Have you ever read a book that blew your mind?
“The Powers” Trilogy by Walter Wink are three of the most challenging books I’ve read in a while. I’m not saying I agree with everything in them, but the concepts in these books are so “otherworldly” that it will take me some time to grasp and process what he says. For these reasons, all three books have a place on my “Burning Books” list.
I have previously reviewed Naming the Powers in which Wink provides most of the exegetical and Scriptural data for his study.
In the second volume, Unmasking the Powers, he delves deep into explaining several of the key forces behind human existence, and how they govern our lives. The topics Wink discusses are not often taught about in churches or seminaries, and if a pastor were to teach some of what Wink believes, it is likely that he or she would get fired.
Like what?
Well, let me give you some examples. In his chapter on “Satan” he writes this:
We have so moralized [Satan] that we fail to see that the most satanic temptation of all is the temptation to become other than ourselves. When people try to be “good Christians”—what is that but Satan’s crowning victory? For “being a good Christian” is always collectively defined by some denomination or strong religious personality or creed. One does not need to “live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” in order to be a “good Christian”; one need only be pliant, docile, and obedient (p. 19).
