BY
TIM MCCOWAN
Principalities and Powers: Contrasting Views
Introduction
This concept of the powers, of their function in the world, of their defeat by Christ, and of the witness of the church to them is of central concern in early Christianity (Webber 1986, 14).
One of the most important and animated discussions occurring in missiological circles today has to do with the rediscovery of the so-called "principalities and powers" referred to in Scripture. What are these realities? How do we make sense of them?
It seems the language that Paul and others used for these entities correlates with the very wide range of experiences of Christian practitioners pastors and missionaries struggling against powerful spiritual forces as they seek to bring the gospel to their neighborhoods; social activists tackling fatalistic thinking within their communities; churches facing pressures from authori tarian governments or secularism; Christian politicians attempting to uphold laws of justice or pass bills protecting rights of minorities in Congress; teachers battling with bureaucratic red-tape in the education system; and Christian psychologists addressing the subtle powers of darkness that seem to grip their clients from within. All of them seem to face a revival of interest in "the powers."
While this growth in interest is exciting and potentially transformative for the shape of the church as it enters the twenty-first century, it has unleashed a number of practices of a very ill-advised nature. In addition, it has brought a wave of confusion among believers, and at times resulted in more social and spiritual problems than it cured. What one church perceives as a blessing from God, another perceives as an evil spirit needing to be exorcized. The confusion, I believe, springs from two reasons. One is the ambiguous language for these entities used by the New Testament writers-one verse seemingly referring to supernatural spiritual beings, then a few verses later, to historical persons or social structures. And two, there is a lack of awareness of the breadth of different understandings of the gospel and therefore the range of possible responses to these principalities.
It is for this second reason that I wish to present this brief survey of the main views:
It is my earnest hope that this exploration may help contribute to a better appreciation of the different models being practiced, to more and healthier dialogues between the different traditions and groups. Ultimately, I hope that this will ignite ideas for creative joint engagements of these powers for the sake of Jesus and the unity of his body on earth, the church.
A Clash of Models
To illustrate the sort of variety of approaches and consequent clash of models that exists between different Christian traditions or groups, I would like to take as an example the problem of graft and corruption. Not all believers, of course, perceive graft and corruption to be part of the "principalities and powers" referred to in Eph 6:12. However, I choose this because of its widespread practice, and the perception that it is a social evil of immense power.
One tradition responds to graft and corruption by initiating evangelistic Bible studies within government offices, police and other departments involved. It is hoped that by doing this, the gospel's power (through receiving Christ) will operate to resist graft and corruption.
A second tradition urges its members to enter government, the legal profession, the police department and other areas of the social order to exercise their God-given gifts and callings to legislate and campaign against such evils.
Another church gives social, economic and spiritual support to their members to reject such practices when under temptation, and to demonstrate a willingness to forego material gain and thus not yield to Mammon-the more insidious and widespread evil behind graft. They are encouraged, if necessary, to suffer the loss of the item or service involved.
The fourth group holds a large prayer rally in front of the departments, offices, at intersections, and in other places where such things are practiced. These people engage in authoritative "cosmic warfare" with the spirits of graft and corruption, tearing down their strongholds over the city.
Another group works from the other side-they begin networking and building community and people's organizations and educating the wider populace in creative and non-violent action to resist such exploitation.
Finally, there are those who set up seminar workshops in the departments concerned, to address the psychological causes, processes and powers that tempt people toward graft and corruption, and to encourage their clients and staff to find positive alternatives.1
One can see that there are various approaches and responses to the problem of graft and corruption, based on different definitions of the "power" and the various strategies for engaging them.
An Eclectic, Ecumenical Experience
I do not hold a strong bias against any of these models. In fact, I have grown to appreciate through experience the value of each tradition for the truths from Scripture that it highlights, yet recognizing that truth is often broader than our own limited perception.2
Having been converted as an evangelical in a relatively liberal Presbyterian church, I was socialized in the Calvinist-Reformed understanding that many of these realities are structural rather than spiritual. But I was strongly discipled by evangelical leaders who taught me that these realities are personalized, spiritual, supernatural forces that bring temptation. They are agents of the devil, which I must resist. I then transferred membership to a charismatic Baptist church (and studied at a Baptist Seminary). Here, I was schooled into both the Anabaptist tradition which makes a strong separation between the church and the socio political order, and the so-called "power evangelism" of the Third Wavers. I then spent twelve months with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in overseas ministries where I not only saw, but experienced first-hand the power of the Holy Spirit in changing and healing people, opening up areas and cities through prayer and prophetic action.
More recently, since being involved in a Christian mission organization, working alongside the urban poor here in Manila, I have learned the need for awakening the poor to their own "powers" (what is called "empowerment") in being able to resist the abuses at the hands of the principalities and powers through a variety of strategies spiritual, moral, social and political. Finally, I also recognize the struggle I sometimes face with the powers of evil within myself, and appreciate the tools which Christian psychologists have taught me to use, in tackling these forces. These and other tools of the social sciences (sociology, anthropology and cross-cultural studies) I have found extremely helpful in my own spiritual growth and mission effectiveness. I therefore have strong sympathies and convictions for all the above traditions.
I have chosen four different traditions of the church3, and two extra models (one from a sociological and another from a psychological perspective) to illustrate the different inter pretations and methods for engaging the powers. I will briefly outline the primary worldview and interpretation of the powers, then review their model of engagement, and make some points about their relative strengths and weaknesses.
