Review: Holy Subversion

The challenge of Jesus as Lord is nothing new nor fresh. Nearly 2000 years ago, the Caesar’s began to view themselves as divine. They enjoyed the titles of Lord, God, etc. The worship of the Caesars spread throughout the Roman empire. The early Christians however gave their sole allegiance to Jesus as Lord of their life. The Christians of that day subverted the power of Caesar. In his book Holy Subversion: Allegiance to Christ in an Age of Rivals Wax states:

The early Christians were persecuted and killed, not only because they had personal relationships with Jesus Christ, but also because they were proclaiming Jesus as Lord. They were applying Caesar’s titles of honor to Jesus Christ. They were subverting the authority of Caesar by appealing to the lordship of Jesus.

In our society today, the lordship of Christ is still being challenged by the Caesars of our day. Trevin Wax seeks to expose these idols and subvert the idols back into their rightful place. Wax addresses, the self, success, money, leisure, sex, power and evangelism as idols that are claiming our allegiance.

There are two things that I really enjoyed about the book. First, I enjoyed how extremely practical Trevin Wax was in his writing. Not only did He address the idol but he gave practical ways to subvert the idol. Second, Wax addresses many modern day idols that don’t get much attention. The Caesar of Leisure is plaguing our society today. Yet not much is written on the subject. However, Wax takes the idol and challenges Christians to put it back under the feet of Jesus.

Holy Subversion is biblical, practical, and timely. I often found myself pausing to reflect while keeping a pen in hand to underline. I would highly recommend this book to anyone seeking to live out the allegiance of Christ in a world of modern idols. Wax is calling for Christians to make a difference by subverting modern idols and putting their allegiance in Jesus alone as Lord. This book is great for both Mature and New Christians.

Matt