The Christian Escape from the Partisan Trap

Anthony Bradley has been a great supporter of my work over the years, regularly assigning my first book to his students at the late and lamented King's College in New York City. Now he has reviewed my latest book on his Substack: The Christian Escape from the Partisan Trap. An excerpt:

The escape from this idolatry is not a retreat into political apathy. Rather, it is the retrieval of a more robust and biblical political theology, one centered on the concepts of public justice and societal pluriformity.

Recognizing 'Palestine': right or wrong?

This week Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would be recognizing a "State of Palestine." Carney, in this statement, explains what this means for the ongoing critical situation in that troubled part of the world:

Recognising the State of Palestine, led by the Palestinian Authority, empowers those who seek peaceful coexistence and the end of Hamas. This in no way legitimises terrorism, nor is it any reward for it. Furthermore, it in no way compromises Canada’s steadfast support for the State of Israel, its people, and their security – security that can only ultimately be guaranteed through the achievement of a comprehensive two-state solution.

Recent activities for September 2025

I have now posted my Global Scholars Canada newsletter for September. Included are an especially warm and positive review of my latest book, my most popular writings at academia dot edu, and the contemporary relevance of a 20th-century philosopher's response to developments in his homeland. A heartfelt thanks to so many of you who faithfully support my work both financially and in your prayers!

Watson review of Citizenship

A new review of my latest book recently appeared in Christian Scholar's Review. This one comes from my esteemed Calvin University colleague Micah Watson: A Review of David T. Koyzis, Citizenship Without Illusions: A Christian Guide to Political Engagement. An excerpt:

This book is a conversational and welcoming invitation to consider a host of enduring challenges for Christians engaging the public square. Koyzis’s voice is personal, and he draws from his own life and experiences in helping the reader grapple with topics like the different roles of citizenship, law, and the competing (and often idolatrous) ideologies that vie for our attention. He moves fluidly from personal reflections based on his own history to more academic (but rarely jargony) mentions of thinkers like Patrick Deneen, Hannah Arendt, Yoram Hazony, and Alexis de Tocqueville. The reader feels almost like Koyzis is engaging us in a conversation on his front porch, drawing from local life in his home of Hamilton, Ontario, as well as from his relatives in Cyprus, his boyhood in Chicago, and his connections in Brazil through the translation of his earlier work into Portuguese. 

I am pleased that Watson has found my approach successful, as I tried as much as possible to communicate something of the flavour of my classroom lectures and discussions with my students over the three decades that I taught undergraduate political science. I am grateful for another (mostly) positive review.

'Our enemies' enemies are our friends': Simon's insight

Yves R. Simon

Bob Sweetman, emeritus professor at Toronto's Institute for Christian Studies, has just posted a brief essay worth reading and pondering: The Enemies of my Enemy are They not my Friends? Sweetman mentions French philosopher Yves René Simon (1903-1961), on whom I wrote my dissertation in the 1980s. Simon left France in 1938 to take up a position as visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame, but when the Second World War broke out the following year, he ended up remaining there for another nine years. In 1948 he moved to the University of Chicago but continued to live in South Bend, Indiana. He taught there until his untimely death at age 58. His son Anthony O. Simon (1936-2012) was a great help to me as I was writing my dissertation.