There is a multiplicity of variations within each tradition, and some will be able to see their practice readily fitting into more than one model. My purpose in outlining these approaches is not to restrict people into one view or stereotype, but to demonstrate the breadth of views, and to open ways for exploration and learning from different traditions and experiences. It is my sincere conviction that each tradition offers valuable insights into both the nature of our conflict with the powers and the means available to us for engaging them.
Reformed Tradition: Reform the Powers
Background
This tradition arose during the years when the church had various socio-political powers alongside the state, due to its size and influence. Its Protestant form is most closely aligned with the teaching of the Swiss Reformer, John Calvin. Its basic stance to the wider society is one of "world formative" Christianity.4
This group largely operates from a position of relative power in relation to the state. It is represented today by some of the larger Protestant denominations and the position of the Roman Catholic Church.
Worldview
God has created the world and has given us dominion. However, humankind, together with the rest of the created order, has fallen. In response, God has provided the means for our salvation (Jesus Christ and his gospel) as well as tools for the ongoing work of salvation, re-creation and reconciliation-structures, powers, conscience, intelligence and so on-to exercise his authority through us in the world, in ways compatible with the gospel.
View of the Powers
Most Reformers such as Mott, Caird, Mouw, and Barth, see these powers as supernatural and independent entities that penetrate the social, political, economic and religious structures.
George Caird (1976, 46) believes that Paul's terms refer to "spiritual beings who preside over all the forms and structures of power operative in the corporate life of men." He (91) goes on to say that our "real enemies are the spiritual forces that stand behind all institutions of government, and control the lives of men and nations." Similarly, Charles Mott says:
Evil exists external to the individual not only in the order of society but also in the social and political roles of powerful supernatural beings. [These entities] are able to rule because individuals follow their influence and conform themselves to the world-order in actions which are system serving rather than system critical (Mott 1982, 6, 14).
However, he is careful to make the distinction:
World-order and the evil presence of the powers are never synonymous with the concrete forms of social and institutional life.... The powers are always present along with enslavement and death in small or large degree; but their real existence is behind the scenes in a system of hostile values vying for control of the life of the world (Mott, 15).
There are other theologians of the Reformed tradition, such as Walter Wink and Lesslie Newbigin, who take a more inter-related perspective, seeing the spiritual and structural as not identical but virtually inseparable. Wink, in his comprehensive trilogy on the powers, argues:
These entities are the inner and outer aspects of any given manifestation of power. As the inner aspect they are the spirituality of institutions, the within of corporate structures and systems, the inner essence of outer organizations of power. As the outer aspect they are political systems, appointed officials, the chair of an organization, laws in short, all the tangible manifestations which power takes (Wink 1984, 5).
Newbigin, who draws on Wink's analysis, explains:
These powers do not exist apart from the human agencies in which they are embodied Pilate, Herod, Caiaphas. Yet they are not identical.... They refer ... to that which is behind them, to the power which they represent and exercise but which is not identical to them (Newbigin 1989, 202).
In their struggle to find a language to explain this interrelationship that is not overly dependent on spatial metaphors, these theologians endeavor to clear up a common misconception. While Ephesians says that the realm of these powers is the heavenly places, this does not imply that they hover over our heads like vultures. After all, "according to Paul; those who are in Christ are already seated in the heavenly places where Christ is" (Eph 1:20) (Newbigin, 202-203).
Method of Engagement
The typical model of engagement of the powers by the Reformers is social action:
In combating evil in the heart through evangelism and Christian nurture we deal with a crucial aspect of evil, but only one aspect. Dealing with the evil of the social order and worldly powers involves social action, action in the world (Mott, 16).
Although most acknowledge the spiritual aspect, only Wink suggests ways of actually engaging the spiritual power through intercession and creative non-violent action.
Goal of Engagement
Members of the Reformed group believe that their work of social action is a participation in Christ's work of bringing all things under his feet (1 Cor 15:28), a declaration of the liberation already achieved by Jesus on the cross from the powers, so that
[in] the end, all the created world, people, supernatural powers, natural forces, and institutions, will be conformed to the will of God (Mott, 101).
Example
An example of Filipinos following the Reformed tradition was the involvement of the evangelical Greg Tingson and Father Joaquin Bernas, S.J., in the writing of a new constitution in 1987, to prevent another situation of dictatorship and martial law in the country.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Two of the strengths of the Reformed model include their strong conviction that Jesus is Lord of all the earth, and not just of the church, and their awareness that all authority is ultimately from God, the Creator of all and Redeemer, which frees them to participate in a broad range of social, political, economic and religious roles to transform society according to the kingdom of God.
Some weaknesses are that, while they give verbal assent to the reality of supernatural beings, they rarely discuss how one is to tackle the spiritual aspect of these entities.5 Their lack of tools for addressing the spiritual dimension while holding positions of power in society has left them open to compromising their faith, and to being tempted to push their own political agenda, rather than to upholding the gospel values of justice for the poor.
Radical Anabaptist Tradition: Be a Challenging Alternative to the Powers
Background
This group is associated with the so-called Radical Reformation. This movement attempted to literally apply many of the key doctrines of reformers, such as Luther and Zwingli, regarding the separation of church and state, the priesthood of all believers, and adult profession of faith. They are represented today in many small evangelical denominations that advocate a strong distinction between the church and the wider society.
View of the Powers
The Anabaptists understand the powers to be a myriad of social, spiritual, economic and political forces and entities that exercise domination. These powers are intent on unseating Christ's victorious position as the Ultimate Authority and Power. Vernard Eller explains:
In Colossians 1:18 Paul ... identifies Jesus as 'the beginning,' 'the prime,' 'THE ARKY'...6 Clearly, the apostle assumes that we live in a world with arkys filled that threaten to undo us, and those constantly battling each other for primacy.
