Book Review: Trevin Wax - Holy Subversion

Genre: Christian Living
Publisher: Crossway
Publication Date: January 31, 2010

A lot of books have been written about idolatry lately. Many Christians are re-discovering Martin Luther’s idea about not being able to break any of the commandments without initially breaking the first and second. There is sound, biblical truth in these sentiments, and I’m glad that writers like Timothy Keller (Counterfeit Gods) and others have used their talents to practically apply this truth to our context in the 21st century. Add to that list Trevin Wax. His new book, Holy Subversion, is a potent yet practical look at how to address the different idols in our lives.

What does Wax mean by “subversion”? He operates with this definition: “pushing something back down into its proper place” (26). He compares our time to ancient Rome when Ceasar was declared to be divine and how Christians “subverted” this by refusing to attribute allegiance to him that only God and Christ deserve. He basically sums up the intentions of the book as such then: “[Our] job as Christians is to first identify and unmask some of the more insidious ‘Ceasars’ that seek to muzzle our message and demand our allegiance. Then, we must think through specific ways in which the church can counter our culture by subverting its prevailing idolatries and pushing them back to their rightful place, under the feet of Jesus” (27).

Wax tackles specific “Ceasars” that tend to take precedence in our lives today (success, money, leisure, sex, power) and shows how to keep them in their proper places in our lives. Avoiding legalistic demands on one hand and liberal license on the other, he weaves through the issues, deftly applying biblical truths to real life.

My favorite chapter, the first after the introductory chapter, was on the subverting of the self. Like breaking the first commandments, all other idolatries tend to involve placing ourselves (our wants, desires, pleasures) above God. Using a “walk through Ephesians,” Wax dismantles our pride by showing God’s sovereignty in our salvation and our utter helplessness before Him. The progression of thought, then, from this chapter to the others makes perfect sense, finally ending with a chapter on evangelism and how living this way will influence that.

This short (150 pages) and fairly easy read was highly enjoyable for me. It’s packed with Scriptural truth yet connected intimately to our lives. In a world that makes constant demands on us for our time, resources, and attention, we need to be careful what we’re worshipping with those things. We Christians tend to be almost indistinguishable from non-believers a lot of the time in how we live our lives. By subverting the idols our culture wants us to have, we show others that Christ is of highest value. He’s the only one truly worthy of our worship.



This book was provided for review by Crossway.