Many words have been written on our blog and elsewhere on the topic of Christian libertarians. Our own Jacqueline Otto and Norman Horn of LibertarianChristians.com have been two very active voices. What are your thoughts on Christian libertarians? Read some of these articles and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Can a Christian Be a Libertarian?
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.
A Christian Libertarian? (Part 1)
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.
A Christian Libertarian? (Part 2)
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.
Christian Libertarians and the Myth of Legislating Morality
Recently on the Acton Institute’s Power Blog, senior editor Joe Carter wrote that “When it comes to our view of individual liberty, one of the most unexplored areas of distinction between libertarians and religious conservatives is how we view neutrality and bias.” The crux of his argument is that libertarians believe that neutrality exists between various social spheres and conservatives don’t think that is possible, and therefore conservatives have a better grip on reality and are smarter than their libertarian “cousins.”
Four Things Christian Libertarians Believe
Last year, quite a bit of space was spent on this blog discussing Christian libertarians. Seriously, a lot of space. And as predicted, people were left with more questions than answers, making it a continued topic of discussion. Recently, I sort of instigated a friendly fight with Joe Carter of the Acton Institute when I took issue with his treatment of Christian libertarians in a recent post about bias versus neutrality in the realm of public policy. What I didn’t anticipate, was that our fundamental assumptions were not the same.
On the Right Side of the Schism
In case you have missed it, there has been quite the conversation on this blog and the Acton Power Blog on the topic of Christian libertarians. During the course of the conversation, I took the side of Christian libertarians and even wrote an exhaustively lengthy post about what Christian libertarians believe. This whole process has been an amazing learning experience, pushing me to study and research and think through issues that I haven’t thought about in a long time. So it is a bit bittersweet to write this post and, for all intents and purposes, end my participation in this debate with Acton’s senior editor, Joe Carter.