Precisely because Jesus is THE ARKY, the Prime of Creation, the Principal of All Good, the Prince of Peace and Everything Else, Christians dare never grant a human arky, the primacy it claims for itself (Eller 1987, 1-2).
Jacques Ellul puts it even more starkly:
While it is true that all authority comes from God, it is also true that every manifestation of power is an expression of the might of Satan.... There is no such thing as a good ruler ... [nor] good master.... Satan controls this power and he grants it in order that men should subjugate one another.... In contrast, Jesus reminds us that he has not come to exercise power but to serve. In the Bible authority is always the authority of service (Ellul 1976, 55).
Method of Engagement
The Anabaptist model of engaging the powers is through nurturing their distinctiveness as a church or "contrast society" (Clohfink 1984, 122-132) from the wider society and its powers. They do this by applying what they believe was an important ethic of Jesus, namely, "voluntary subordination," which undermine the illusion of the powers' dominance. The Jesuit Gerhard Clohfink also understands things from this perspective. He argues that Jesus' preaching about the kingdom and call for repentance aimed to ignite within the people of God a movement in comparison to which the normal type of revolution is insignificant.... Jesus' call for nonviolence and renunciation of domination implies the perspective of a new society, one which stands in sharp contrast to secular societies marked by the will to overpower and control (Clohfink, 123-124).
Jesus confronted the powers by refusing to follow their pattern of exercising "violent lordship." His "revolutionary 'subordination" was the mode of his victory over the powers. In the same way, we, as Christians, must "accept powerlessness."7 Yoder elaborates:
The willingness to suffer is then not merely a test of our patience [but] ... is itself a participation in the character of God's victorious patience with the rebellious powers of his creation. We subject ourselves to government because it was in so doing that Jesus revealed and achieved God's victory (Yoder 1972, 213).
In the Anabaptist tradition, the powers are not engaged directly. Their position is more one of defense.
The very existence of the church, in which Gentiles and Jews, who heretofore walked according to the stoichea of the world, live together in Christ's fellowship, is itself a proclamation, a sign, a token to the Powers that their unbroken dominion has come 10 an end. Thus even this text says nothing of a positive or aggressive approach to the Powers. Such an approach is superfluous because the very presence of the church in a world ruled by the Powers is a superlatively positive and aggressive fact...a sign of the end time, of their incipient encirclement and their imminent defeat.... All resistance and every attack against the gods of this age will be unfruitful, unless the church herself is resistance and attack, unless she demonstrates in her life and fellowship how men can live freed from the Powers (Berkhof 1977, 51).
Berkhof outlines this stance in his exposition of Eph 6:10-18:
Paul is not contemplating an offensive against the Powers. ...The believer ... is not called to do more than he can do by simply believing. His duty is not to bring the Powers to their knees. This is Jesus Christ's own task. He has taken care of this thus far and will continue to do so. We are responsible for the defense, just because he takes care of the offense. Ours it is to hold the powers, their seduction, and their enslavement, at a distance, '10 be able to stand against the wiles of the devil' (Yoder, 152).
For in the church, however heavily veiled, the principalities and powers discern the person of their conqueror, the Lord Christ. The powers of the age to come are already at work in her, frail and fallible though she is. And as such she reminds [them] of their doom (Green 1991, 190).
An example of their commitment comes from Berkhof who rightly warns:
We can only preach the manifold wisdom of God to Mammon if our life displays that we are joyfully freed from his clutches. To reject nationalism we must begin by no longer recognizing in our own bosoms any difference between peoples. We shall resist social injustice and the disintegration of community if justice and mercy prevail in our own common life and social differences have lost their power to divide (Berkhof, 51).
Goal of Engagement
According to Berkhof, the powers are reconciled with God through Christ's death.
Here Paul uses it [reconciliation] in a broader sense, as meaning a restoration of proper relationships. In this sense the Powers as well are objects of God's plan of redemption. By virtue of this purpose they will no longer lie between man and God as a barrier, but can and shall return to their original function, as instruments of God's fellowship with his creation (Berkhof, 41).
Examples
The Anabaptists perceive not just governments, but "churches, schools, philosophies, ideologies, social standards, peer pressures, fads and fashions, advertising, planning techniques, psychological and sociological theories, [as] arkys out to govern us" (Eller, 1-2). The list could go on ad infinitum (Yoder, 144-145).
Strengths and Weaknesses
Some of the strengths of the Anabaptist model are: one, its emphasis on the power of the gospel as truth that we can live by, thereby giving us freedom, in relation to the powers; two, the value it places on the church as a distinctive contrast-salt and light-that needs to keep its distinctiveness, or "holiness," by nurturing itself on gospel values such as the Sermon on the Mount; and third, the valuable check it provides on our motivations for working for social transformation. Those in the Anabaptist tradition would ask what power is really motivating our involvement. Since they reject all coercive means for bringing change, their model does provide an important corrective and challenge to churches used to authoritarian styles of enforcing their particular religious practices.
Some weaknesses of the Anabaptist approach are firstly, their entirely "defensive posture." Is this justified when Paul's description of the Christian church's armory includes the "sword of the Spirit" (Eph 6:17)? Paul's choice of term is the gladius or machaira in Greek-a short two edged-sword, undoubtedly a powerful offensive weapon to disembowel one's opponent (Wink 1984, 86-87). Secondly, because their focus is primarily on the church, the equally important role of verbal proclamation of the gospel to unbelievers including kings, presidents and so on, tends to be overlooked.
