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Walter Wink

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The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium Paperback – April 1, 1999

by Walter Wink (Author)

4.5 273 ratings

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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.

About the Author

Walter Wink (1935–2012) was an influential American biblical scholar, theologian, and activist, and was an important figure in progressive Christianity. He was well known for his advocacy of, and work related to, nonviolent resistance. Wink earned his PhD at the Union Theological Seminary, where he taught for nine years, and in 2010 was honored with the Unitas Distinguished Alumni Award. He went on to spend much of his career teaching at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City. Wink wrote more than 16 books as well as hundreds of scholarly articles, and is recognized for coining the phrase "the myth of redemptive violence." With his wife, June Keener Wink, he held workshops around the world that combined religious-themed pottery, dancing, and biblical interpretation. Wink died in 2012 from complications of dementia.

Print length

224 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harmony
Publication date

April 1, 1999
Dimensions

5.48 x 0.52 x 8.23 inches
ISBN-10

9780385487528
ISBN-13

978-0385487528
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0385487525
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harmony (April 1, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780385487528
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385487528
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.48 x 0.52 x 8.23 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #65,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #79 in Christian Angelology & Demonology
- #859 in Christian Inspirational
- #1,791 in Personal Transformation Self-Help

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4.5 273 ratings

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Sarah R. W.

Game Changing Book for Life

Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2023

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This book rocked my world. I had struggled to integrate my need for justice and love of mercy, struggled to comprehend nonviolent interventions and Jesus’ third way. This is a new lens for looking at everything. EVERYTHING will be redeemed…. Eventually. This books is the How To Lens to make it happen.

One person found this helpful

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G. Stephen Goode

What stands in the way of God's Kingdom coming on earth?

Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2009

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Summary: The Powers that Be - Theology for a New Millennium by Walter Wink

If your a business person, this book is for you.
If you work with the poor or care for justice, this book is for you.
If you are an educator/trainer, this book is for you.
If you are a pioneer, a leader, a parent or in government, this book is for you.

Walter Wink has been on my radar screen for many years but in reading recently from N.T Wright, Greg Boyd and Rob Bell
and their references to Walter Wink, I had to buy this and get started on his books.

In 1993, Engaging the Powers and the Powers trilogy won several awards. The Powers that Be are a shortened version,
particularly of Engaging the Powers and I was not disappointed.
It was so rich that I had to stop on several occasions, pray, re-read and pray again. This
happened throughout the reading of The Powers that Be. I also needed to keep my dictionary close at hand.

This is a book that covers a lot of ground related to :
worldview,
the Powers and their domination system and
how history belongs to the intercessors and prayer warriors.

Powers also tackles the hard words of Jesus and what he was meaning in the coming of the Kingdom of God
which made so much sense. He underlines that evil is not just personal but structural and spiritual and on page 31,
states that "Any attempt to transform a social system without addressing both its spirituality and its outer forms
is doomed to failure. "

He looks at Jesus' words in the context of the first century and their meaning then. Somehow we can read the Bible and translate
it into our modern day context. Jesus' words were so radical for the day, we would miss the equivalent today because we would not go radical enough. In Jesus' answer to domination, he identifies domination, equity, non-violence, women, purity and holiness, family, law and sacrifice and it is worth the whole book. You will be deeply challenged but you will understand why Jesus' words seemed so strong, even at times questionable. You will have some 'aha' moments and then serious reflection as to what does this mean for me right now, when you read this book.

He spends quite a bit of time on the major idol today and calls it, "the myth of redemptive violence" and how we can break the spiral of violence. Jesus offers a radical third way and you will be amazed and deeply challenged to action at what he says. How do we stand up against the powers that continue to oppress? How do we see God's kingdom coming now on earth as it is in heaven. This is not for the faint-hearted or those who are passive, this is for the courageous and he is calling this generation for action and to engage The Powers That Be.

I will close with a few of Wink's comments on prayer on page 196-197 " Prayer in the face of the Powers is a spiritual war of attrition. When we fail to pray, God's hands are effectively tied. That underlines the urgency of our praying. Prayer that ignores the Powers ends by blaming God for evils committed by the Powers. But prayer that acknowledges the Powers becomes an indispensable aspect of social action....we are emboldened to ask God for something bigger. The same faith that looks clear-eyed at the immensity of the forces arrayed against God is the faith that affirms God's miracle-working power. Trust in miracles is, in fact, the only rational stance in a world...."

Read this book and get more engaged in seeing God's kingdom coming where you live and work.

19 people found this helpful

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Allen O'Brien

Insightful and powerful, even if some might disagree with his theological conclusions

Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2012

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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.

One person found this helpful

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Wayne

The book made me think about “The Powers” I support.

