Thursday, April 29, 2010

"Christian Libertarian"?

In a brilliant post to his personal website Mr. Andrew Klavan (brilliant author and political thinker), writes on the subject of "Christian Libertarianism" and I wholeheartedly concur with his thesis.
As I age I have been moving from dyed-in-the-wool conservative to right-leaning Libertarian, and Mr. Klavan encapsulates very nicely some of the reasons for my "growth". While I believe it is our duty to “judge” other Christians, as we are commanded to “judge them by their fruits”, I also believe that it is the Holy Spirit’s place to bring conviction to the non-believer and only ours to speak the truth (in love).
I have become wholly convinced that the true way to affect revival today in America is by choosing not to argue over social (ie moral) issues any longer, and by telling our community that we have all sinned but God is gracious and would forgive us ALL. I have tried to understand by reading the Gospels, and by trying to understand the New Testament how a believer should live... and I think that in the realm of politics it may be best to always side with freedom. Of course, I could be wrong.
I would prefer our government take as little role in legislating our daily lives as possible; this includes in the area of narcotics, taxes, and the interrelationships of consenting adults, etc. (On a side note, however, I do not believe the abortion issue is a “moral” issue because I believe that life begins t conception which means – to me – abortion is murder… so I must speak out about it.) I believe that the LORD has given us the ability to make rational, moral, and logical decisions and that the mass of humanity has no need for government direction in large portions of our lives. The government should facilitate freedom, not hinder it.