A question for the Anabaptists is: While the earnest attempt to stand apart from the powers and idols of society, including Mammon, paganism and secularism is admirable, how possible is this in reality?
Individualistic Evangelical: Convert the Captives of the Powers
Background
The conservative evangelical movement is a more recent tradition, initially finding its identity through the theological debates over how one interprets the Scriptures with those of the more liberal persuasion of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Worldview
This tradition has a strong Christological and salvation focus, believing that Christ's work on the cross was decisive in winning our salvation from sin, the powers and the devil. Our work is merely to implement or apply our salvation by standing on our victory in our own historical contexts, and highlighting the need for a conversion to Christ, both for ultimate allegiance and the practice of personal values.
View of the Powers
The individualistic evangelical perceives these powers to be spiritual beings exerting a moral force, seeking to tempt individuals from following Christ, or doing his will. Most of the temptations are toward personal sins-adultery and lying (Rowlinson 1995, 115)-rather than social sins such as economic exploitation and institutionalized racism (Sider 1993, 33). John Stott (1979, 274), a representative of this view, explains that "...the principalities and powers are personal supernatural agencies." Yet at the same time, he avoids denying "that they can use structures, traditions, institutions ... for good or ill."
Method of Engagement
While some in this group acknowledge that structures can be penetrated by these supernatural beings, their emphasis is on delivering the "captives" of the principalities. The "classic mode of warfare [is] evangelism, discipleship and personal growth," (Rowlinson, 35) using our God-given freedom of will to choose for Christ, and stand on the victory he won on the cross. The powers are "willing to admit defeat only when faced with the name of Jesus Christ. He is the conqueror and they are vulnerable only when approached on the ground of his victory" (Green, 189). It is the church's task to maintain the victory, reminding the powers through preaching the gospel, that they have been defeated by the conqueror Jesus Christ. For the evangelical..."no Christian can hope to enter the warfare of the ages without learning first to rest in Christ and in what he had done, and then, through the strength of the Holy Spirit within, to follow him in a practical holy life here on earth' (Nee 1957, 52). "What Jesus did to fight spiritual warfare with moral evil is what we are to do, namely, trust in God's word of truth and obey through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit" (Rowlinson, 74). Typically, individualistic evangelicals understand the encounter to be one of truth rather than power (a typical Third Wave perception).8 Neil Anderson represents this view well when he says:
Since Satan's primary weapon is the lie, your defense against him is the truth. Dealing with Satan is not a power encounter, it's a truth encounter. When you expose Satan's lie with God's truth, his power is broken (Anderson 1990, 170).
Goal of Engagement
The goal of this engagement is to deliver the captives and have Christians living by the personal values of the gospel. This tradition understands that the powers only operate until Christ consummates his kingdom, at his second coming. At that point, the powers will be destroyed: "The destiny of the forces of evil is destruction. They are given over to the ruin which they have chosen and which they propagate" (Green, 191).
Examples
We see examples of this group's engagement with various campus ministries-groups holding evangelistic Bible studies among politicians, teachers, factory workers, and others. The World Home Bible League and the Moral Recovery Program are other local examples operating by this model.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Some strengths of the individualistic evangelical's approach include its emphasis on the completed work of Christ on the cross in defeating the powers. This brings enormous reassurance and freedom from anxiety and striving. The accent of this approach is on the necessity of a heart conversion for real change to take place, and of faith in the power of the gospel to transform individual lives.
On the other hand, a significant weakness of this model is that it often exhibits a lack of awareness of the inter-relatedness of the social, spiritual, and political with the personal. In the case of graft and corruption, for instance, while there is value in even one person who resists, there is a wider social and spiritual pressure to address. A sad consequence of this stress on the individual's choice is that it misses out on the communal support which the church can give to address effectively these powerful forces.
A question for the individualistic evangelicals is: Does the emphasis on the individual over the social, and the spiritual over the physical really reflect Jesus' prophetic ministry of healing, delivering, feeding, overturning the injustice in the temple, as well as his preaching and teaching?
Third Wave: Exorcize the Powers
Background and Worldview
The name "Third Wave" was first coined, I believe, in the 1980s, and represents the third of the perceived waves of the Holy Spirit in this century. The first was the classic pentecostal movement at the beginning of this century, the second was the charismatic renewal movement of the 1960s and 19705 (McAlpine 1991, S) and the third was the recognition of the giftedness of every believer with the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the expectation of signs accompanying Christian witness.
Generally speaking, those representing the Third Wave approach are practitioners involved in a variety of mission situations. They relate the New Testament language of the powers to their experiences with evil spirits, demons, or geographical areas exhibiting particular resistance to the gospel.
View of the Powers
Peter Wagner, the most renowned proponent and writer of Third Wave practices, agrees with Timothy Warner when he describes his basic understanding
that Satan delegates high ranking members of the hierarchy of evil spirits to control nations, regions, cities, tribes, people groups, neighborhoods and other significant social networks of human beings throughout the world. Their major assignment is to prevent God from being glorified in their territory, which they d0 through directing the activity of lower ranking demons (Wagner 1990, 77).
John Dawson, a popular YWAM speaker, similarly under stands Satan's kingdom to be a limited hierarchy of evil spirits, with order, authority and chain of command.... High ranking, supernatural personali ties, referred to as principalities and powers in Ephesians 6, seek to dominate geographic areas, cities, peoples and subcultures.... God's word tells believers ... [that they are] given authority to overcome the enemy as a result of Jesus' victory
(Dawson 1989, 137).
