There is a trilogy by Walter Wink, which seeks to identify the powers, that are present both in contemporary society
and in the past, and looks to redefine history in terms of the powers of goodness and their role in contributing to socio-cultural development. In the first book of his trilogy, ‘
Naming the Powers’ (1984) Wink investigates power in many of its guises, particularly in mythology, within the Bible, and at an institutional and corporate level. There are some systems and structures, which may be inherently evil in nature, and we are to pray that they might be redeemed in order that the world might be freed to live in peace. Wink points out that Jesus stands in solidarity with the weak, disabled, excluded and oppressed. In giving us an example of non-violence through his redemptive acts, Jesus refuses to acknowledge the domination of the weak by the strong. He offers us a way out of the eternal creation of scapegoats from minority groups and asks us to stand in solidarity with the socially excluded, with the poor and the oppressed. For Wink Jesus offers a salvific way to
liberation and creates a new paradigm in the social history of the world. Unless we can undergo inner liberation and embrace God at the centre of our being and perceive the shadow that is also within, then we cannot begin to discern the Powers within society and so we have no proper strength to stand up to them because our prayer lives will not be so effective. We will not be able to assist God in bringing about a realised eschatology: we will not be able to perceive the Kingdom of God here on earth. Jung’s
archetypes somehow rehabilitate the gods of mythology for us in modern times. Wink suggests that in our world today, there is the implicit idea that we ourselves have somehow become demigods, but that rather than being divine, our archetypes are the revelatory experience of our society, which emerge through the dreams and imagination of its people. If we give in to our archetypes, however, and do not integrate them into our
persona then there are dangers of psychosis: the gods run amok in our lives. We are required to seek out approval, a blessing, from the
Imago Dei: which will ascribe a meaning to our life experiences, especially those experiences of disease and unhappiness. KEY WORDS / TAGS: Religion, Spirituality, Salvation, Power, Corporate, Archetypes