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Summary: A challenge to traditional Christian faith - Don't miss it!
Review: Wink has written a fascinating and readable book. This isheavy theology packaged for sale to a junk-food crowd. I recommend itwithout reservation.The essence of Wink's thought revolves around "redemptive violence," the belief that "violence saves." The powers Wink engages are those which employ violence to maintain their dominance. This dominace of violence, ranging from literal torture and death to softer forms of humiliation and degradation, are described as the explicit focus of Jesus' life and message. His death, rather than being a violent appeasement of a blood-thirsty God, is revealed as the only nonviolent means of defeating the powers - embracing the unjust suffering of violence as a means of bringing humiliation and reproach to the powerful. Those looking for an exegetical analysis of Jesus' sayings may be initially frustrated by Wink. He uses biblical references as illustrations, not proof texts, and his imagination frequently stretches the limits of "proper" hermeneutics. Nonetheless, his imagination captures the spiritual essence of Jesus' call for nonviolent opposition to evil in a powerful and convincing manner. Those hoping for a manual of social activisim will be frustrated by Wink, also. His calls for personal reform and renewal as much as he calls for political change. Most of his psychological musings are clearly derived from CG Jung, but seem to be written by one who has found Jung's insights personally meaningful. In conclusion, I must commend Wink for his short essay on worldviews and how our unconscious adoption/indoctrination into a worldview influences all that we think and believe. I also commend his analysis of prayer, especially in this worldview context. As a "recovering fundamentalist" I believe this book may prove to be one of the major pillars in my personal attempt to rebuild my faith. I simply loved it.
Rating:
Summary: A superb explanation of the powers that drive society.
Review: Wink illuminates, in simple and understandable words, the mechanism that underlies human society: the powers. He does this in a lightly theological context that has earned some denigration by the devout for his lack of scriptural intensity. But... had he not removed this book from under the full-court press of theological dialog, it would be less available to many readers. And it would not be as available to the reader who, though perhaps a spiritual person, wants a more secular view of this particular mechanism. After reading Stringfellow*, I didn't think anyone could add to the "thrones or dominions or principalities or powers" topic. Until I read Wink. Wink elucidates. For the non-Christian and for the secular reader ("secular" can mean lay person as well as "not concerned with religion"), Wink provides many venues for his topic. One that's especially relevant in our time of rampant rage (from school shootings to serial killers), is depersonalizing the seemingly evil and irresistible forces acting on us. For the scripturally interested reader, Wink provides both introduction and stepping off point for further study. _____ *Here's a sad story: It is difficult to obtain William Stringfellow's writings. (This is severe enough to have spawned rumors of suppression.) The best source (plus an excellent introduction) was A Keeper of the Word: Selected Writings of William Stringfellow by Bill Wylie Kellermann (Ed.) but that is now out of print. (Perhaps Stringfellow's writings would make a good candidate for release to the public domain by posting on the Internet or to make into eBooks.)
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