In 'The Powers That Be,' theologian and biblical scholar Walter Wink helps us reformulate our ancient concepts - such as God and Satan, angels and demons, principalities and powers - in light of what we now know. Wink's theology is shaped as much by his study of the Bible as by his involvement in the civil rights movement and the fight against apartheid in South Africa. The result is nothing less than a new worldview, one that will help us address the problems of the present and meet the challenges of the future. The Powers That Be is as concerned with salvation as with justice, as relevant for our spiritual selves as for our political lives. Wink closely examines "the Powers, " and by exposing them for what they are in true prophetic fashion, levels a mighty blow against them.

Old religious images such as a heaven "above" and a hell "below", while certainly a part of the popular imagination, have lost their value as a way of understanding the spiritual realm. Yet we are at a loss to know what will replace them. In "The Powers That Be", Walter Wink helps us reformulate our ancient concepts -- such as God and Satan, angels and demons, principalities and powers -- in light of our modern experience. Based on his understanding of the Bible, Wink creates a whole new way of viewing the world, and offers us a language for talking about, and to God.

This popularized abridgment of "Naming the Powers," "Unmasking the Powers" and "Engaging the Powers" (Wink's seminal trilogy on the Powers) radically reorients our perspective on life by creating new lenses through which we see reality. Equipped with this fresh outlook, we can embark on a new relationship with God and our world that will serve us well into the new millennium.