[Greek] ἀνατρέπω (anatrepō), [Latin] subvertere: to overturn, to destroy, to overthrow, to subvert, to ruin; Jn.2:15, 2Tim.2:18, Tit.1:11
What a perfectly subversive statement to make to become a saint in this modern “post-Christian” world!
Background information:
Greek Hellenism: This term means to seize, to overthrow, to upset, to ruin, to refute, to be upset, and to divert.
Sophocles’ Trachinae 1009: “You have wakened the pain that was quiet. Now it has seized me.”
Demosthenes’ On the Crown 18.296: “They have overthrown forever that freedom and independence which to the Greeks of an earlier age were the very standard and canon of prosperity.”
Aeschine’ Against Timarchus 1.190: “Many men of this sort have overthrown cities. That the impulse to do wrong is from the wickedness of mean.”
Herodotus’ the Histories 1.32: “For the god promises fortune to many people and then utterly ruins them.”
Aristophanes’ Wasps 671: “Pay tribute to me, they say, or I shall loose the lightning on your town and destroy it.”
Tropaeum Traiani: This monument was built in 109 AD to commemorate Roman Emperor Trajan’s victory (turning point) over the Dacians.
Old Testament: This term means to increase, to push down to thrust, to drive away, to depose, to extend, to bind, to loose, and to be broken.
New Testament: This term means to overturn, to destroy, to ruin, and to upset. Paul warns of self-seeking false teachers who are distorting the faith of some. It is imperative to silence rebels, idle talkers, and deceiver who are upsetting whole families by teaching for sordid gain. Jesus drove out the money-changers and overturned their tables. They were turning the temple into a marketplace.
Scripture:
“He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.” Jn.2:15
The money-changers engaged in commerce in the outer court of the temple where Gentiles gathered. They were turning this worship space into a marketplace.
“It is imperative to silence them, as they are upsetting whole families by teaching for sordid gain what they should not.” Tit.1:11
Rebels, idle talkers, and deceivers were upsetting families by distorting the faith.
Etymology: The Greek verb means to turn (-trepo) up (ana-). The Latin verb subvertere means to turn upside down, to overturn, or to overthrow. The past participle of the Latin verb subvertere is subversive. The Latin noun trophaeum is a sign of victory (monument) of a turning point (victory) of a battle. This leads to the present-day word trophy. A trope is a figure of speech that has turned away from its ordinary sense.
Conclusion:
Subvert, subversive, trophy, trope
This this term conveys one aspect of turning. In Greek Hellenism, this term takes on some more nuanced meanings: being upset, refuting, diverting, ruining, and exacerbating.
This term, occurring only three times, really does not turn up too much in the New Testament. False teachers and deceivers were upsetting families by distorting the faith.
It is speculated that about one million Jews traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover. It was necessary for merchants to sell sheep, oxen, and other supplies to the visitors for their preparations for the Passover. Jesus didn’t overthrow the money-changers tables not because of their cheating. Jesus did this because the money-changers took up space in the Gentile’s outer court, preventing the them from worshipping. The Gentiles’ outer court was to be the starting point for the universal Church consisting of Gentiles.
Update: It appears that the Supreme Court will overturn Roe vs. Wade, turning over the issue of abortion to the states.
We now have rabid protesters targeting Supreme Court justices and protesting at their homes.
We now have rabid protesters blocking and upsetting families at Mother’s Day services at churches.
We now live in a time where many believe that what lives in the womb is a choice rather than a child. (We need to pray for them so they may overturn their convictions.)
We now live in a time where it is called “extreme” to fight for the unborn. (Yet this movement has existed since the beginning of the Church.)
The war in Ukraine has exacerbated the effects of inflation for the consumer.
Censorship and content moderation has recently overthrown the traditional notion of freedom of speech.
The recent “mostly peaceful’ destruction and looting of towns and cities have come from the wickedness of woke activists. Yet the MAGA crowd is called “extreme”.
Parents are now getting upset by self-seeking woke companies and activists who talk about sex, gender, and CRT.
Florida has just overturned Disney’s favored tax status for advocating it’s woke social agenda.
Elon is seeking to overturn Twitter’s censorship and content moderation agenda.
The NCAA, fearful of offending the transgender community, allows transgender women to compete in and which will inevitably ruin women’s sports.
However, understanding man’s biology (muscle mass) and public outcry will eventually overturn the NCAA’s actions.
Sorry– I do not have any participation trophies to hand out to you. ☺☺
As it turns out, we are living in very unsettling times. People both accuse and are being accused. With placing labels on others, this practice can be very harmful to others. Yet this often happens in the marketplace or court of public opinion. Often what is said cannot be held bound as truth. Some who seek tolerance yet become intolerant to others. Our culture is oftentimes cursed when even when decency and codes of conduct are being overturned. Yet we can swear that God still remains faithful to us.
Next post: categorically speaking