|
BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
BOOK REVIEW
STATE VS. CHURCH: WHAT CHRISTIANS CAN DO
TO SAVE CANADA FROM LIBERAL TYRANNY
By Timothy Bloedow
Available
from www.christiangovernment.ca
Paperback and Hardcover $20 and $25 respectively, 189 Pages
State, Church and Family are Distinct
This book addresses state intervention into church and family in Canada. It describes the true meaning of “separation of church and state” originating in Christianity, and compares it to Secularism’s false use of the term. The author explains the traditional teaching that the state, church and family are distinct and have their own sovereignty, and that it is not the role of the state to usurp the legitimate authority of church or family.
Secularists, on the other hand, misrepresent the principle of “separation of church and state” by distorting the term to mean a complete separation of politics and religion. This is convenient for those who want to impose a socialist ideology on society, give god-like powers to the state and the judiciary, and substitute the state for the family. The imposition of this false interpretation disenfranchises citizens who base their morality on religion and severely limits the freedom of Christian politicians, according to the author.
Equality and Freedom Diminished
State vs. Church proposes that secularists deify the state, which leads to their audacious re-definition of marriage and parenthood even though it is not within the jurisdiction of the state to redefine such basic realities. Bloedow reminds us that the state has a legitimate role in defending marriage and links the redefinition of marriage to the modern secularist’s view of the state as all encompassing and as “daddy.” He describes the interventionist, totalitarian tendency of secularism to reduce both equality and freedom while pretending to defend these values. Freedom and equality are features of Christian societies, not of secular humanist oppressive regimes. Church and family are mediating structures which are attacked today by those who would impose centralized, absolute state power over all facets of life, including the family hearth.
The author includes statements made by opponents of the redefinition of marriage. His quotations are essential reading: from William Gairdner, pro-family Canadian author of War Against the Family, Jennifer Roback Morse, Economist, Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, and Mr. Daniel Cere, who teaches ethics at McGill University and directs the Institute for the Study of Marriage, Law and Culture.
Tim Bloedow cites numerous cases where the interventionist state has encroached on our customary liberties: Robin Sharpe (child pornography), Stephen Boissoin (censorship of Christian speech), Soharwardy (freedom of religious expression), Corren (parental authority regarding the education of children in BC). He includes valuable quotations from major critics of the culture war fought by secular humanism against Christianity: Ted Byfield, Rory Leishman, Ian Hunter, Tristan Emmanuel, Allen Carlson, Alan Keyes, and many others. He identifies three areas where secularist tyranny has taken hold in Canada: “We have no property rights; the government imposes heavy censorship on consumer access to news and other media; and tax dollars are used to fund political parties.”
The book also makes reference to superficial defenses of secular humanist positions from former federal MPs Pierre Pettigrew, Paul Martin, Svend Robinson, Supreme Court of Canada judge Beverley McLachlin, and former Liberal Minister of Justice, Irwin Cotler. Special mention goes to the ACLU and its “theocracy” versus the liberty and freedom experienced under Christian western democracies.
“Every law is an attempt to enforce some moral principle” and “the basis of the morality of just about everybody in the country is religious”, according to the author. “Christianity’s contribution to culture, political theory and public morality gave us civilization and societies that are the envy of genuinely oppressed people everywhere”, he states.
Secular Humanists Reject Social Sciences
State vs. Church contends that secular humanists are not morally neutral and are, in fact, fanatical legalists who worship the law and disregard scientific evidence. They believe laws equating marriage with other forms of social grouping will magically equalize results for children, whereas the social sciences demonstrate that “some types of family structures create systematically better life chances for children than others” (Jennifer Robach Morse). Massive government resources to manufacture equality will merely decrease the economic and social freedoms of all citizens.
Re-establish Authority of Church and Family
This book exposes the true nature of secular humanism, a “dangerous ideology” according to the author. He reminds us that the distinct spheres of church and family must be protected from the all-encompassing secular state. We must seek to regain control over the legitimate authority traditionally given to church and family, according to Tim Bloedow. This book combats what Bloedow calls the “ignorance, bigotry and hostility of secularists” and promotes genuine liberty and equality as found in countries which have a Christian world view.
State vs. Church is hard hitting and may be offensive to those afflicted with liberal hyper-sensitivities. It navigates interdenominational differences quite effectively. It is a good source of pertinent Canadian commentary which combats the murky ideologies at the root of the major cultural upheavals we experience today.
BACK
TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
|
