State vs. Church: What Christians can do to save Canada from Liberal Tyranny
by Timothy Bloedow
2007; 190 pp; Paperback $20 Can.

reviewed by Jon Dykstra

Reformed Perspective readers might recognize Tim Bloedow’s name; this political veteran has contributed a number of articles to the magazine in the past half dozen years.

Bloedow understands politics in Canada like few do. He has gained his expertise by working for two Members of Parliament, running for Parliament himself, co-founding an Ottawa newspaper, and working as a lobbyist for the Campaign Life Coalition. And in his spare time he reads dozens of political websites, magazines and newspapers.

It’s that insight and expertise that makes the first four chapters of this book a must read for every Christian Canadian. Bloedow shows we all need to learn to recognize where the state is exerting their proper, God-given authority, and where the state is trying to take over roles that God has assigned to the family, or to the church. Just as Thomas Jefferson once said, there should be a separation between church and state but this separation doesn’t mean the state can run roughshod over the church. Both church and state have been given their own separate areas of authority, and neither should overstep their bounds. Unfortunately, as Bloedow shows, the state has been overstepping its bounds, attacking both the family and the church (by, for example, using public schools to preach secularism, legislating gay marriage and subsidizing abortion).

Bloedow concludes with a couple of chapters that paint a picture of what Canada might just become if Christians learn to understand and articulate a truly Christian perspective on politics. These chapters seem a bit overly optimistic to me – it doesn’t seem likely Canada is going to get anything but worse – but I’ll pray that I’m wrong and that Bloedow turns out to be right.

Whatever the case, the first four chapters of this book are by themselves reason enough to get a copy. If you want to know what has been happening in the halls of government in Canada you need to get this book.

For more information, or to order, check out the book’s website at www.christiangovernment.ca.

Reformed Perspective - July/August 2007