Another YWAM speaker on these issues, Dean Sherman says:
'Principalities' (which are] often referred to as 'territorial spirits'...are simply beings with broad areas of influence in Satan's kingdom .... Satan has a specific strategy and has assigned spirits for refugees, policemen, battered wives, telephone operators, the blind, businessmen, and every one of the countless tiny and separate groupings of humanity (Sherman 1990, 92, 95).
Method of Engagement
The Third Wavers primary method for engaging the powers is through spiritual discernment and authoritative, intercessory prayer. So in answering the question of how do we overcome the enemy, Dawson says:
We discern the nature of his deception and come in the opposite spirit. Being careful to resist temptation ourselves, we continue in united prayer until authority is gained and God breaks through (Dawson 1991, 137).
Sherman (92) concurs: "God is looking for people who will rebuild walls through intercessory prayer ... and shut out the enemy on behalf of cities, families, schools and individuals."
Goal of Engagement
Third Wavers typically do not see these powers as having any redeeming qualities, and are doomed to suffer ultimate annihilation at the coming of Christ.
Unlike most of the other traditions, this model takes a rather pragmatic perspective on the reasons for involvement in this warfare. "Mankind has been made to take dominion. It is necessary that we face an antagonist during our brief apprenticeship on earth to qualify in character to rule with Christ in eternity (Dawson 1989, 130). Unlike before, when there seemed to be an over preoccupation with spiritual warfare, the Third Wavers now qualify their involvement: "Spiritual Warfare is merely a means to an end which is firstly, reconciling the lost to himself, and secondly, bringing his body to maturity and wholeness" (Sherman, 22). Wagner agrees:
Ultimately, our goal is not to expose satanic strongholds, unmask occultic deception, pursue spiritual mapping or bind principalities and powers. Our goal is to restore God's glory to every detail of his creation. Knowing God's redemptive gift provides specific, positive direction to our praying and other activities in spiritual warfare (Wagner 1993, 56).
Strengths and Weaknesses
Some strengths of the Third Wave model are: one, it sees the importance of recognizing the spiritual nature of these entities; two, it affirms the efficacy of God's power working through authoritative, (faith-filled) intercessory prayer in dealing with these spiritual realities; and three, it emphasizes the importance of waiting on God, and of the need for spiritual discernment. Since most Third Wavers are practitioners, their insights are readily applicable to those who are in ministry. This practical focus is potentially empowering to many who might well be struggling. Finally, the approach of combining prayer and prophetic o symbolic action based on Jesus' social ethics is proving very helpful for the wider church in validating the applicability of Jesus ethical stance.
A few weaknesses of this model include its hermeneutics. The lack of sensitivity to the historical and cultural context of this Scriptures has resulted in an indiscriminate use of the Old Testament. Fears or biases can be projected out onto the community and be called "territorial spirits," instead of going through the process of careful discernment through a wide variety of spiritual disciplines. A further weakness is that at times the advocates of this approach can appear overly confrontational. This has had detrimental effects on further missionary outreach in those communities in which they are situated.
The last two "traditions," the Social Activist and the Christian Psychological, are not Christian traditions in the usual sense of the term. They are more like groupings of Christians from different theological traditions who seek to relate the biblical language of the powers to their model of reality. The first is more sociological; the second more psychological.
Christian Social-Activist: Subvert the Powers
Background and Worldview
This group embraces a wide assortment of different Christian groups, associations, organizations, and churches that have a common mission focus of organizing and empowering grassroots communities or marginalized groups. They share the presupposition that institutions, structures, and authorities of the social order depend on the support of the "common people" for their power.
They include Base Ecclesial Communities, urban poor churches, many NGOs, people's organizations, Micro-Enterprise organizations, and liberation movements.
View of the Powers
Most of these practitioners draw on the theological and exegetical research of others for their conceptual framework. And so one writes of the growing consensual view that the principalities and powers refer to "both the socio-political structures of human society and to unseen spiritual forces that undergird, lie behind and in some mysterious way help shape human socio political structures" (Sider 1980, 12). Many have found Wink's trilogy on the powers to provide a helpful framework for their ministries:
The 'principalities and powers' are the inner or spiritual essence ... of an institution or state or system ... emanated by organizations or individuals ... whose energies are bent on overpowering others (Wink 1984, 104).
William Stringfellow, a lawyer and astute prophet of American society, offers his own contextualization of Paul's terminology: "what the Bible calls principalities and powers are called in contemporary language ideologies, institutions and images' (Stringfellow 1994, 194). Like most Christian Social Activists, he learned about this battle from the people "at the bottom," who often possess a clarity of insight into these realities that is denied those who draw many benefits from the system. Stringfellow shares:
Slowly I learned something which folk indigenous to the ghetto know, namely, that the power and purpose of death are incarnated in institutions and structures, procedures and regimes-Consolidated Edison or the Department of Welfare, the Mafia or the police, the Housing Authority or the social work bureaucracy, the hospital system or the banks, liberal philanthropy or corporate real estate speculation. In the wisdom of the people of the East Harlem neighborhood, such principalities are identified as demonic powers (Stringfellow 1996, 1).
Method of Engagement
Christian Social Activists exercise a fair amount of freedom in their use of different forms of power to tackle these realities. They often draw from Reformed and Anabaptist theological understandings for their practical engagement. So for instance (in reflecting on Col 1:16), Sider, though writing from the Anabaptist tradition, sounds at times more like a Reformed theologian. For example, he says:
If the principalities and powers are part of the good creation, it would seem to follow that power itself is not evil. It is only when power is used for an evil purpose or when the methods used are not compatible with the methods of Jesus' Kingdom that the Christian must say no to power (Sider 1980, 13).
