Christianity is a missionary religion. This statement ought to be
non-controversial.
Unfortunately, I think because of libertarian influence more than any other
factor,
this viewpoint is denied. That is, at least as I understand it,
Libertarians tell us that
religion should be a private affair, that no-one should seek to convert
others,
and especially should keep their noses out of non-Christian cultures
because
what Muslims or Hindus, etc, may do, is their own business and Christians
should respect their rights to practice their traditional faiths.
Indeed, some ( or most ) Libertarians go further and deny any value to
religion
whatsoever, and hence want religious believers not to proselytize at all.
Murray Rothbard
noted this kind of attitude at one time :
"...I am getting tired of the offhanded smearing of religion that has long
been endemic
to the libertarian movement. Religion is generally dismissed as imbecilic
at best,
inherently evil at worst. The greatest and most creative minds in the
history
of mankind have been deeply and profoundly religious, most of them
Christian.”
At any rate, I have heard the refrain from Libertarians that seeking to
convert others
to one's religion is objectionable. Leaving aside the fact that Buddhism is
also a missionary
religion, as is Islam, the Baha'i Faith, that in the past so was Judaism,
that sometimes
Hinduism has a missionary dimension, etc., this prohibition effects
Christians directly
and is most relevant here.
It so happens, of course, that the New Testament commands believers to seek
to convert
others AND to persuade everyone to follow Biblical morality. Here (
emphasis added )
is the quote :
_Matthew 28:16-20_ (javascript:{})
So the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain Jesus had
designated. When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. Then
Jesus
came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always,
to the end of the age”
Libertarians are fond of citing other verses, and while other passages are
clear that people should not be coerced into religion nor in any way
sacrifice their legitimate personal freedoms, the Great Commission carries
special weight. Christians who actually believe in the Bible are supposed to
convert others. Not only this, they are supposed to seek to bring about a
massive social movement that converts the world to Biblical morality. That is,
rather than being "morally libertarian" the New Testament commands
Christians to seek a common morality for everyone.
To make this clear all you need to do is read I Corinthians some time. The
Apostle Paul criticized the Corinthian congregation for tolerating
"anything goes" morality. To Paul such liberty was the exact opposite of what
Christian faith should be all about.
I simply do not see where actual Christian faith, or actual Buddhist
faith, etc., can be compatible with Libertarianism. The foundation of
Libertarianism is anything goes ( minus punching out the other guy ).
The foundation of Christian faith is the over-reaching goal of converting
the world to faith in Christ and to observance of a clearly defined set of
moral principles. It is not OK by this morality to do or favor any number
of things that Libertarians say are perfectly OK. In fact, Christians are
supposed to oppose a number of the things Libertarians advocate.
Such as anti-statism. The great model of society that we are presented
with in the Bible is the Hebrew monarchy, after all. Jesus, furthermore, seeks
to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to the world and partly is justified as
messiah because of his royal lineage, a descendent of King David. The subtext
surely is that any state to which we give authority ought to be as
well-conceived and well-managed as the Kingdom of Israel in Solomonic times.
That,
as model for political order, is a far cry from Libertarian preachments
about a minimalist state with no ( or very little ) centralized authority. The
entire book of Deuteronomy is about the necessity of establishing a
centralized state with a virtuous and strong government.
So it seems to me
Billy
--
Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community
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