Why Catholics should be libertarian

Watch the video – find out why . . .
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1GjtU0XeT8]
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Michael Reith October 25, 2014 , 8:10 pm Vote0
Enjoyed the video! I’m not Catholic and I see soteriology quite differently, I can immediately see that non-agression should characterize Christians. From Augustine to Aquinas to Luther and Calvin, various Christian men have include discussions of rulers and governing authorities in their writing, albeit not as much as many of us would like, if only to have more understanding and clarity. The 10 Commandments make it clear that we are to love our neighbor and not aggress against him or his property. There is even the clear implication that we are to not only be not aggressing against him, we are to seek his good. The times in which they wrote certainly influenced the men mentioned. When the Church had power equal to or greater than the State, there is the temptation to drift into theonomy, rule by the Law of God. Thankfully Aquinas and Augustine saw the error that this would be, as fallen man is unable to keep that Law. Thus, victimless crimes should not be written into law. Nobody was aggressed against.
As you have set about addressing Catholicism, I will try to make a similar application to non-Catholics. I don’t mean to suggest that the Church of Jesus Christ is not catholic, as it is. There is a very strong and distasteful movement in Protestant denominations to support aggression by the state and call their support good Christian behavior. While my own Reformed congregation makes a consistent effort to see the only Christian nation as being the Church of all believers, and that there is no place for the state in worship services or church affairs, much of them are caught up by the seduction of patriotism and nationalism, which is uncharacteristic of the Christian presence in the US prior to the past century.
Thanks for your writing and your website. I know that I will learn much.
Randy England October 25, 2014 , 8:45 pm Vote0
Thanks Mike. I appreciate your comments. I’ve always thought Catholics and Protestants have more that unites us than divides us. When we agree about liberty, that seems even more true. I hope I will see you around Liberty.me.
Chip Marce October 26, 2014 , 1:20 am
I really enjoyed that video. Thanks for posting it.
Interesting that you bring up the topic of Catholicism and liberty. I keep on noticing the libertarian bumper stickers on cars in the local church parking lots and always found it a tad ironic. Although if you look at the history of the Catholic churches, they have operated as a sort of parallel societal structure.
Now a question. As a fellow Catholic, albeit residing on the east bank of the Tiber, how do you reconcile the libertarian label with the proabortion proclivities of so many libertarians? Thats just one I can’t reconcile. And a major reason why I eschew the libertarian label.
Randy England October 26, 2014 , 1:48 am Vote0
Hi Chip,
You asked how I you reconcile the libertarian label with the proabortion proclivities of so many libertarians? It’s simple. I cannot reconcile them, because I believe they are incorrect. I wrote a chapter on this in Free is Beautiful. You can listen to the audio of Chapter Four: Liberty and the Right to Life here: http://freeisbeautiful.net/free-audiobook/
Libertarianism is about nonaggression. I happen to think the pro-life argument is far more compelling than dubious excuses about why a fetus is no more than a trespassing, executable parasite. If you still eschew the “libertarian” label, you can always just be an anarchist! 🙂
Michael Reith October 26, 2014 , 5:38 am Vote0
Great question and very helpful answer? It is the same violation of the principle of nonaggression that caused me to leave my career in the military after I had become a Christian. I could not reconcile aggressive warfare with Christian and libertarian principles of nonaggression.