So he encourages those from the historic peace churches (Anabaptist), to move forward creatively and boldly in the exercise of economic and political power. We need to become co-workers of the oppressed as they rightly search for a more just distribution of power in our world. For some that will mean persistent, uncompromising advocacy of the rights of the oppressed from within present economic and political systems. For others it will mean economic boycotts, demonstrations and civil disobedience. For both groups, it will mean ongoing prayer and dialogue to see when conscientious objection, conscientious refusal to participate in a given corporation, election or office is the only faithful, effective way to exercise power (Sider 1980, 20).
One of Dave Andrews' strategies in bringing change to the powers, which are perceived as unjust institutions and structures is to "conform as much as you can, compromise as little as you can"...seek a sponsor, then build a support group within the organization with others who share a common perception of the injustice, then begin to "ask questions that make the institution answerable" (Andrews 1996, 145-149).
Goal of Engagement
These activists entertain the hope that through their solidarity with, and involvement alongside the poor and marginalized, the spiritual power and the structures themselves will ultimately be purged or reconciled as expressed by Paul in Col tab-20. "[At] the final consummation then, when the good creation is purged of all the ghastly corruption of the fall, the sinful principalities and powers will also be reconciled to the Creator against whom they rebelled" (Sider 1980, 20). This is therefore an integral part of their motive for being involved.
Example
An example of this tradition's view in practice was the civil rights movement in America. It will be noticed that it combines several traditions' model:
The direct path to this achievement of partial justice was creative reform through politics. This path was not the only one however. In the distant background was the teaching of the Christian church on the meaning of the life of everyone for whom Christ died. Behind the civil rights legislation was the powerful witness of those who had laid down their bodies and even their lives in noncooperation with evil. And behind those witnesses were communities which sustained them (Stott, 208).
Strengths and Weaknesses
Some strengths of the Christian Social Activist approach include its recognition of the breadth of influence of these powers and of the need for active Christian involvement rather than purely theo retical speculations. Also, its clear social stance can potentially open up for us a deeper understanding of the gospel and the powers. Finally, the Christian Social Activists' awareness of the complexity of the issues, and willingness to use a variety of practical and spiritual approaches in their engagement demonstrate a valuable attitude if we are to build creative and cooperative ventures with those of other traditions.
Weaknesses in this model include the ease with which the proponents may overlook their own personal biases, while exhibiting admirable social commitments. It is possible that they leave unchecked, unresolved anger or resentment towards recalcitrant authorities, or resistant members of the organization and perceive them as enemies instead of humans also in need of love. Peter's caution is noteworthy here, "The language, mentality and posture of spiritual warfare may tempt us to confuse our true enemy with the people whom God enjoins us to love...." (Peters 1994, 251). Also, their holistic vision, may sometimes lead to paralysis, especially in exploring new initiatives, out of fear of becoming unbalanced.
Christian Psychologist: Integrate the Powers
Background
This group, similarly, is not identified with a single denomination or tradition, but has adherents from most mainline traditions, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Baptist and Independent. The chief basis for their association here is a worldview with a strong Jungian psychological component. Morton Kelsey is the main writer; his views seem to be gaining a wider and wider audience.
Worldview
Christian psychologists perceive the biblical story through a psycho-spiritual framework. We are complex beings, created by God as body, soul and spirit. Numerous hereditary and environmental factors affect our psyche, and also the way we relate with the wider world. Kelsey writes:
The great Fathers and Doctors of the Church who gave us our Trinitarian Christianity continued to express their knowledge of humankind as a bridge linking two worlds. They saw humanity with one side joined to the physical world of matter, and the other immersed in the nonmaterial but even more real world-of-spirit, and the human soul or psyche as the instrument of communication between the two (Kelsey 1976, 36).
View of the Powers
Kelsey and other Jungian analysts perceive the principalities and powers as archetypes that influence our psyche and, if unchecked, our outward behavior. "Jung chose the term ,archetypes' as a more phenomenologically neutral way of speaking about what religions have called gods, spirits, angels and demons" (Wink 1986, 117). A key connection for Kelsey is the correlation between Middle Age understandings of angels as "thinking thoughts" and Carl Jung's definition of unconscious complexes as "groups of psychic contents, isolated from consciousness, functioning arbitrarily and autonomously, leading thus a life of their own in the unconscious" (McAlpine, 58).
He elaborates further by saying:
One's being can be touched and even penetrated by the powers of evil, as well as by the creative force that is often called the Holy Spirit. Most people who turn inward find a war going on within them between the powers of destructiveness and the force of light which the early Church knew as the Risen Christ. This is the struggle which one cannot win by one's power, but only by being open to the reality of the Risen Christ and allowing him to win the victory (Kelsey, 37).
By way of example he offers a picture of the soul which houses Aphrodite, Ares, Demeter, Eros, Hephaestos, Hermes, Zeus, the Fool, and Science.
These nine men and women who have come to my door were neutral parts of me. If they are under the direction of wholeness and harmony, the master, the Risen Christ, then they work together. If they are left alone they quarrel and cause chaos. But worst of all they can fall into the hands of the Evil One. His strategem is to convince each one that he 01 she is the only valuable person within and should subject the others to him or her (Kelsey, 59).
Wink laments the loss of this connection between the gods "out-there" and the archetypes "inside" our psyche.
