I am thankful that there has been a renewed interest as of late to identify, denounce and replace the idols (or false gods) in our lives and culture. To make this a priority in conversation and printing is a great blessing to the church and to the world around us.
First with regard to Christians, it helps pool the collective ‘sweat’ of personal mortification (gross image, I know, but sin is gross). Through one another we see something more of the panorama of idolatry that we are susceptible to.
Second with regard to the world around us. This emphasis, in so far as it is answered with the gospel of Christ, helps to clarify who we are and what we are about. We are not a group of people who are trying to project our morality and rules upon you but rather our gracious and successful Savior who frees us from our sin and hell through the gospel.
In this vein I was thankful to dig into Trevin Wax’s book entitled Holy Subversion.
Trevin uses the term Caesar to apply to false gods. He bases this upon the prominent idolatry of the Roman Empire whereby the citizens were called to worship the ruler as their god. All of the requisite sacrifices and prayers were offered unto a man. With this backdrop the early Christians said, “No!” Many of which said no while burning on the stake. It is this historic denial of worship of things and people at the expense of God through Christ that Wax is after. He takes that historic idolatry and overlays it upon our many contemporary American idols. He does a terrific job at it. If it is hard to follow or perhaps seems like a reach that is my fault in the review not his in concept. He nails it throughout.
It is also helpful to ask Trevin what he means by ‘subversion’. I for one was curious about this when I saw the Caesar talk and a title like this. I didn’t know if he might be writing an evangelical-tea party manifesto or something. Thankfully he was not. He recognizes the potential for confusion and states that he was not talking about overthrowing the government or anything but rather “‘undermining’ or ‘pushing something back down into its proper place.”‘ In this sense he means to put things into their proper place and perspective. In other words, how do we as Christians live in this world, in light of the gospel of Christ?
This is where he is very pastoral and practical. Therefore he is very helpful.
Wax goes after several ‘Caesars’ namely, self, success, money, leisure, sex, power, and evangelism.
Now it is important to ask a question of a book like this that is getting in your kitchen so to speak, namely, “Does it prescribe some sort of legalistic, withdrawing holiness code?” And the answer is no. One of the strengths of the book is a gospel balance. He continues to bring us back to the work of Jesus Christ in history for us to motivate our living. Where he is practical he is careful not to loose this balance. I may not have agreed with everything he said with regard to preferences, but I appreciated his caution. Even with regard to ‘grey’ matters I think he is careful and helpful. I plan to have my impressionable teenage son read the book because I think it is that helpful and clear.
Finally, a word about the writing style. Wax is a blogger (link to his site). This means that, among other things, he writes a lot. I think this type of book really shows that this much writing helps projects like this. The book is clear, full of analogies, helpful stories, research, and does not loose its gospel flavor and punch. I think most of you who read this site would enjoy his book.
Discounted copies are available many places online. However, if you desire to support this site please consider visiting Westminster Books or Amazon for your research and purchase.
