Is Libertarianism a Christian Ideal?

Is Libertarianism a Christian Ideal?

Recently, I read an article by Jim Wallis called, “How Christian is Tea Party Libertarianism?” (http://blog.sojo.net/2010/05/27/how-christian-is-tea-party-libertarianism/). I normally don’t give credence to articles like this. I write it off as a lone crack pot spouting off a skewed version of Christianity that most people will see through. Jim Wallis, however, is a spiritual advisor to our president. His views have gained traction in some of our country’s seminaries, and among some of our denominations. Jim is also a self-avowed Marxist.

Karl Marx was an atheist. He wrote the Communist Manifesto. He said, “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” He also said, "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness." Does this sound like someone whose beliefs should be incorporated in any Christian’s world view? Can someone whose views on religion were so destructive, have formed the foundation of an economic/political philosophy based on Christian ideals? Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Castro, and Guevara are leaders that have espoused some form of Marxism in their versions of communism/fascism. Millions upon millions of people were killed at the hands of these brutal monsters, yet we allow someone like Jim Wallis to lecture our churches on what is a proper exercise of faith, and what is a lie straight from the enemy. It is this same faction of theologians that bring us theories like “America is a post-Christian nation”, and the “Bible is not the actual word of God for His people, just a good book that helps us understand the spiritual part of our lives.” They have used these statements to justify sin in The Church, and to bring in government as head of The Church.

In his article, Jim asserts that libertarians believe, “Just leave me alone and don’t spend my money”. This is only a half-truth. A more accurate statement would be, “Just leave me alone and don’t spend my money, because I can do it better”. Nowhere is it a tenet of libertarianism to pocket and hoard all the cash we can get our hands on. It’s no secret that government spending is rife with waste and abuse. If we are charged by Christ to be good stewards of what we have been given, why would we champion that kind of irresponsibility with our hard-earned money? Sure, there are libertarians that will choose to hold on to their money. There are libertarian atheists that don’t espouse all of the causes that Christians support. Despite all of that, Americans have given more in private charity than anywhere else in the world for decades on end. The less of our money the Government leaves us, the less we’re likely to give to charitable causes, because we still need to be able to meet the basic needs of our families.

His first point on libertarian ideals is that “The Libertarian enshrinement of individual choice is not the pre-eminent Christian virtue. Emphasizing individual rights at the expense of others violates the common good, a central Christian teaching and tradition. The Christian answer to the question ‘Are we our brother’s keeper?’ is decidedly ‘Yes.’” This is fundamentally flawed, as evidenced by one of the first Bible stories we ever learn as children. God tells Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Does God dig a moat around the tree? Does He build a fence? Does He put it on the face of a cliff, where no man could reach it? No, He placed it in the middle of the Garden of Eden, and left the choice in our hands. God didn’t build the ark for Noah. He could have decided to disobey God and die in the flood. Moses was not forced into going back to Egypt to rescue his people. In fact, God allowed Moses to argue with Him about it! David decided to commit adultery and have Bathsheba’s husband murdered because of it. He also decided to pursue God’s heart, and received a line of kings that will extend forever, through Jesus.

In fact, I challenge Jim to show me a single example in the Bible where God charged a government with coercing a people into anything that didn’t end in slavery. We are indeed our brother’s keeper, but as individuals, not a collective. Let’s look at collective attempts to take care of others in scripture. In the midst of a severe famine, Jacob brought his entire family to Egypt for aid at the request of his son Joseph. This aid program started with the best of intentions. It eventually ended in the slavery of an entire nation. Where Josiah was praised in Jeremiah 22:16 for “defending the cause of the poor and needy”, it was not for giving economic aid to anyone having difficulties. In fact, the infirm were often forced to live outside of the city, because they were considered unclean. Josiah provided a safety net for the widows and orphans. That is what the Bible calls “pure and faultless religion” (James 1:27). The same verse also lists pure and faultless religion as keeping oneself polluted from the world. Yet, the denominations that side with Jim Wallace have embraced culturally current ideals that are in opposition to scriptural teaching and millennia of theology.

Jim’s second point is that “an anti-government ideology just isn’t biblical.” Then he goes on to quote Romans 13. Statists love to quote Romans 13:1, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” It has been used to coerce the church into fear of standing for what is right since Paul wrote it. This passage was written in a time when kings and dictators ruled every nation. Here’s what everyone seems to forget, we have a form of government unlike any other in the history of this planet. The governing authority of the United States of America is the Federal Constitution. Every elected official swears an oath to uphold and protect it. Laws enacted within the bounds of the constitution are right and good. We must follow them wholeheartedly. The majority of the text of our constitution was taken out of Deuteronomy or from other authors that were quoting the Bible. Romans 13:2 says, “Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” For our leaders that are trying to remake the constitution in their own vision by continually finding ways to get around it are rebelling against the authority of this land.

So what are we to do about laws that infringe upon the constitution? Deuteronomy 13:5, 17:7, 17:12, 19:19, 21:21, 22:21, 22:22, 22:24, and 24:27, all say “You must purge the evil from you.” Is rebelling against God (as Romans 13:2 states) evil? Yes. In fact, 2 Samuel 22:22 says, “For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not done evil by turning from my God.” Throughout the account of the Kings of Israel and Judah we see the rebellious kings as kings that “did evil in the sight of the Lord”. As Christians, we are to be dedicated to fighting evil. We are not designed to blindly follow the government, but to uphold that which is right and purge that which is evil. That is why free will and liberty are so important! It allows us to dissent to stand for righteousness. Why are the acts of a government that steps outside the bounds of the constitution on behalf of common good evil? Because the funds obtained for these purposes are obtained by theft. It is theft, because it is outside the bounds of the constitution that we pay taxes to cover abortion, send money to foreign banks, prop up private business, or provide healthcare. I think few would argue that paying taxes to fund the military and other constitutionally provided functions of government are necessary. I believe that most would be happy to pay those taxes, if the proper limits around scope of government funded activities were enforced.