The collapse of the god-archetype for s0 many in our time has meant that the central thrust of life-energies in the self has been bereft of symbols of expression, and so has unconsciously been projected on more or less suitable human personalities messianic figures in politics, movies, sports, entertainment, and therapy. The most catastrophic recoil of the gods in our time was Nazism, with its volcanic revival of the cult of the Norse god Wotan, and its hysterical adulation of Adolf Hitler (Wink 1986, 118).
McAlpine (59) poses a good summary question: "On the individual level, do we talk about a spirit of lust, or about Aphrodite gone astray?"
Method of Engagement
For Kelsey the main approach is through the spiritual disciplines of meditation, dream interpretation and spiritual direction.
Meditation is the practice, the art of letting down the barrier that separates one's rational consciousness from the depth of one's soul. In Christian meditation one is trying to come into touch with the spiritual world in a way that will open one's whole being to the reality of this creative and integrating centre, or the Risen Christ. The purpose is to allow the Christ to bring the split-off, conflicting parts [i.e. the powers or archetypes] of one's being into fruitful relationship, and at the same time deliver one from destructive evil which seeks to keep the person fragmented and operating unconsciously. In this way one is brought together and given the single eye-that new center of being which allows a person to operate at more nearly full potential, creatively and freed from giving in to destructive impulses (Kelsey, 37-38).
Wink affirms the ancient Israelite practice of recognizing the existence of other gods, but categorically placing them in a subservient position, as a model for current engagement.
Christians have been afraid to admit the existence of gods for fear people would succumb to worshiping them. That danger is great, but no greater than the opposite danger of denying their existence and being unconsciously tyrannized by them. The only sane course would appear to be to acknowledge their reality, learn their characteristics, raise to consciousness their ineluctable workings in our depths, and subject them to the sovereignty of the God of gods (Wink 1986, 123).
Goal of Engagement
The goal for these Christian psychologists is integration of those split-off parts of ourselves which can become instruments either of God or of the Evil One. Wink writes:
The archetypes should be honored, but honored at a distance, as a fire that can consume, as a force that both blesses with its presence and inflicts itself as curse.... Our mistaken quest for perfection ill-prepares us to find the healing value in the very inferior and unacceptable aspects of ourselves that we have s0 long tried to flee, deny, crush, amputate, or disown. But it is just there that the God of gods waits to be discovered, in the integration of autonomous pans of ourselves into the total selfhood to which we are called (Wink 1986, 125-126).
In this way we are calling (like the writer of Ps 29: 1-2) for "the gods" to worship Yahweh.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The strength of the Christian psychologist's model is seen, in the first place, in the way it potentially delivers the church from making hypocritical judgments, as Christians heed the word of Jesus to first remove the log from their own eye, before seeking to take the splinter from their neighbor's eye (Lk 6: 41-42). Secondly, this model deeply challenges our motivations for involvement in personal and social transformation.
A weakness of this approach is that one can get so caught up in addressing all of one's inner powers and gods, that one no longer feels convicted about wider social evils in the nation.
Can We Bridge the Gap? Integrating the Traditions
Having contrasted the typical models which we see currently practiced, what possibility is there for corporate engagement? Aren't the views too divergent? While I recognize the extent of this divergence I also hold the conviction that this variation may be a good starting point for dialogue. Just as with a rainbow, beauty is more enhanced when colors are held together with all the other colors. I believe that the variety of models can complement each other if they are practiced with the humility to recognize the truth in other people's views, and the errors in one's own.
Doing this survey has shown that all traditions examined recognize that the gospel is the primary means of dealing with the powers, however they are perceived. The differences really hinge on people's understanding of the gospel, and Jesus' commission to all believers. Those who take a more "defensive posture" against the powers like to emphasize either the faith or communal dimension, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness and so on. Those taking a more offensive posture" emphasize the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, the combination of the Spirit and God's Word, proclaimed and lived. But just as the soldier can't really be assured of victory if he only has a single piece or an incomplete set of armor, so nor can we, I believe, leave behind, reject, or ignore those pieces in our weaponry which other traditions offer us. We need each other, for a key feature of the Ephesian metaphor is our unity: standing side by side, shields overlapping in an impenetrable wall.
I find it encouraging that over the last decade there has been some significant movement of the different traditions toward each other. Yoder and Sider from the Anabaptist tradition are fruitfully interacting with the Reformed. Likewise, Mouw and Mott acknowledge the value of the Anabaptist and individualistic evangelical positions. Third Wavers like Dawson (and to some extent Wagner) have moved to more moderate positions, and are incorporating insights gleaned from the Anabaptist and Reformed traditions; they are beginning some work of social justice and racial reconciliation. However, except for Wink, very few of the Reformed and Anabaptist theologians are prepared to interact with the Third Wavers. In addition, all five of the models still seem far distant from the psychological model of Kelsey.
This is not the place to explore what such a corporate, integrated wrestling would look like; yet I would like to conclude with some thoughts and possible questions which each tradition might bring to a round-table discussion and cooperative engagement of the powers in Manila.
