Jesus Is a Libertarian - Part 2

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JESUS IS A LIBERTARIAN

by Mike Hurley

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Part II, What is Genuinely Christian

"Sir my concern is not whether God is on our side. My
great concern is to be on God's side." (Abraham Lincoln)

Jesus is ... a libertarian. Libertarianism (also variously referred to as individual liberty or self-government) is the only political philosophy consistent with the tenants of the historic Christian faith. Until Christians recognize freedom fighting is part of being Christian, their positive influence in society at large will be blunted. Similarly, until libertarians learn to understand and utilize the essential unity between Christian and libertarian principles, the freedom coalition which built this country can never be reassembled to preserve it.

In Part I, we drew a distinction between the principles lived by Christians (Christianity), and the superficial works of what Patrick Henry called religionists. In first century Judea, religionists were exemplified by Pharisees and Sadducees. Today some good examples might be Hillary Clinton and Pat Buchanon. I hope my comments about the godless left vs. the religious right shed some light on the old Quail vs. The Media controversy.

Now it behooves us to move into a positive understanding of Christianity, the better to understand why Christians can only belong in the libertarian political camp. As brevity yields incompleteness, I recommend to the studious "Mere Christianity," by C.S. Lewis, to which I turned for inspiration in the following discussion.

Christians believe God is the creator of the universe and is not of the universe. Good is that in the world which is in right relation to God. Evil is that which is in wrong relation to God. Evil is possible because of free will. God's moral law presses in on us (conscience), condemning us when we abuse our freedom (sin).

Christians believe Jesus was God incarnate. He is fully human and fully God. This is the key to Jesus' role in history -- and in our lives. His death on the cross was the lynch-pin of creation, the ultimate defeat of evil. Through Jesus Christ's death and resurrection (the atonement), we are restored to a right relation to God (salvation). This is the central "mystery" of Christianity.

Through Christ we are freed from sin, and become new people. We are born again. This freedom we do not attain for ourselves, but through the power of God (Holy Spirit) working in us because of our repentance. Christ is still in the world because Christians are the body of Christ. Until that day when the arch of creation is broken, Christians are the organism through which God acts in the world, spreading this new Christ-life through belief, baptism and communion.

Spiritually, a Christian sees God as reaching down to us. We achieve salvation by allowing God into our lives. The religionist is seen to reach up to Heaven, seeking to get there on mere manpower. The religionist is primarily interested in appearances, and in the use of appearances to manipulate people. The Christian is motivated by a passion for righteousness (being right with God), of which objective truth is a necessary component. The religionist is motivated by the need to control others -- or to see others controlled.

The Christian sees others as individuals, like himself: needy, broken, and under the oppression of sin. The word "Christian" means, literally, little Christ. Reflecting the unconditional love which Jesus has for all individuals, the Christian wishes to provide healing for other individuals by introducing them to the Savior, Jesus. Only through Him can people be restored to a right relation to God and receive inner healing and the "peace which passes understanding."

The Christian approaches people with love and care, ministering to physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of individuals. Only then is the heart open to sharing the Gospel and the movement of the Holy Spirit. Please note that people do not win soles, only God does this. Christians are merely asked to share their own story, their witness. This entire process is purely voluntary.

Coercion, on the other hand, is contrary to this process. It increases spiritual, emotional, and physical oppression, making the salvation business more difficult. After all, Christianity, in a temporal sense, is all about "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Meanwhile, the enemy is doing everything he can to side track Christians by separating church and state.

If he can't get rid of this powerful liberating faith, he'll isolate it. He'll get society to wall it off and quarantine its potency. More over, he'll get the followers of Christ to leave its precepts within the four walls of the church, and not even apply them to their own personal lives! In particular, he'll get society to teach them to never, under any circumstance, apply anything in the Bible to government.

Libertarians, especially Christian libertarians, must seek to phrase our political struggle in terms which harness Christian precepts, laying bare the moral perversion of the collectivists. This will not only tug at the latent Christian consciousness of the American people, it will show rank & file Christians that we are in line politically with their faith.

We must find ways to combat the powers and principalities of the world and liberate the hearts and minds of the people from the enslavement of the religionists. In particular, to abandon the world to the good graces of the current political establishment would be, well, un-Christ-like!

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• Jesus Is a Libertarian: Part 1
  


• Jesus Is a Libertarian: Part 3
  


• Jesus Is a Libertarian: Part 4