OK, well, I’ve given my friend Robert over a week to explain his two sentences worth, suggesting that I’ve “missed the whole point” if I believe that “following Jesus does not rule out libertarianism”, and he’s yet to return to explain just what point I am missing, or why this is so. I hate that, because if I’m wrong, I’d love to hear why…but I’m not sure that he has a case to make; rather, my guess (and it’s only a guess, of course) is that he is confusing either libertarianism or Christian commitment. I’ve been a follower of Christ for over 40 years, and a pastor for 25, and while I’m not in the ballpark of “arriving” as a Christian, I think I have a pretty decent idea of the basic idea of what it means to follow Jesus, even if/as/when I don’t do it very well. And though I am a relative newcomer to the idea of libertarianism–and as I said, not a Libertarian, but with significant libertarian sensibilities, I think I have a basic grasp on what it’s about as well–and I see utterly no contradiction between being a “small l” libertarian and being a follower of Jesus. A libertarian is one who believes that the individual should have maximum freedom, and that the state should only encroach upon that freedom in a limited number of circumstances and for reasons of maintaining order, national defense, and the like. A libertarian does not believe it is the place of the state to play mommy, to put it differently; libertarianism stresses freedom and a concomitant level of personal responsibility. It does not, per se, take a position on a lot of moral issues which we followers of Christ do, but it would allow us maximum freedom to live out the commands of Christ, in ways that our current government does not.

For instance, a libertarian system of minimalist government would tax us far, far less than we are taxed today. This would, in turn, enable me the freedom to put more of my money toward things that help people, rather than squandering such a high percentage of my hard-earned money on the latest government boondoggle. Why is such freedom, to keep more of my own money and thus to be able to give it to causes that help people, not consonant with following Jesus? Libertarianism stresses a reluctance to coerce; why is an unwillingness to coerce people into good behavior somehow not in keeping with Jesus’ commands?

Without knowing which direction my friend Robert is coming from–whether his take is that libertarianism is too liberal for its adherents to be Christ-followers, or whether it is too conservative for them to be–it is difficult to answer his charge. But that is certainly an opportunity I would relish…for I am convinced that he is incorrect, and that in one way or another, it is he who has “missed the whole point”. Robert?

OK, you’ve made that claim. Please explain. Thanks!

Yes, it certainly does. You’ve missed the whole point if you can conclude this.