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Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination Paperback – January 1, 1992

by Walter Wink (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 105 ratings
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Wink explores the problem of evil today and how it relates to the New Testament concept of Principalities and Powers. He asks the question "How can we oppose evil without creating new evils and being made evil ourselves?"Winner of the Pax Christi Award, the Academy of Parish Clergy Book of the Year, and the Midwest Book Achievement Award for Best Religious Book.

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  1. Print length
    440 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Fortress Press
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1992
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    080062646X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0800626464
  8. See all details
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Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination
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Naming the Powers: The Language of Power in the New Testament (The Powers : Volume One)
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Unmasking the Powers: The Invisible Forces That Determine Human Existence (Powers, Vol 2)
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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
105 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jeremy Myers - Writing at RedeemingGod
5.0 out of 5 stars A book every Christian Should Read
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2011
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I am always looking for books that challenge the way I read Scripture and follow Jesus. "The Powers" Trilogy by Walter Wink has certainly done both.

The third book in the series is Engaging the Powers. Of the three books, it may be the most practical, though the other two lay the biblical and theological groundwork for the ideas in this book. Unless you read the first two, the ideas of this book may sound outlandish, unsupported, and even extreme.

For example, in previous studies, Wink showed from cultural background studies of key texts in Scripture that certain Greek words might be translated in ways that better reflect the spiritual worldview of the authors, rather than our modern scientific worldview. Wink discusses some of these ideas and words in this book, and then shows how reading the Gospels and the letters of Paul and Peter with these sorts of translations in mind provide a much different picture to their message than what is traditionally taught.

And it is from such a perspective that Walter Wink writes Engaging the Powers. The most challenging idea of this book may be that the Powers are redeemable, and we humans are part of the means by which the Powers will be redeemed. Wink argues that the Powers were originally created by God for good purposes and functions within the universe, but through the fall, their purposes have been perverted. However, they can be returned to their good purposes, and this is one of the reasons Jesus came and died - to redeem not just humanity, but to redeem the entire universe, which includes the Powers.

It is an interesting concept, and one that Wink develops in practical ways throughout the book. He shows us how we can live in light of this future redemption here and now by living according to the principles of new reality (Kingdom of God) that Jesus inaugurated.

Specifically, he talks about how Christians can view war, love our enemies, live as the church, and pray for the world. All of his ideas in these areas are challenging.

Regarding war, Wink is not a pacifist, but he does not endorse war. He presents a third way of nonviolent engagement where we stand up to evil, but not with violence. He shows how we Christians have terribly misunderstood and misapplied the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:38-42 about turning the other cheek and walking the extra mile. These are not pacifistic, meek, and mild responses where we allow ourselves to get trampled on, but are actually subversive and empowering forms of standing up for our humanity in the face of dehumanizing evil.

His chapter on prayer was one of the best treatments of prayer I have ever read, right up there with the essays on prayer by C.S. Lewis and the chapter on praying in the Whirlwind in Greg Boyd's Satan & the Problem of Evil.

This was one of those books in which I underlined nearly every sentence, and for that reason, it found its way onto my "Burning Books" list. I highly recommend this book (and other others in the Trilogy.)

By the way, if you are not sure you want to read all three, Wink has just come out with a "summary" of the Trilogy. I haven't read it yet, but it appears he has summarized all three book in The Powers That Be. I will be reading it soon.
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David
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for Christians and non-Christians alike
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2005
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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.
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Top reviews from other countries

Robin M. C. Reeve
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting reflexions about non violence
Reviewed in France on August 4, 2013
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Walter Wink offers very interesting arguments and views about the way to engage (which does not mean confront or attempt to overthrow) the wordly powers, by means that don't take the way of "redemptive violence" or which obey to the "Domination System".
He considers the political powers as having in themselves a "spirituality" which is deeply marked by the imprint of evil - even though there are ways of redemption.

I only gave a 3 stars to this book, because Wink submits too easily to some critical presuppositions about the Bible and even about Jesus.
The former being, after him, stained in some places by a submission to the evil world system (violence, racism, supremacy of males,e tc.), the latter also having been on some points polluted by ethnocentrism and other flaws.
By placing himself as a judge over the biblical data, from a "superior" ethical point of view, Walter Wink unfortunately undermines his arguments, as he operates a selection of what pleases him or not in the Bible - frequently applying an "off the hand", ideologically driven, exegesis, which favours a negative understanding of the Scriptures rather than trying to solve the tensions and find sound explanations (e.g. saying that the Book of Revelation is systematically negative about female images is outright wrong, especially if one takes the image of the Bride into account - but even the woman pursued by the dragon is not a negative image just because she is bearing a child!).

Now, as when one eats a chicken, the presence of bones does not prevent one finding it good to eat.
I found a lot of very interesting insights about how the world system is deeply corrupted in its spirituality - I just don't need to follow Wink in his negative critical presuppositions about the Bible and Jesus.
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Johnners
5.0 out of 5 stars A theological game changer
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 13, 2013
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Though it is a bit old now, this book still has enormous impact and relevance. Too often, Christianity has accepted violence as normal. The author argues convincingly that unquestioned myths about the necessity of violence in the resolution of societal and international conflicts control our thinking. He offers a radical Christian critique and suggests ways forward. This is the best of the series of books he wrote on the subject.
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Robin
5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2014
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One of the most astonishing things about this book to is not the theory of non-violence (although there is a lot of that), it is the growing awareness as you read that he sees and explains the World as Jesus saw it. Absolutely remarkable! If you are at my level of reading, you might need a dictionary to hand for some of the terminology, but well worth the effort.
5 people found this helpful
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M. Pinch
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating subject well presented
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 19, 2011
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Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination

I must admit that I have not finished this book yet. It is the sort of book that needs to be read slowly and taken in. It can be a bit repetitive in places, perhaps labouring some points more than is necessary, but then that can be useful as a means to absorb what is being said. Not a book to read for amusement. I suspect that you would need a real interest in the subject first! but it fits the bill for me as it follows on from lectures I have heard, other books I have read and is a subject that I find very interesting and worthwhile. It makes me realize how distorted and misused our reading and understanding of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus have become. I find myself frequently being able to make sense of things that sometimes made little sense before and there are plenty of 'O, Now I see!' moments. Perhaps the most important lesson to learn from this book is about Christian non-violence as a creative act of resistance against the modern day powers of domination.
8 people found this helpful
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Anne Netherwood
3.0 out of 5 stars This was good but I felt only half the picture (probably because ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2014
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This was good but I felt only half the picture (probably because of Wink's ambivalence in vol 2 on the metaphysical status of the powers). But his exposition of non-resistance was inspiring.
2 people found this helpful
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