeneutical listening). There's so much that we can learn, particularly with how the church can blindly side with historical evil by making evil an abstraction, particularly in our Trump/Farage Western context.
Chapters 1,2,9, and 10 are fantastic. Wink's understanding of principalities and powers, centred in an 'integral' worldview are very helpful; and they lead way to very practical application. His continued usage of examples in real life situations always flesh out his understanding of non-violent resistance to 'evil' use of power.
His chapter on 'The Gift of the Enemy' was superb, and I think that you should read the book just based off of the first two chapters and this chapter. 'Loving our enemies may seem impossible, yet it can be done. At no point is the inrush of divine grace so immediately and concretely perceptible as in those moments when we let go of our hatred and relax into God's love. No miracle is so awesome, so necessary, and so frequent.'
Now, the reason that I want to give this book a lower review (3.5) is because of Wink's exegesis. I'm just not that convinced by his reading of 'turn the other cheek.' He just didn't persuade me. But I am willing to explore his reading further in other scholarship.
Also, he continues to make N.T. authors disagree with one another: John the Baptiser vs. Jesus; Jesus vs. Paul; Jesus vs. the author of Hebrews and so on. I just don't think that the stark contrasts are necessary. If you take the Gospels seriously, you can't escape Jesus' prophetic warning of coming judgment.
That being said, this book is definitely worth a critical reading (though with a careful hermeneutical listening). There's so much that we can learn, particularly with how the church can blindly side with historical evil by making evil an abstraction, particularly in our Trump/Farage Western context.
April 4, 2012
Insightful and powerful, even if some might disagree with his theological conclusions.
A previous review spoke highly of Wink's book, with the caveat that the reviewer wasn't impressed with certain aspects of Wink's theology. I'd agree. Even though I disagree with Wink's uderstanding of the atonement and God's soveriegnty, I recognize that there is something powerful and important coming across in this work. His exploration of the "Powers" behind the plethora of the world's systems and casting these in light of ancient understandings of angels provides a powerful context for Christian prayer and interaction with these "Powers."
Perhaps his greatest contribution in this book is to the concept of Christian, non-violent action. Many of the more popular speakers and authors (like Claiborne, Bell, and others) seem to draw a great deal from what he writes. Wether you agree with his conclusions or not, I believe his is an important piece in the developing scene of popular theology today.
A previous review spoke highly of Wink's book, with the caveat that the reviewer wasn't impressed with certain aspects of Wink's theology. I'd agree. Even though I disagree with Wink's uderstanding of the atonement and God's soveriegnty, I recognize that there is something powerful and important coming across in this work. His exploration of the "Powers" behind the plethora of the world's systems and casting these in light of ancient understandings of angels provides a powerful context for Christian prayer and interaction with these "Powers."
Perhaps his greatest contribution in this book is to the concept of Christian, non-violent action. Many of the more popular speakers and authors (like Claiborne, Bell, and others) seem to draw a great deal from what he writes. Wether you agree with his conclusions or not, I believe his is an important piece in the developing scene of popular theology today.
February 19, 2013
If one book is read all year long, I would highly suggest that it be this book. I have seen this book referenced in so many other works, so I thought it must be a book that needs to be read. I was wrong. It isn't a book that needs to be read, it is a book that needs to be read, reflected on, shared, and read again (and again).
How does Jesus call us to live in the world specifically as it relates to violence and the use or non-use of it? And what are exactly the "Powers that Be" that we struggle against? His answers are both refreshing, surprising, a little daring and hold out the most hope for our world (I believe).
How does Jesus call us to live in the world specifically as it relates to violence and the use or non-use of it? And what are exactly the "Powers that Be" that we struggle against? His answers are both refreshing, surprising, a little daring and hold out the most hope for our world (I believe).
February 4, 2016
The core ideas have a lot of merit, unfortunately this short book shouldn't be as long as it is. This is built to be a long essay on non-violent resistance as a Christian imperative. The extra space, though, leads Wink to be redundant, producing eminently-skimmable passages. In addition, his final chapter on the limits of prayer is pretty dubious. Overall it's fine but if you only read the chapter on the Third Way, you'll have gotten most of what this book has to offer.