Those in the Reformed Tradition affirm that we have political and civic powers as children of God, Christian professionals, workers, citizens with voting rights. So their question might be, "What about social evils such as injustice, companies not paying the minimum wage, kidnappings of Chinese children, and the unfair international economic system? Does not the gospel call us to respond to these?" Followers of the Anabaptist Tradition, on the other hand, recognize that the gospel gives us cultural power as an alternative counter-cultural community within society. They might ask, "How is the church being a distinctive alternative to the wider society, as light, salt and leaven?' Members of the Individualistic Evangelical tradition stress that the gospel gives us moral power through our free choice as individuals created in the image of God, and free to respond in faith to Christ's work for us on the cross. They would like to ask, "What about the need for individuals within the evil structures, being converted and changed?" People of the Third Wave tradition have discovered the spiritual power of the gospel, through the Holy Spirit's empowering, and authoritative prayer in Jesus' Name. They might ask, "What about the power of the Holy Spirit and intercession to change spiritual, social, and structural evil?" Christian Social Activists affirm that the gospel gives us social power as united individuals and groups, when we unite and work cooperatively together for a worthy cause. They could ask, "What about the processes we use, are the poor and marginalized being empowered in the process? Is the kingdom coming among them, as Jesus intended?" Finally, the Christian psychologists believe that the gospel has given us psychological powers or "powers within, through our psyche, to become integrated persons. Their question is, "What about not being hypocrites, by first removing the log from our own eye?"
Conclusion
Two final things need to be recognized about this whole debate, and they both take us back to the Apostle Paul. The first is the language he uses for these realities. It seems that Paul was sufficiently wise and experienced to know that these entities take many different forms and shapes. He therefore seems to keep the terms deliberately ambiguous. "Paul's use of words in relation to these unseen realities is extremely flexible. Such words as principalities, powers, dominions, thrones, angels, authorities, and others are used without any apparent attempt to distinguish between their meanings..." (Newbigin, 203). All the traditions need to acknowledge this.
Second, before Paul calls us to put on the armor of God to fight, he tells the Ephesians,
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.... Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body joined and held together, by every supporting ligaments, grows and builds itself up in love.... Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ .... Finally ...put on the full armor .... (Eph 4:2-3, 1f-16, 5:21, 6:10-11).
NOTES
1 All of these are very simplified categorizations of the primary models of engaging a contemporary Power.
2 1 Cor 13:9-12.
3 I have drawn several of these labels from McAlpine (1991), although I have added two extra groupings, and differ in some of my descriptions of their respective views and from Sider (1993)
4 Wolterstorff (1983, 5), who represents the Reformed Tradition argues that its perspective is one of seeking the reformation of reality which he calls, "World Formative Christianity." See also pages 3-22.
5 Wink, who actually comfortably fits in most of the models, is the only exception.
6 In the NT, the word "arky" is translated "principalities" or "authorities."
7 Mouw (1976, 112) summarizing the position of Yoder (1972, 213).
8 Wagner (1993, 58) as the spokesman of the Third Wave says, "Our central task is discerning where the invisible has corrupted the visible and dealing with it through a power encounter (2 Cor i0:4, 5). Our goal is to block Satan's work and bring God's redemptive gift, not to destroy the culture."
WORKS CITED
Anderson, N. 1990. Victory Over the Darkness. Ventura: Regal. Andrews, D. 1996. Building a Better World. Sutherland: Albatross. Berkhof, H. 1977. Christ and the Powers. Scottdale: Herald.
Caird, G. B. 1976. Paul's Letter from Prison. In The New Clarendon Bible. Oxford.
Clohfink, G. 1984 trans. Jesus and Community: The Social Dimension of Christian Faith. Philadelphia: Fortress and New York: Paulist. Dawson, J.1989. Taking our Cities for God. Lake Mary: Creation House. Dawson, J. 1991. "Seventh Time Around." Territorial Spirits. Edited by C. P. Wagner. Chichester: Sovereign World, Ltd.
Eller, V. 1987. Christian Anarchy. Jesus' Primacy Over the Powers. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Ellul, J. 1976. The Ethics of Freedom. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Green, M. 1991. "Principalities and Powers." Territorial Spirits. Edited by C. P. Wagner. Chichester: Sovereign World, Ltd.
Kelsey, M.1976. The Other Side of Silence. New York Paulist. McAlpine, T. 1991. Facing the Powers. Monrovia, CA: MARC. Mott, S. C. 1982. Biblical Ethics and Social Change. Oxford: Oxford University.
Mouw, R. J. 1976. Politics and the Biblical Drama. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Nee, W. 1957. Sit, Walk, Stand Bombay: Gospel Literature Service. Newbigin, L. 1989. The Gospel in a Pluralist Society. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans and Geneva: WWC.
Peters, T. 1994. Sin: Radical Evil in Soul and Society. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Rowlinson, D. 1995. Power Encounters. Grand Rapids: Baker.
Sherman D. 19g0 at 1991. Spiritual Warfare for Every Christian. Pasig: YWAM and Mandaluyong: OMF.
Sider, R. 1980. "Christ and Power." In International Review of Mission 59, N0. 273,12.
Sider, R. 1993. One Sided Christianity. Grand Rapids: Zondervan and San Francisco: Harper Collins.
Stott, J. R. W. 1979. God's New Society: The Message of Ephesians. Downers Grove: IVP.
Stringfellow, W. 1994. "Christ and the Powers of Death." Keeper of the World Edited by W. Bill and Wylie-Kellerman. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Stringfellow, W. 1996. "Resisting Death Incarnate: The Principalities of Urban Violence." In Sojourners Online 25, N0. 2 (March-April), 1. Wagner, P. C. z990. Wrestling with Dark Angels. Ventura: Regal. Wagner, P. C. 1993. Breaking Strongholds in Your City. Ventura: Regal. Webber, R. 1986. The Church in the World. Grand Rapids: Academie/ Zondervan.
Wink, W. 1984. Naming the Powers. Philadelphia: Fortress. Wink, W. 2986. Unmasking the Powers. Philadelphia: Fortress. Wolterstorff, N. 1983- Until Justice and Peace Embrace. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Yoder, J. H.11.1972. The Politics of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.