A couple of days ago the ex leader of the Lib Dem's Tim Farron gave the Theos Annual Lecture 2017. In his lecture he claimed that our society is beginning to view Christianity as dangerous & offensive.
Now some of you may think he is either exaggerating or has been bit by a conspiracy theorist, but if you are keeping your ears to the ground, either on social media, or the usual media then you will know that Farron's views are pretty close to the mark.
Our society has now departed so far from Christianity that councillors have called mainstream Christian views as 'dangerous non mainstream ideas'. I have come across cases of people being banned from social work degrees because they hold that marriage is for 1 man and 1 woman only for example. I could go on.
Of course our country, the UK, is still one of the best nations for religious freedom in the world, but I fear that this freedom is being eroded all the time. In light of this, and with more than a little irony & humour I present my 'Manifesto for dangerous subversives.' The items are given in no particular order.
1) Believe & trust in the God of the Bible
You cannot be a real dangerous subversive if you hold to the idea that God doesn't exist or you follow another faith. You may be an atheist, a political left or right winger, whatever, but if you are not born again then you are part of the system. Only born again Christians have the Holy Spirit changing them from the inside. Only born again Christians are true subversives.
2) Obey the Great Commission
Our society teaches that all faiths should be tolerant of each other & that every viewpoint is valid. The first is right, but the second isn't. If one religion teaches that A is right and another that A is wrong & B is right then one or both of them are wrong. We do not show love for our fellow humans if we let them persist in what we believe to be falsehood. Subversives should ignore the political correct way and instead obey Jesus Christ in Matthew 28 v 16-20 when He told His disciples to go out & make disciples of all nations.
3) Don't buy into the worlds definition of success
Theologian Francis Schaeffer warned about what he called 'personal peace & affluence' being the goal of our life. The bible doesn't teach that having money is wrong, only that its attainment shouldn't be our first priority. Subversives should ignore the values of our world & instead seek an ever growing Christ likeness. This is true success as it will last for eternity.
4) Dare to question what society teaches.
In a world of fake news the true subversive must look to the only source of absolute truth that we have and that is the bible. We don't need to be particularly intelligent or have a degree in theology to observe what our society is teaching & where it is going. Neither do we need to be a Pastor, theologian, author or intellectual to speak to our family, our friends and our work colleagues about the love & hope that we have in Christ. The subversive should subvert the lies and hopelessness of what society is spouting & tell of the peace and hope we have found.
5) Go to church
The subversive realises that there is an enormous amount of social engineering in our society. The pressure to conform to the zeitgeist, the spirit of the age, the philosophy, whatever you want to call it now starts at infant school & continues from then on. To meet with fellow subversives, praise God & spend time listening to Him is so refreshing, invigorating, sometimes challenging, but always necessary.
6) Love
You don't need to be on social media for very long to come across the hate filled views of so many. The subversive though knows that we shouldn't use the tactics or the language of the world. Our actions should come out of love for others, not the desire for winning arguments or brownie points from God. The subversive knows that the love that the bible teaches is not a wishy washy warm feeling, but tough.
7) Forgive
The subversive knows that one of the most difficult things he is asked to do is forgive. The natural reaction to being hurt is to react in the same manner if not worse. However subversives are reminded in the bible of how much Christ has forgiven them, so they should show forgiveness to a world that expects only tit for tat retaliation
8) Pray
The subversive realises that His greatest asset he has is unfettered access to the most powerful being in the universe. Spending time with Him, bringing all our hopes, fears and joys to Him is the biggest privilege that we have, and few of us take full advantage, myself including. But if the subversive does spend time in His presence then he will be rewarded with a peace that the outside world doesn't understand and also guidance for the his life.
There are many other items I could add to my manifesto, but those few will do for the time being.
Now some of you may have a little difficulty in thinking of Biblical Christianity as subversive, as the media presents it as either wimpy, irrelevant, or staid & conformist. But true Christianity always has been, and always will be, the most revolutionary teaching ever devised.
There have been political messiahs aplenty, both from the left and from the right. These have sought to subvert the society around them for their own reasons. Some radically changed their society so that economic & social life changed and with them their values. But fundamentally the people remained the same. Inside nothing had changed.
Religions have come & gone. Most teaching the adherent that if they follow this or that set of rules then they will earn the respect of their deity. Only Christianity says that we can never do this. Only Christianity says ignore the teaching of the world. There is only one way to the God who is there & that is to accept that we need changing on the inside. This change is the most radical change ever envisaged & is only possible if you accept Christ as your Lord & Saviour.
My challenge to all my readers is that you become a true subversive. Accept Jesus into your life as King and join your brothers & sisters of past times who subverted their societies and started schools, universities, and charities.
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