February 6, 2016
A good introduction to a holistic understanding of Jesus' form of non-violence. Some content seemed a bit less "Christian" than I was expecting and more pseudo-spiritual, but I think the last few chapters resolved those feelings a bit for me. I would recommend it to most anyone wanting to learn more about why I am dedicated to non-violence.
February 6, 2020
The single most insightful book on this subject. WW was for sure a theological genius. A lot of other beautiful minds in this area (eg Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan) are indebted to his findings about the Domination System.
December 29, 2021
The Powers are not confined to the spiritual realm argues Wink. This is a holdover from history when the ancients thought of the material and the spiritual as different realms of being. In the 21st century we must look at reality as an integral whole without separating the two. And then look critically at another ancient holdover that should also be discarded. This is what he terms the “Domination System.” It originated when Eurasians domesticated the horse. Before then, plunder was too much of a burden to haul back home. War didn’t pay. But with a beast of burden that changed. It led, the author states, to the “conquest state” in “Mesopotamia around 3000 B.C.E.”
This new more rigid and brutal hierarchy needed a new myth to justify the way things were. This is what Wink terms “The Myth of Redemptive Violence.” This myth, the author says, “is the real myth of the modern world. It and not Judaism or Christianity or Islam, is the dominant religion in our society today.” He then goes on to point out that X-men, Transformers, Batman, Superman, Popeye, and numerous others socialize children into this way of thinking. Wink traces the pattern back to the Babylonian Myth of Marduk. In order to subdue Tiamat, the Dragon of Chaos, Marduk demands that he , “…must be given chief and undisputed power in the assembly of gods.”
This is preceded by an ugly dysfunctional family conflict. Apsu, the father of the younger gods, and Tiamat, their mother, can’t get any sleep because of the racket their children, Marduk included, are making. Apsu plans to kill them, and when the children hear of this, they make a preemptive strike and kill Apsu instead. Tiamat is out for revenge. But Marduk kills her and from her corpse creates the universe.
The rest of the book, and a critique of the national security state, nationalism, and any other current isms that depend on the myth of redemptive violence stats with chapter 3: “Jesus’ Answer to Domination,” which is nonviolent individual and collective action. Wink confesses his initial hesitation to embrace nonviolence, until he could see the wisdom of Jesus’s practice, and return to the basic message of the gospels that the church held before it became the official religion of the Roman Empire. It is, he argues, the only way to repair the ills of the world that works in the long run. It will, however, take conviction, action, and the potential of self-sacrifice. It will also produce results. If the reader still doubts the effectiveness of nonviolence, he concludes the book with historical examples of where it worked.
The horse and the wheel suddenly made conquest fantastically lucrative. And plunder included the seizure of desirable females as slaves, concubines, wives, and sexual toys (male captives were unreliable, and so were generally killed). The numerical excess of females depreciated the value of all females, and the system of patriarchy was either born or sharply expanded. As warfare became the central preoccupation of states, taxation became necessary in order to support a standing army, a warrior class, and an aristocracy.
This new more rigid and brutal hierarchy needed a new myth to justify the way things were. This is what Wink terms “The Myth of Redemptive Violence.” This myth, the author says, “is the real myth of the modern world. It and not Judaism or Christianity or Islam, is the dominant religion in our society today.” He then goes on to point out that X-men, Transformers, Batman, Superman, Popeye, and numerous others socialize children into this way of thinking. Wink traces the pattern back to the Babylonian Myth of Marduk. In order to subdue Tiamat, the Dragon of Chaos, Marduk demands that he , “…must be given chief and undisputed power in the assembly of gods.”
This is preceded by an ugly dysfunctional family conflict. Apsu, the father of the younger gods, and Tiamat, their mother, can’t get any sleep because of the racket their children, Marduk included, are making. Apsu plans to kill them, and when the children hear of this, they make a preemptive strike and kill Apsu instead. Tiamat is out for revenge. But Marduk kills her and from her corpse creates the universe.
In this myth, creation is an act of violence. … Chaos (symbolized by Tiamat) is prior to order (represented by Marduk, high god of Babylon). Evil precedes good, The gods themselves are violent.
