Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination (Paperback)

~ Walter Wink (Author)
Key Phrases: domination system, first beast, beyond just war and pacifism, South Africa, New Testament, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In this magnificent finale to his trilogy, Walter Wink engages the Powers with brilliant exegesis and a profoundly creative nonviolence, revealing the way to the Powers' and our own transformation.--James W. Douglass, Ground Zero Community.

Product Details

• Paperback: 444 pages
• Publisher: FORTRESS PRESS (January 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080062646X
• ISBN-13: 978-0800626464
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #165,112 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engage this book!, July 23, 2000

By	Martin van Nostrand (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

I consider this book one of the most stimulating and penetrating books on Christian theology I have read. Wink's trenchant analysis of the dynamic of how nations/cultures/societies organize themselves around self-perpetuating "domination systems" is both accurate and profound. Everyone of any religious or political stripe can be illuminated by this aspect of the book, although there are many other contributions on this theme from other quarters.

In general, I am enthusiastic about this book because it is a much appreciated example of a new generation of Christian thinkers who are opening themselves to thinking outside the conventions of rigid conservatism yet marking a pathway for relevant & transforming spiritual vitality. Wink importantly grapples with the conservative traditionalist delineation of the biblical God as the source of sacred violence. A wrathful God who punishes and requires blood sacrifice even to the extent of requiring the sacrificial death of Jesus articulates a schizophrenic understanding of God that in the end is incongruous with absolute love. Wink along with other Christian thinkers such as Rene Girard, Rita Nakashima Brock, Rebecca Ann Parker, Jack Nelson Pallmeyer and many others are attempting to lead us to a more fully integrated concept of a loving God and that is to be heartily congratulated.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for Christians and non-Christians alike, November 25, 2005

By	David - See all my reviews

I am not a Christian, yet I found this book extremely insightful and compelling in its exploration of the violent basis of our civilization and how the message of Jesus, among others, is not only that of personal salvation, but one of perceiving with clarity the nature of the world, i.e. the Domination System that has blinded us to its true destructive nature.

The type of spiritually grounded, proactive, creative nonviolence advocated in this book is a complete paradigm shift, an entire dimension apart from the simplistic dichotomy of violence vs. "passivism" that most of us unfortunately believe are our only choices.

The book includes numerous examples and interesting Biblical exegesis on top of an incredibly insightful exploration of the myth of redemptive violence and the Domination System that comprises our human society.

Fundamental to Wink's analysis of our society is his assertion that spiritual Powers are real -- but not simply as angels floating in the clouds or demons waiting in hell to gloat over your soul, but as the psychospiritual complexes that are formed from collective human belief and energy. Our governmental and corporate institutions are themselves Powers, having a spiritual existence in the sense of having a Being above and beyond the sum of the individuals that comprise them (as well as enjoying legal status that puts them on the same footing as a human being!). Unrecognized, the Powers run amuck amongst us. We are slaves to our own creation, and blind to our slavery. Our allegiance to the Power of the national security state, for instance, blinds us to its own violence, opens us to being subverted to evil ends, allows us to be convinced that upholding democracy and freedom is synonymous with the killing of others.

A central thesis of the book is that these Powers, having gone unrecognized for so long, have taken on a life of their own and now dominate us. They must be seen and engaged in order to be redeemed and transformed -- and in order for us to redeem and transform ourselves.

Wink spends the book laying bare the way these Powers work, making clear that it is not only spiritual or only psychological or only material, but all of these. He explores in depth the manifestations of violence and its origins in deeply embedded cultural mythology -- as seemingly innocuous as children's cartoons, e.g. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles -- and the nature of the Powers and the Domination System they create. And he explores what he calls "Jesus' Third Way," the path out of the contagious cycle of violence, not only through the example of Jesus but through examples in history of those who have triumphed through nonviolent means.

As a non-Christian, I expected to gloss over parts that were irrelevant to me, i.e. too heavily Biblical, but surprisingly I found that even many of those parts were very interesting and in no way exclusionary. It actually helps me to see the character and mission of Jesus in a new light, one that makes him suddenly much more relevant to this day and age.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wink explains - "I am not of this world", June 9, 1999

By	James A. Shields (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

Substitute "domination system" for "world" and Christ's declaration the He is not of this "world" takes on new meaning. Wink explains how the writer of the book of Revelation was a seer who could see the spiritual realm of the domination system. The movie "Bulworth" captures Wink's theme. Jay Billington Bulworth is a U.S. senator, one of the "powers" who has fallen. A black homeless guy spots Bulworth after Bulworth begins his journey to redemption and says "ya gots to be a spirit, you can't be a ghost." Like John of Patmos who portrays the fallen spirits as dragons, the black homeless guy is a seer who sees the "powers" for what they are and instructs Bulworth to "sing your song". Bulworth exposes the powers through rap sing song and renders them powerless by engaging them with ridicule. Wink is on to something here. Non-violence is the major theme of his book but it goes way beyond a treatise on non-violence. Wink introduces his book with a description of five world views which put his theology into perspective. Most of us never think of these world views but we are profoundly affected by the way we view the world. The materialists are clearly in control of the church these days and Wink argues that it is only through an integrated world view that we have the possibility of changing the world. A sub-theme of the non-violence theme is the way our culture is controlled by the ancient Babylonian myth of redemptive violence. In a word, that myth is embodied in the strict Hollywood movie formula of the good guy getting beat up for most of the movie and resolving all matters in the end with an act of terrible violence. Come to think of it that pretty much describes what went on in the minds of the Littleton murderers. Wink's book is a very penetrating look at humanity.