D. Seiple and Frederick W. Weidmann, eds. Enigmas and Powers: Engaging the Work of Walter Wink for Classroom, Church, and World. Pickwick Publications, 2008.

Walter Wink has made a tremendous contribution to biblical studies, peace activism, and spirituality in his career at Union and Auburn seminaries. This short book contains 24 brief statements in tribute to Wink’s thought and life.  Most of the papers were presented at a May 2005 celebration of Wink upon his retirement from Auburn.

It is nice to have this collection to get a sense of the breadth of Wink’s influence. Several prominent scholars appear–such as Marcus Borg, Bruce Chilton, Joseph Hough, Amy-Jill Levine, Jack Miles, Robert Raines, and Wayne Rollins. 

Most of the pieces are quite short, so the book works much better as a series of “toasts” than as analyses uncovering or extending the depths of the implications of Wink’s scholarship. [Full disclosure: I have a small contribution in this volume, “Walter Wink and Peace Theology.” I have co-edited a more thorough tribute volume to Wink, Transforming the Powers: Peace, Justice, and the Domination System.]