Can a Christian be a Libertarian?

Three years ago I became immensely interested in the issues surrounding the theological and moral notion of “social justice.” I was growing increasingly aware and agreed with the idea that the gospel of Jesus Christ was not primarily about our individual salvation, our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, or how individuals can “go to heaven when they die.” Those questions are all important, but they reflect a contextualized segment of the gospel. Jesus came as part of an endeavor by the Creator-god to rescue the creation from its fallen state. Jesus was the catalyst for global change through his life message, his stated mission, and his death and resurrection. Jesus, in just about every important way, was the starting point for a whole new way of life, for individuals, for social groups, for the world. In short, Jesus changes everything. With a few exceptions, anybody who has claimed to have an encounter with Jesus will say their lives were radically affected in a positive way.

So when it became obvious to me that this radical, life-changing Jesus had a more holistic message than the go-to-heaven-when-you-die message (which, by the way, he never said), my Christian faith and living took on a whole new meaning and relevance. The life message of Jesus was nonviolence, concern for the outcasts and poor in society, and an unequivocal choice by his followers to engage the world as he did. His stated mission, a restatement of a prophecy from the Old Testament about the Messiah, was to “preach good news to the poor,” “proclaim freedom to prisoners,” and “set the oppressed free” (Luke 4:18). And his death revealed a passionate commitment to nonviolence, nonaggression, and loving sacrifice. His resurrection, the cornerstone to the whole movement, meant (among many things) that death was not powerful enough to stop his mission and message, and was a foretaste of the redemption that was to happen to the entire cosmos. Participants in this new kingdom were to be part of a building toward this future hope, a peaceful society in which social justice was to reign. Nobody would be oppressed. Everybody would be free. The world would be “put to rights,” as N.T. Wright says.

Ask any libertarian, and those goals sound like a libertarian fantasy world! Yet those who advocate and promote social justice believe that libertarian philosophy is based on worldly and unbiblical ideas. My very own salvation has been questioned by others who simply can’t understand why I advocate for libertarian social ethics.

It is an absurd myth to believe that embracing liberty and believing in the mission of Jesus are incompatible. If you are a Christian (especially a “progressive Christian”), the message of Jesus is not only compatible with libertarian social philosophy, it thrives within it!

Their compatibility, however, does not mean the two are identical value systems. It is one thing for a social system to be permissive in nature while one’s personal (and even social) value system is greatly different. Even the story of God, Adam, and Eve reveals that simply because God permitted Adam and Eve to choose a painfully wicked choice, it does not automatically follow that God endorsed their actual choice.

I could be completely rude and say that social justice Christians are highly judgmental, self-righteous, narrow-minded, and are concerned not about others but about their own gratification in seeing society manipulated to suit their ends. But that wouldn’t be nice of me. Instead I’ll just chalk it up to sloppy analysis and an ignorance or unwillingness to understand and process the value system of libertarian thought. It’s patently unfair to compare one’s unquestionably moral and well-intentioned commitments to compassion, service, and justice to the subpar examples of outcomes of misapplied libertarian thought. In short, you don’t compare your best to others’ worst.

And let’s be honest, there is a lot that’s unappealing to the attitudes and actions of those who claim to love individual freedom. The “leave me alone” message does seem selfish, and it certainly appeals to the self-centered nature in each of us. For those who don’t understand it, it will likely leave a distasteful flavor in their mouths, and can stifle any true interest in libertarian principles.

But at its core, libertarian thought isn’t about being “left alone.” It isn’t about ignoring social needs. It isn’t about worshiping the free market, or abolishing the federal government. At its core, the message is consistent and radical embracing of nonaggression. Last I checked, that core principle is profoundly compatible with the Christian faith.

But just comparing this axiom to the Christian faith doesn’t make a philosophy or lifestyle necessarily Christian. To be sure, libertarians worldwide would be rather adamant that their principles aren’t based in Scripture, don’t stem from Jesus Christ, nor do they require a religious basis to be worthy of value. What is necessary to show that libertarianism is not only compatible with Christianity, it is the most compatible social philosophy for Christians to embrace.

In the next few posts, I will share my thoughts on why I believe this to be the case.

View Comments to “Can a Christian be a Libertarian?”

Alicia 22 July 2010 at 1:07 pm #

Anxiously awaiting your next post! In the mean time, I'll be sharing this one a few people I know.
Lenny 28 July 2010 at 1:36 pm #

I think I would have a difficult time agreeing with your statement that that “the gospel of Jesus Christ was not primarily about our individual salvation”… but has “a more holistic message” of “nonviolence, concern for the outcasts and poor in society”; but perhaps not in the way you might think.

Our individual salvation and our resulting concern for the outcasts, etc are all subordinate to God's ultimate objective, which is his own glory. I've been persuaded in this viewpoint to a large extent by John Piper's interpretations of Jonathan Edwards' writing (and scripture too). I think this understanding helps me to reconcile some things that are otherwise troubling.

For example, it seems clear to me that we were created as individuals with individual responsibilities (and perhaps individual rights) and that God saves us as individuals and we were not created to rule over one another but to look to God as our only ruler. This all serves as a great foundation for establishing the rule of Law rather than the rule of rulers as a way of organizing society. This is further supported by God's preference for judges rather than kings when organizing his chosen people in the old testament. But… how do we handle the story of Joseph in Egypt where God clearly guided Joseph in apparently trampling all over the people's property rights and individual freedoms for the benefit of his family and his people? God is sovereign and he will do what he will do for his own glory.

Social Justice as practiced by most people I've come across who use the term to describe their own work is defined as a redistribution of wealth and power – but more often than not, this simply replaces one type of oppression with another and so I agree with you that true social justice fights against all types of oppression.

I don't claim to have thought this out particularly well so please accept these comments as a form of “thinking out loud”…
xfree9 31 July 2010 at 4:05 pm #

Individual salvation never really seemed to be Jesus' main thrust, which was announcing the Kingdom of God being established thru his ministry. While individuals were certainly included, and while repentance and following him were indeed individual invitations, Jesus' came to the lost sheep of Israel. His message was one of peace, nonviolence, and an establishment of an alternative Way of life that transformed society.

I, too, have been heavily influenced by Piper, primarily in this way: God's mission to restore creation to its original glory is always about God being glorified, and our individual salvation is always subservient to that ultimate purpose. Our individual salvation, our personal religious experiences, are all wrapped up in the restorative mission of Jesus to establish his Kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Establishing the “rule of law” is indeed important, as nobody is not to look to a “ruler” but only to God. This is but a tiny piece of the Christian anarchist position, which recognizes that God is our Lord, King, President, Prime Minister, or whatever “ruler” you want to come up with. Even modern state-olatries such as democracy can be an idolatrous commitment for the Christ-follower.

I'd like to hear more about God “trampling over the property rights of others” in the Joseph narrative. I'm not sure I even understand the interpretation, let alone the application.

I'm okay with the phrase “social justice” in a religious context, but when we invoke political solutions to societal problems, we are bringing in an inherently conflictual solution to a problem. When solutions are provided for some people by pointing a gun at somebody else for their money, time, resources, or other forms of wealth, all in the name of “it's not your money, it's God's anyway,” then social justice becomes itself unjust. We can't wash a floor with dirty water, no matter how “mostly clean” it is. Granted, we live in a fallen world and we have only fallen solutions. But when cleaner water is available, I have to in good conscience choose the cleaner water.