Norman Horn of LibertarianChristians.com wrote a piece in the Washington Post this week entitled, “Can a Christian be a libertarian?,” on the On Faith blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
Christians in American politics have argued for years that God endorses the political agenda of Republicans or Democrats, but is there a third way to think about the relationship between God and government? Christians from the left and the right are increasingly turning to libertarianism not because it is a “middle ground,” but because it is an entirely different way of thinking about government and power. The core of libertarianism is the non-aggression principle: that the initiation of force against person and property is immoral, and it is in many respects a kind of political corollary to the Golden Rule. Thus, Christian libertarians think that government power should be limited, sound money and truly free markets should return, aggressive war must cease and civil liberties must be preserved.Our own Jacqueline Otto has written a two-part series on the topic: A Christian Libertarian? Here’s an excerpt from part one:
For some reason, society has not allowed a role for someone who is both Christian and a libertarian.
Christian opposition to libertarianism is not new. The debate over Ayn Rand, called by some the “high priestess of the Church of Mammon,” has been relentless within Christian circles. Even on this blog, a whole page is dedicated to collecting the arguments. Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism is inherently atheistic, and the debate persist over whether her limited-government and free-market beliefs can be extricated from objectivism as a whole. Many Christians say that they cannot be separated. Two Cents blogger Nathan Hitchens has said that there is “profound hypocrisy” in a Christian supporting any part of Ayn Rand’s philosophy.And an exceprt from part two:
I recently blogged about Christian libertarians. In closing I said, “Is it contradictory to be a Christian and a libertarian? … I do not know. But it is certainly a question worth asking.” In fact, it is a question I have been considering with great fervor and sincerity. My political affiliation on Facebook is “freedom,” and according to my Two Cents bio, I hope “to always be known as a lover of liberty.” Since I am a Christian, does that make me a Christian libertarian? Some would say yes, but I do not like to use the term because “libertarian” has such varied meanings in today’s political culture.What are your thoughts on Christian libertarians? Let us know in the comments.