The biblical myth in Genesis 1 is diametrically opposed to all this. (Genesis 1, it should be noted, was developed in Babylon during the Jewish captivity there as a direct rebuttal to the Babylonian myth.) The Bible portrays a good God who creates a good creation, Chaos does not resist order. Good is prior to evil. Neither evil nor violence is a part of the creation, but enter later, as a result of the first couple’s sin and the connivance of the serpent (Gen. 3). A basically good reality is thus corrupted by free decisions reached by creature. In this far more complex and subtle explanation of the origin of things, violence emerges for the first time as a problem requiring a solution.
The rest of the book, and a critique of the national security state, nationalism, and any other current isms that depend on the myth of redemptive violence stats with chapter 3: “Jesus’ Answer to Domination,” which is nonviolent individual and collective action. Wink confesses his initial hesitation to embrace nonviolence, until he could see the wisdom of Jesus’s practice, and return to the basic message of the gospels that the church held before it became the official religion of the Roman Empire. It is, he argues, the only way to repair the ills of the world that works in the long run. It will, however, take conviction, action, and the potential of self-sacrifice. It will also produce results. If the reader still doubts the effectiveness of nonviolence, he concludes the book with historical examples of where it worked.
August 8, 2023
This is a fascinating book, even when you disagree with it, and even when it seems a little dated, and its examples, good and bad, seem either rendered small by distance (Iran-Contra seems less of a thing after an actual US president is convicted of sexual assault, impeached twice, and accused of trying to fix an election); or tarnished by time (when peace-loving opposition leaders gain power, it can be disappointing).
Nevertheless. Wink's unfashionable exploration of 'Principalities and Powers' leads him to see a spiritual element to every institution. He sees these elements as created, fallen, capable of redemption, and destined to become complete and fulfilled at the eschaton. He doesn't successfully relate these unearthly 'Powers' to the earthly demons that Jesus seemingly encountered in his ministry and never seeked to redeem. So between earthly and irredeemable 'demons' and unearthly and redeemable 'powers' there's a gap that, like the gap between relativity and quantum theory, may mean successful partial descriptions but no overall coherent system of thought.
His strategy for us to oppose and even disarm 'The Powers that Be' is non-violence; this being the opposite of the violence-backed domination system by which the Powers control humans. His reading of Jesus as a kind of apostle of non-violence and of bottom-up submission and subversion is striking and powerful. It seems to offer a route to real change in a society, rather than a change from one lawless autocrat to another. This is fine stuff. I loved his quote from Gandhi that the aim of non-violence was not mere victory but a redemptive relationship with the victimizer. (That isn't quite the way Gandhi said it but it will do.)
Then, one hesitates to criticize a former theology professor, but I thought his reading of Paul could be improved on. I read Wink as looking down on Paul from his twentieth-century eyrie and chucking out the bits (quite a lot of really central bits) that he didn't like. Surely we can do better than this. Paul lived in the tension between between the astonishing liberty of the gospel (neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, that stuff) and the willingness of love to suffer and put up with stuff. Paul wanted the gospel to be the foundation of society, respectable, not some loopy Greek mystery religion, so its radicalness and its love of decency and order coexisted in his head and in his practice.
This was better than any number of theology books that tell you mostly what you already know. It set me a-buzzing. It shows how we might change the world. Highly recommended.
Nevertheless. Wink's unfashionable exploration of 'Principalities and Powers' leads him to see a spiritual element to every institution. He sees these elements as created, fallen, capable of redemption, and destined to become complete and fulfilled at the eschaton. He doesn't successfully relate these unearthly 'Powers' to the earthly demons that Jesus seemingly encountered in his ministry and never seeked to redeem. So between earthly and irredeemable 'demons' and unearthly and redeemable 'powers' there's a gap that, like the gap between relativity and quantum theory, may mean successful partial descriptions but no overall coherent system of thought.
His strategy for us to oppose and even disarm 'The Powers that Be' is non-violence; this being the opposite of the violence-backed domination system by which the Powers control humans. His reading of Jesus as a kind of apostle of non-violence and of bottom-up submission and subversion is striking and powerful. It seems to offer a route to real change in a society, rather than a change from one lawless autocrat to another. This is fine stuff. I loved his quote from Gandhi that the aim of non-violence was not mere victory but a redemptive relationship with the victimizer. (That isn't quite the way Gandhi said it but it will do.)
