Christian Libertarian

Why I am a Christian Libertarian

No nation has ever yet existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be. ~Thomas Jefferson

A lot of people think Libertarians are “amoral gun-toting, pot-smoking anarchists.” That’s what I thought until I met a few and talked to them. They convinced me that I don’t belong in either the Republican or Democratic parties. In fact, there is no real difference between the two major parties in the U.S. They should be called the “Republicrats.”

Libertarians are principled, honest, hard-working people who don’t want Uncle Sam to pick their pockets on a daily basis. Some are atheists, agnostics, pagans or deists. A lot of Libertarians happen to be Christians like myself.

I want to present some concepts to you today and then attempt to tie them all up in a neat package that will explain to you why I am a “Christian Libertarian.”

Libertarians Are Not Liberals

Libertarians are not liberals! Libertarians are self-governors in both personal and economic matters. They believe government’s only purpose is to protect people from coercion and violence. They value individual responsibility, and tolerate economic and social diversity.

Left-Liberals prefer self-government in personal matters and central decision-making on economics. They want government to serve the disadvantaged in the name of fairness. Leftists tolerate social diversity, but work for economic equality. Left-Liberals are most often found in the Democratic party.

I Samuel 8

[Samuel] said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen.

 

What is a Christian?

The word literally means “Christ-like or a follower of Christ.” Christians believe the Bible is the Holy, inerrant, infallible Word of God. Therefore, Biblical principles guide my personal and political decisions. I Samuel 8 is one Biblical passage I apply to my thinking.

Religious Principle

I therefore beg leave to move — that henceforth prayers, imploring the assistance of Heavenly Home and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business; and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service. ~Benjamin Franklin, Constitutional Convention Speech

I’m sure some of you are wondering how religious principles tie into our Constitutional form of government. Our Founding fathers wrote our Constitution with Biblical principles in mind. Benjamin Franklin gave a speech at the Constitutional Convention suggesting they pray every day before conducting business and they did just that. Even to this day, our Congress opens each day with a prayer and there is an official Chaplain for the House and the Senate.

Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. ~George Washington’s Farewell Address

George Washington wrote that we cannot govern ourselves apart from religious principle. Starting in the early sixties our politicians forgot this key concept. They prevaricate about religious foundations of our country. That’s why we have a bloated federal bureaucracy in America today. It mirrors the horrors Samuel spoke of when he told Israel they didn’t really want a King.

Less Is More

  • The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, including headings, is 5,177 words in length, according to the Microsoft Word Count program.
  • By comparison, the U.S. Internal Revenue Code contains more than 2.8 million words.

Libertarians believe the U.S. Constitution limits the power of the Federal Government to only those roles defined in those 5,177 words. The Bill of Rights gives us many things. It protects freedom of the press and religion, gives us the right to own guns, protects us from unreasonable searches and seizures, protects us from incriminating ourselves and protects the states from an over-bearing Federal government.

The extra-Constitutional Internal Revenue Service steals money from us and its regulations have become so enormous they almost fill a whole library. As far as I’m concerned, the only reason the IRS exists is to steal money from me and distribute it to other people who do not earn any money, do not contribute to society and never pay any taxes.

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