Walter Wink
![Wink preaching at the [[Fellowship of Reconciliation]]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Walter-wink.jpg)
Walter Wink (May 21, 1935 – May 10, 2012) was an American
Biblical scholar,
theologian, and
activist who was an important figure in
Progressive Christianity. Wink spent much of his career teaching at
Auburn Theological Seminary in
New York City. He was well known for his advocacy of and work related to
nonviolent resistance and his seminal works on "The Powers", ''Naming the Powers'' (1984), ''Unmasking the Powers'' (1986), ''Engaging the Powers'' (1992), ''When the Powers Fall'' (1998), and ''The Powers that Be'' (1999), all of them commentaries on the
Apostle Paul's ethic of
spiritual warfare described here: Breaking with Christian hermeneutic tradition of
Christian demonology, he interprets Paul's hierarchy of "rulers" to refer to imperial powers, with corresponding and
political theologies and ideologies of state violence. Giving examples from ancient Babylon through the popular media of today, these are supported by, in a phrase he coined "the
myth of redemptive violence".
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