Unmasking the Powers: The Invisible Forces That Determine Human Existence

Angels, Spirits, principalities, powers, gods, Satanthese, along with all other spiritual realities, are the unmentionables of our culture. The dominant materialistic worldview has absolutely no place for them. [But] materialism itself is terminably ill, and, let us hope, in process of replacement by a worldview capable of honoring the lasting values of modern science without succumbing to reductionism. [Therefore] we find ourselves returning to the ancient traditions, searching for wisdom wherever it may be found. We do not capitulate to the past and its superstitions, but bring all the gifts our race has acquired along the way as aids in recovering the lost language of our souls. In Naming the Powers I developed the thesis ... that the New Testament's principalities and powers" is a generic category referring to the determining forces of physical, psychic, and social existence. In the present volume we will be focusing on just seven of the Powers mentioned in Scripture. Their selection out of all the others dealt with in Naming the Powers is partly arbitrary: they happen to be ones about which I felt I had something to say. But they are also representative, and open the way to comprehending the rest. They are: Satan, demons, angels of churches, angels of nations, gods, elements, and angels of nature."

Walter Wink was professor emeritus of biblical interpretation at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City. He also taught at Union Theological Seminary. From 1989 to 1990, he was a Peace Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace. He authored several books, including the award-winning Fortress Press trilogy: Naming the Powers, Unmasking the Powers, and Engaging the Powers.