Then, one hesitates to criticize a former theology professor, but I thought his reading of Paul could be improved on. I read Wink as looking down on Paul from his twentieth-century eyrie and chucking out the bits (quite a lot of really central bits) that he didn't like. Surely we can do better than this. Paul lived in the tension between between the astonishing liberty of the gospel (neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, that stuff) and the willingness of love to suffer and put up with stuff. Paul wanted the gospel to be the foundation of society, respectable, not some loopy Greek mystery religion, so its radicalness and its love of decency and order coexisted in his head and in his practice.
This was better than any number of theology books that tell you mostly what you already know. It set me a-buzzing. It shows how we might change the world. Highly recommended.
February 9, 2020
Wink writes about the nature of the powers in the Bible, arguing that they are the spiritual dimension of material forces in our world, whether the powers of government, economy, gender, religion etc. In doing so he argues his position is in between a spiritualist that holds to a disconnected spiritual world apart from the material and materialism that denies the spiritual dimensions of life. The powers, while they were originally designed to structure human life for good, come together in a corrupted form, which Wink calls the "domination system."
The books moves through explaining the powers to Jesus' confrontation with the powers. He shows Jesus different way of life that undoes the powers: use of force that liberates others, relationships of economic sharing, gender equality, racaial reconciliation, committed non-violence. All of this culminating in the cross, which he reads a Jesus' response to the domination system using unfettered obedience, mercy, and trust in God. Wink argues that his position is different from the passivity of some forms of pacifism where he strongly insists that Jesus resisted evil, just not with evil means. His reading of "turning the other cheek" in the Sermon on the Mount that he sees not as capitulation to evil but confrontation with the humiliation of evil was intriguing. His final chapter argues perhaps the most interesting and controversial aspect of the book. he argues that prayer is inhibited by the powers. God in fact is inhibited as we choose the powers over him. He cites the battle between Michael and the Prince of Persia as evidence of this kind of travail. Admit-fully, while that passage does not make sense by a more traditional account of divine sovereignty, I was not convinced of Wink's take on it.
The books moves through explaining the powers to Jesus' confrontation with the powers. He shows Jesus different way of life that undoes the powers: use of force that liberates others, relationships of economic sharing, gender equality, racaial reconciliation, committed non-violence. All of this culminating in the cross, which he reads a Jesus' response to the domination system using unfettered obedience, mercy, and trust in God. Wink argues that his position is different from the passivity of some forms of pacifism where he strongly insists that Jesus resisted evil, just not with evil means. His reading of "turning the other cheek" in the Sermon on the Mount that he sees not as capitulation to evil but confrontation with the humiliation of evil was intriguing. His final chapter argues perhaps the most interesting and controversial aspect of the book. he argues that prayer is inhibited by the powers. God in fact is inhibited as we choose the powers over him. He cites the battle between Michael and the Prince of Persia as evidence of this kind of travail. Admit-fully, while that passage does not make sense by a more traditional account of divine sovereignty, I was not convinced of Wink's take on it.
March 22, 2021
I appreciate his analysis of the theological basis for understanding the powers and principalities and I’m intrigued by his theology of non-violent resistance. I believe that he unnecessarily gives short shrift to the biblical basis for this, but he acknowledges the centrality of Christ, the cross and resurrection, the power of prayer, and has a healthy disdain for solutions that involve violence or coercion. He definitely believes that powers and principalities are entities apart from human beings, created by God as the structures of creation but also fallen into rebellion. “To say that the Powers are created in, through, and for the humanizing purposes of God, then, does not imply divine endorsement of systems that have been overcome by evil (such as the American prison system). It is God’s plan for human beings to cooperate in fulfilling basic needs. To this end God wills that there be subsystems whose sole purpose is to serve human need….The good news is that God not only liberate sus from the Powers, but liberates the Powers from their destructive behavior as well….The Powers are creatures like us—at once magnificent and abysmal, beneficial and harmful, indispensable and unendurable…They are linked together in a bewilderingly complex network, in what we can call the Domination System.” The Domination System teaches us the “myth of redemptive violence” –that violence saves. “By divine right the state has the power to demand that its citizens sacrifice their lives to maintain the privileges enjoyed by the few….Wealth and prosperity are the right of those who rule in such a state.”
