Morality

In theory, the main issue dividing libertarians and conservatives is morality: should the government use its might to enforce morality or should personal morality be a matter of individual conscience? In these books we explore how much government should enforce personal morality from a Biblical Christian perspective.  Surprisingly, both the Bible and practical considerations indicate we should do so less than conservatives typically call for. Even if morality (or law and order) are your only political considerations, liberty is still the best solution in many (but not all!) cases.

On Enforcing Morality. Suppose you belive that morality trumps liberty. How much should government enforce morality? Answer: less than you might imagine. (Warning, this book could use a rewrite. On the other hand, the Bible-based books below are recent and well-researched.)

The Abortion Question. The abortion issue should cross party lines. Many blue collar Democrats are quite religious, after all. And a pro-abortion stance should correlate with racism and eugenics (and it once did). This series explores techniques for arriving at a democratic consensus. It also broaches some anti-abortion arguments aimed at modern liberals.

The Law of Liberty. The Old Testament Law could be rather harsh if you were a gay idol worshipper. But in other areas it could be surprisingly libertarian — a rather inconvenient truth for the likes of Bill Bennet. This is not the glib rationalization you will find on some right-libertarian web sites. This is serious Bible study, complete with a wealth of supporting scripture. I do not claim the Old Testament is entirely libertarian by any means!

The Power of Mercy. Should we enforce the authoritarian parts of the Old Testament Law? Or is this a matter for personal conscience? The New Testament indicates the latter option for the most part. This is a major difference between the Old and New Covenants. This is not liberal theology, however. The early church did enforce morality on its members by expulsion, and modern churches should probably continue the practice.

The New Levites. Morality enforcement is not limited to the Right. Government funded welfare is mandated charity. Does the New Testament call for such?

The Narrow Gate.  Many people are not Christians. Deal with it. So says the Bible. The forgiveness found in the New Testament comes at a price: living among sinners while endeavoring to avoid sin. This is rather more challenging than avoiding sin in a land where sin can get you stoned. To give Christians this spiritual exercise (so to speak) God as predestined that most will not believe. This is rather troubling to say the least. Are nonbelievers preordained to burn in hell? How is this just? To answer these questions this book delves into great detail the afterlife options listed in the Bible, which are more than you probably learned in Sunday school.

God’s Welfare System. Many conservatives are wont to enforce morality but claim that charity is entirely a personal matter. Well, if we are going to enforce Old Testament Law, we might want to look at the lefty bits as well. The Old Testament Law included an extensive welfare system. More money for welfare than armies, actually. But the Old Testament welfare system was rather different than what we have in modern welfare states. There is much we can learn from it, even if we stick to private charity.

Christianity vs. Capitalism. With the current Pope making anti capitalist pronouncements, it’s worth asking if a Christian can be a capitalist.