When the Powers Fall

By Walter Wink

Book Overview

Repressive authoritarian regimes are falling and fragile new democracies are emerging around the globe. How are long-standing conflicts and deep divisions to be healed and enemies reconciled without breeding further injustices?To answer this question, Walter Wink here applies his compelling analysis of "the Powers," as they appear in the New Testament, to the global scene. Surveying the wrenching religious and ethical dilemmas involved in transitions from despotism to democracy, Wink neatly summarizes key concepts from his Fortress Press trilogy on the Powers, including sections on "Jesus against Domination" and "Nonviolence." He then shows how central concepts in the teaching of Jesus can clarify true and false ideas of forgiveness and reconciliation and apology - without sacrificing justice. The personal, political, and geopolitical pertinence of Wink's ideas shines in his discussion of specific situations in Africa and Latin America.

And what of the churches? "Jesus" proclamation of God's domination - free order," Wink claims, "providesa framework for dealing with the role of the churches in helping nations move from autocracy to democracy. Far more is at stake than merely an orderly transition to a more representative form of governance: suchmoments in history open up to heavenly potentials. ... In such times, it is the vision of God'sdomination-free order that prevents us from acquiescing to unworthy visions, or accepting political compromises as anything more than temporary pauses on the path to fuller justice."Wink's new work demonstrates the power, promise, and practicality of Jesus' ethic of nonviolence for today.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0800631277
• ISBN13: 9780800631277
• Release Date: February 1998
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishing
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

When the powers fall.....

An excellent book, written as part of the genre of biblical studies, sub section systems of domination. By now, many realize that the systems approach to life in ministry as well as life in everything else illustrates a certain connectedness as well as the potential for all systems to fail, as fail they will. Why do systems fail? Walter Wink attempts to answer this question using the Bible as source of examples. Systems fail because they people that compose the systems seem to sense a need to move in a new direction, most likely under the spirit of a Living God. Of course, this is a terrible oversimplification; read the book, it is excellent reading with much to commend it for a serious Bible study.

a brilliant continuation of wink's material on "The Powers"

This book expounds on Wink's analysis of "Jesus' ethic of nonviolence for today". Specifically dealing with what happens when authoritarian regimes come to an end, and a new "democratic" system emerges. He tackles complex issues such as Domination, Reconciliation, and the role of Apology in the modern political arena. It is a very eloquent and gracious treatment of the subject in a relatively short work (66 pages).