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2023

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I like an author who challenges me to think. Many authors just give us a little time of escape. Others give us characters which stay with us forever as “friends”. Still others present ideas that resonate with both our mind and our heart. “The Powers That Be” did this for me. More often than not I think of evil as spiritual. Wink agrees that it can be spiritual but also sees it as systemic-“Domination” that uses “redemptive violence”. His answer is Jesus’ “third way”. That is non violence coupled with concern for the enemy’s redemption and reconciliation.

One person found this helpful

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Kerry Walters

A profoundly important book

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2002

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If I had to pick the best theology books of the past twenty-five years, Walter Wink's *Powers that Be* would be close to the top of the list. It does nothing less than revolutionize the way Christians have come to think of their role in the world. But when I say "revolutionize," what I really mean--and this is Wink's contention as well--is that it "reminds" Christians of the original message brought by Jesus and accepted by the early Church. And that message is that nonviolence, not violence, is not only what God expects, but also what ultimately works in the world.
Wink argues that humans live under "domination systems"--the "powers and principalities that be." These are the structural and ideological institutions that manipulate our minds, lives, and activities, reduce our freedom, and retard our flourishing. As Christians, we're called to resist them without buying into the "myth of redemptive violence"--the centuries' old chestnut that violence is the only kind of force that works, and that because it works it justifies itself. Jesus showed an alternative way--the path of nonviolent resistance.
In examining nonviolent resistance, Wink is masterful. He persuasively destroys the stereotype of nonviolence as a turn-the-other-cheek passivity by exploring what Jesus really meant when he advocated cheek-turning or walking the second mile. Along the way, he offers one of the most insightful analysis of the post-Jesus "just war doctrine" I've ever read. Wink is realistic enough to not completely reject the doctrine. But he does suggest that we quit using it as a justification for war and begin thinking of it instead in terms of "violence-reduction criteria."
An amazing book that every Christian ought to read and meditate on, particularly now that the dogs of war are baying loudly. I give it ten stars.

120 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Frank H.J. Jamin

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on March 31, 2018

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A must read for theology in our time.

One person found this helpful

Mr. Michael Lumsden

Persuasive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 1, 2016

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This is a challenging and powerful book. There is great depth and detail and so it is difficult for a short review to do it justice
The primary message is that Jesus preached and lived a nonviolent gospel. But this leads to the recognition that (other than in the first few centuries) the Church has mostly embraced militarism.
Wink reviews the roots of Just War thinking and finds them wanting (no war can really be said to fulfill the criteria) but he also considers Pacifism and concludes that too often Pacifists have taken a weak, passive approach far removed from the active response Jesus counseled.
Drawing on the practical out workings of a non violent approach adopted by King and Gandhi, Wink sets out how Jesus rejected Violence but advocated active resistance to evil. And he also sets out how the Christian command to love enemies is incompatible with lethal force.
Wink is a realist and addresses the suspicion that the advocates of non-violence are cowards. He quotes Gandhi who demanded that his recruits to the non-violent struggle should be at least as brave as the soldiers who were willing to fight and die; rejecting violence is not necessarily a way to personal safety.
But in non-violent struggle there is hope, as enemies can be changed and a new order built on firm foundations, in stark contrast to violent revolution, which generally deposes one tyrant who is then replaced by another.
And of course this is not mere theory- a review of history shows how non violent struggle has achieved phenomenal success in such places as S Africa, the US and Eastern Europe.
The question remains as to why the mainline Churches seem to have rejected the way of Jesus. It seems that this is partly due to a lack of trust in God, but also partly due to translators and interpreters of the bible being over influenced by their powerful patrons, anxious to preserve the status quo.
In summary, for Christians, War is not an option - but neither is colluding with evil.

12 people found this helpful

Maxim Kuschpel

Excellent introduction to another way of seeing christian religion

Reviewed in Germany on September 23, 2015

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As a doubting agnostic, I can not fail to notice with astonishment the wonder, that Walter Winks interpretation of christian teachings awakens within me. His portrayal of Jesus as the grandfather of nonviolent, yet forceful resistance to a domineering system strikes a chord that, I am certain would resonate with a lot of people, believers and non-believers alike.

One person found this helpful

Rev. Mj Winbolt-lewis

Always a book for today

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2014

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This book is not new, neither are the insights; the message is not time worn but new for each generation facing forces that threaten to deprive people of respect, dignity and a right to self expression.Walter Wink traces the 'domination factor' in family relationships, politics and the life of multinational companies which subtly push people into an unhealthy acceptance of non humane values. His notion that all 'systems' have a kind of soul that expresses itself in being either for the common welfare or self interest and control lies at the root of so many enterprises in society.He shows how the Christian message is tied into the empowerment Jesus gave by offering ways of non-violent resistance which preserve dignity for people considered lesser. Behind the scripture words and phrases are subtleties we don't see until they are opened up for us. Wink does this, in thesame way as Jesus lived out the fatal consequences of standing up to the bullies.

10 people found this helpful

Glenn Myers

Uncomfortable, challenging reading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 9, 2023

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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.

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