October 30, 2017
From the publisher:
The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium
by Walter Wink, Donna Sinisgalli (Designed by)
4.22 · Rating details · 1,019 Ratings · 95 Reviews
In our fast-paced secular world, God and theology are second-class citizens. Money, politics, sports, and science seem better suited to the hard realities of our world. As the church steeple has been eclipsed by the skyscraper as the centerpiece of the urban landscape, so has the divine realm been set aside in favor of more immediate human experience. One sad consequence of this shift is the loss of spiritual and theological bearings, most clearly evident in our inability to understand or speak about such things. If the old way of viewing the universe no longer works, something else has to replace it. The Powers That Be reclaims the divine realm as central to human existence by offering new ways of understanding our world in theological terms. Walter Wink reformulates ancient concepts, such as God and the devil, heaven and hell, angels and demons, principalities and powers, in light of our modern experience. He helps us see heaven and hell, sin and salvation, and the powers that shape our lives as tangible parts of our day-to-day experience, rather than as mysterious phantoms. Based on his reading of the Bible and analysis of the world around him, Wink creates a whole new language for talking about and to God. Equipped with this fresh world view, we can embark on a new relationship with God and our world into the next millennium.
The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium
by Walter Wink, Donna Sinisgalli (Designed by)
4.22 · Rating details · 1,019 Ratings · 95 Reviews
In our fast-paced secular world, God and theology are second-class citizens. Money, politics, sports, and science seem better suited to the hard realities of our world. As the church steeple has been eclipsed by the skyscraper as the centerpiece of the urban landscape, so has the divine realm been set aside in favor of more immediate human experience. One sad consequence of this shift is the loss of spiritual and theological bearings, most clearly evident in our inability to understand or speak about such things. If the old way of viewing the universe no longer works, something else has to replace it. The Powers That Be reclaims the divine realm as central to human existence by offering new ways of understanding our world in theological terms. Walter Wink reformulates ancient concepts, such as God and the devil, heaven and hell, angels and demons, principalities and powers, in light of our modern experience. He helps us see heaven and hell, sin and salvation, and the powers that shape our lives as tangible parts of our day-to-day experience, rather than as mysterious phantoms. Based on his reading of the Bible and analysis of the world around him, Wink creates a whole new language for talking about and to God. Equipped with this fresh world view, we can embark on a new relationship with God and our world into the next millennium.
January 2, 2017
The major reason to read this book is Wink's profound and biblical exposition of nonviolent resistance of evil in the world. He demonstrates how following Jesus leads to a "third way" between just-war theory and pacifism.
Topics expounded better elsewhere include hermeneutics and the supernatural. Wink touches on hermeneutics because it does affect his use or dismissal of certain biblical passages that portray evil, the Powers, and God's questionable actions, but he never clearly states what his hermeneutic is or how it permits him to get past the troubling passages in the Bible. Likewise, he never fully explains why he believes that the Powers are transcendent forces that exist in human societies and institutions but probably not creatures (i.e., actual demons and angels).
Wink's treatment of some topics would thus be troubling to some Christian traditions, but his overall argument about nonviolent resistance (as opposed to co-opting the Powers' "myth of redemptive violence" or the pacifists' embrace of passivity) is most dependent on the Gospels and thrives on his exegesis there. Reading with discernment is obviously essential, but writers who have some perplexing theological positions should not be ignored when they do have something important to say.
Topics expounded better elsewhere include hermeneutics and the supernatural. Wink touches on hermeneutics because it does affect his use or dismissal of certain biblical passages that portray evil, the Powers, and God's questionable actions, but he never clearly states what his hermeneutic is or how it permits him to get past the troubling passages in the Bible. Likewise, he never fully explains why he believes that the Powers are transcendent forces that exist in human societies and institutions but probably not creatures (i.e., actual demons and angels).
Wink's treatment of some topics would thus be troubling to some Christian traditions, but his overall argument about nonviolent resistance (as opposed to co-opting the Powers' "myth of redemptive violence" or the pacifists' embrace of passivity) is most dependent on the Gospels and thrives on his exegesis there. Reading with discernment is obviously essential, but writers who have some perplexing theological positions should not be ignored when they do have something important to say.
April 17, 2019
On the one hand, this book stimulated thoughts and sparked conversations like few other books I have read. Specifically the chapters on "the myth of redemptive violence" and "Jesus' Third Way" and the topic of nonviolence.
