The Power of Mercy
The case for liberty can be found in this country's best-selling book—a book that sells even better than Atlas Shrugged.
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Posted May 31, 2006
To a large degree the Libertarian Party grew out of a book – a very influential book, one which came in second in a Book of the Month survey of most influential books for Americans. I refer, of course, to Atlas Shrugged.
However, there is another book which came in higher, much higher: the Bible. Part Two of this book, the New Testament, is extremely libertarian. Indeed, forgiving enemies and turning the other cheek go well beyond the libertarian non-initiation of force mandate.
All too often I hear calls for civil liberties and attacks on Christian fundamentalism voiced in the same paragraph. This is a grave error! The problem with many Christian fundamentalists is that they are not fundamentalist enough!
The idea of separating Church and State comes from the New Testament. There was no call to take over the Roman Empire, even though said empire was guilty of many sins. Instead, the early Christians enforced their own laws and had their own welfare system, using shunning as their enforcement tool. Long before the Agorists taught anarchy through “counter-economics,” the early Christians were practicing voluntary self-government in the midst of an evil empire [1 Corinthians 6].
The following article is directed at Christians, not libertarians. It is an example of libertarian persuasion to Christians based upon Christian fundamentals. As such, it will not be pleasing to some libertarians. However, it contains very useful knowledge for those trying to make the case for personal liberty in political districts which contain a large number of Christians (which is just about every district…). Also note that this article is not comprehensive. There are yet other arguments and citations from the New Testament that can be used.
Click here for the outreach article. Then, please return for rating/comments.
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