Pilgrim Soldier

In the last couple of weeks I’ve read a number of articles that have used the word “subversive” in connection to either the gospel or the church. The gist of these were that Christianity is actually a deeply subversive worldview.

By it’s very nature the gospel and therefore the Church works as a force for good, subverting (?) society so that it turns away from cultural norms and turns to face God. This picture of a subversive underground trying to turn society away from its destructive path appeals to me, yet something about it makes me feel uncomfortable.

This discomfort is not due to wanting to live in the comfort of modern western society, but instead is to do with the very word “subversive”. Looking up theverb subvert at Dictionary.com gave me this definition:

1. to overthrow (something established or existing).

2. to cause the downfall, ruin, or destruction of.

3. to undermine the principles of; corrupt. Retrieved September 28, 2006, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/subvert

There is something very negative about this word! I love the connotations of overthrowing societal norms and of causing the downfall of the non-Christian worldview, but it all seems so negative!

When I read the Bible even though there is a subversive element to some of the stories the emphasis feels more positive. For me I wonder whether instead of being a subversive influence on society we should instead think in terms of being restorative.

It’s not that I don’t want to “turn the world upside down” but sometimes I think we concentrate too much on changing the world’s system and too little on bringing in God’s Kingdom! In many ways it is the same thing just said differently, but I do think there is a distinction between the two. Instead of subverting the world again, which is after all what happened with the fall, we should be working towards restoring God’s original plan.