But on the other hand I greatly disagreed with the two premises the book is built upon. Those being the "integral worldview" (panentheism) and his interpretation of the "powers" as impersonal entities. I also found his doctrine of scripture troubling (he writes off the book of Hebrews as incorrect and believes Paul's understanding of Jesus's death to have been mistaken) as well as his Christology (saying "Jesus was made divine" and that the teachings of Jesus are more important than "the Christ of the creeds").
A fascinating (but unsatisfying) book which I would recommend to mature Christians wrestling with the topic of violence.
But on the other hand I greatly disagreed with the two premises the book is built upon. Those being the "integral worldview" (panentheism) and his interpretation of the "powers" as impersonal entities. I also found his doctrine of scripture troubling (he writes off the book of Hebrews as incorrect and believes Paul's understanding of Jesus's death to have been mistaken) as well as his Christology (saying "Jesus was made divine" and that the teachings of Jesus are more important than "the Christ of the creeds").
A fascinating (but unsatisfying) book which I would recommend to mature Christians wrestling with the topic of violence.
February 13, 2022
This book was like a movie that you love the first few scenes of, then like slightly less and less as it progresses, until you reach the end and you’re just ready to be done. Do you recommend that movie? No, but you didn’t hate it either.
Wink’s chapters about the powers, the “domination systems” of the world, and the myth of redemptive violence are brilliant. His insistence on non-violence was good and helpful, articulating a “third way” besides passive pacifism and aggressive retaliation. But does this make up for his laughable exegesis of Matt 5:38-48? Or his revising Jesus’ ministry to suddenly be about the patriarchy, rejecting the violence of the family, and unfair distribution of goods?
There is excellent food for thought here, mingled with a lot of ideas that I find unconvincing. Do I recommend it? No, but I didn’t hate it.
Wink’s chapters about the powers, the “domination systems” of the world, and the myth of redemptive violence are brilliant. His insistence on non-violence was good and helpful, articulating a “third way” besides passive pacifism and aggressive retaliation. But does this make up for his laughable exegesis of Matt 5:38-48? Or his revising Jesus’ ministry to suddenly be about the patriarchy, rejecting the violence of the family, and unfair distribution of goods?
There is excellent food for thought here, mingled with a lot of ideas that I find unconvincing. Do I recommend it? No, but I didn’t hate it.
April 24, 2022
This book was recommended to me, and I'm so glad I read it! It was slow going for the first few chapters but then it became much easier for me to read. There are loads of Scripture references throughout the book, and the chapter called "Jesus' Third Way" I found to be fabulous. It explains in-depth Matthew 5:38-41 - the passage where you find "turn the other cheek," "go the extra mile," and "if anyone wants to take your coat, give your cloak as well." Jesus wasn't saying we should be passive, as we often hear. Rather, He was non-violently showing how to turn the tables and put the power in the hands of the underdog. His reasoning gives a whole new meaning to these familiar verses. I feel this chapter is more than worth the price of this book.
December 12, 2024
In "The Powers That Be," Walter Wink offers a transformative analysis of how institutional and systemic powers shape our world. He argues that these Powers - from corporations to governments - possess both visible manifestations and invisible spiritual dimensions that must be addressed together for meaningful change. What makes this work exceptional is how Wink bridges ancient wisdom with contemporary challenges, revealing how the "myth of redemptive violence" influences everything from children's media to foreign policy. Drawing on biblical interpretation and social analysis, he presents Jesus' "third way" of nonviolent resistance as a powerful alternative to both passive acceptance and violent opposition.
April 23, 2020
This book was uh interesting. A lot of general concepts about the relationships with “the Power” and us. It did shape what spiritual battle is in a way that challenges me to see it in a deeper way. A lot of the examples about people’s experiences and his testimonies were mixed because some of them were a bit too simple. Overall it wasn’t a bad book but it did shape prayer and spiritual battle in a way where I need to dwell in it more.
April 20, 2021
Interesting concept, reminds me of what I've heard of The Emergence of Sin: The Cosmic Tyrant in Romans. Surprisingly nuanced take on violence/non-violence and just-war. His hermeneutic is revisionary IMO and goes farther than I'm willing to but the concepts are good
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