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.

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).