Jim’s third point is that the free market is evil, because man is evil. We need government intrusion and regulation so as to be safe. We need to be policed. Benjamin Franklin said, “They who can give up a little essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Do we want to be protected, or free? That’s the question. What is God’s intent? Look at the original state of man. Adam and Eve were designed to fellowship directly with God. Abraham never lived under the rule of a king. He followed God. There was no king over Israel until they demanded one. Moses, Joshua, Sampson, Gideon, Deborah, and all of the other judges rose up to lead the people in their moments of greatest need. The people were the ones that wanted a king. God was angry with them for demanding a man over them, rather than being led directly by God. We have always been meant to be free. That was why we were given free will. We’re free to sin, but sin brings punishment.

The market doesn’t work? We haven’t had a true free market in a hundred years. Ever since the Federal Reserve starting tinkering with the economy in 1913, the Federal Government starting meddling in how business is transacted. Jim brings up Chinese companies putting lead in toys. Just how long do you think a company like that would stay in business? No parent in their right mind would knowingly buy poisonous toys for their children. No business that wants to keep their doors open and turn a profit would purposely do something harmful to its customers. Liquor stores selling booze to minors? Those regulations are imposed by the individual states (small “s”), not the Federal Government (per the tenth amendment of the constitution).

He creates straw man arguments to scare people into believing the government needs to keep us safe. That kind of “security” always leads us into the Soviet Union, 1940’s Germany, or the Coliseum in Rome. Look at Europe. Communism and Fascism are both on the rise again. Think it can’t happen here? Both the Woodrow Wilson and FDR administrations imprisoned political adversaries. The Japanese and Germans were put into camps. That doesn’t sound like any kind of Christianity I’ve ever heard of. We have adequate laws on the books, but the abuse of the legal system by special interest groups and activist judges keep us from enforcing these rules evenly and fairly.

His fourth point is full of assumptions and inaccuracies. Libertarian philosophy does allow that someone may choose to keep every cent earned. As a responsible Christian, however, it is our duty to help the poor and disadvantaged. The scriptures he quotes are directed at individual charity. It implies a generosity of the heart. God does not override our free will, why would he approve of a government that does that? When he asserts that there is not enough private charity to address all of the need, he is directing his accusations at an over-burdened, over-taxed people. Freeing that money up would produce more time and money in charitable ventures by individuals. Psalm 128:2 says, “You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.” There is a difference between poverty born of helplessness and that of laziness. Proverbs 12:24 says that, “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.” It is passages like this that make some uncomfortable, which results in the disqualifying of scripture as the Spirit-breathed word of God.

The last point Mr. Wallace makes is nothing more than an opinion, trying to bully people into agreeing with him for fear of being linked with something negative, like a racist or bigot. These are words that mean something to decent human beings, and they don’t just throw those words around without any proof. Progressives, however, have used the “bully tactic” since their inception. If they can tie the opposing viewpoint to a negative connotation, they win. Good people backed off, for fear of being linked with those words. Now, we are starting to see some that are saying “enough” and allowing themselves to be slandered that the cause goes forward. We cannot back away from living out God’s will. The Apostles endured far more than words in their defense of the gospel. As to whether libertarianism has ever been a multi-cultural ideal, there are many examples of blacks (i.e. Lemuel Haynes, Crispus Attucks, Peter Salem, Prince Whipple, etc.), women (i.e. Molly Pitcher, Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, etc.), and others that fought for our freedom. The entire emancipation movement was birthed in libertarian philosophy. This lie has been perpetuated by history revisionists over the last one hundred years.

Many modern day theologians and “religious leaders” like Jim Wallace believe that they are smarter than Moses, David, Solomon, Peter, John, and Paul. They state that the Bible, while filled with good ideals, is not applicable today. By separating us from the true meaning of scripture, they believe that they can move us from a Christian point of view to a “Post-Christian” point of view. This is one where religious leaders and government work together to retain power for themselves at the demise of the people. They don’t believe that God is big enough to work miracles here and now, and that He is some watchmaker up in the sky that set things in motion, and has backed off to let us solve our own problems without Him. The only way we can regain a just society is to center ourselves, again, on Biblical principles. We are flawed people with little understanding, compared to God’s ways. Belief in ourselves over God’s eternal truths are not only denying the power of God, but making themselves gods above Him. We need to make our stand here and now, before all is lost beyond the point of no return. We must be willing to face ridicule, jail, and even death, rather than give up another inch of ground to those that would see Christianity, as we have known it, buried with us.

Jim Wallis gives a wildly inaccurate editorial, supported by a couple of Bible verses that he plucked out of context to support his views. We need to look at the evidence in the entire Biblical account. We were created in God’s image. There are historical accounts of freedom intersecting with God’s will that run all throughout the Bible. God wants us to freely choose to live rightly and help one another. Government forcing us to do so robs us of the opportunity to show that our hearts are aligned with God’s. Proverbs 28:9 says, “If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable.” I suggest that you really do your research to make sure you are on the right side.