Top 10 Books for Christian Libertarians – Christmas 2008 Edition
ByThis post was featured on Lewrockwell.com on December 15, 2008, thanks to Tom Woods!
Looking for that perfect last-minute gift for that special Christian Libertarian in your life? Here are some helpful books they might enjoy. Some of these I have talked about before (but I don’t mind mentioning them again), some I hope you’ll consider purchasing as a gift or for your personal library. By the way, you have three days two days, oh, about 4 hours left to order from Amazon and have the free super-saver shipping get your stuff to you on time. 
- The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul – An absolutely essential book for all Americans, so give it to ANYBODY who you think will listen.
- A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship by Ron Paul – Perfect for the foreign policy buff.
- Christian Theology of Public Policy by John Cobin – This book contains the best treatment of Romans 13 that you will find in contemporary theology. You MUST get this book if you are interested in Biblical interpretation.
- Bible and Government by John Cobin – Another great book by John, and less expensive than the previously mentioned book.
- Turn Neither to the Right Nor to the Left (Christian Life and Public Policy Series) by D. Eric Schansberg – This book has been on my radar for a while and I hope to add it to my bookshelf soon.
- The Church and the Market: A Catholic Defense of the Free Economy (Studies in Ethics and Economics) by Thomas Woods – Tom has made a HUGE contribution to the Catholic tradition in this work, and I highly recommend it to ANY Protestant Christian as well. Remember, we’re all in this together!
- The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church by Gregory Boyd – I’ve recently begun reading this book and I’ve been quite impressed by Boyd’s command of history. I think it’s definitely worth having around.
- The Road to Serfdom — The Definitive Edition by F.A. Hayek – How can you live without a copy of one of the most important books of our time? This printing is just beautiful as well…
- Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism by Robert Paper – Dying to Win is a book recommended by Ron Paul in the Revolution book at the end, and I just picked it up recently. Obviously, it’s about suicide terrorism and why they do it.
- We Who Dared to Say No to War: American Antiwar Writing from 1812 to Now by Thomas Woods and Murray Polner – This is a collection of antiwar writings from all across the timeline of American history. It includes multiple selections by Christian preachers and theologians, such as Alexander Campbell and David Lipscomb.
by Ron Paul – An absolutely essential book for all Americans, so give it to ANYBODY who you think will listen.
by Ron Paul – Perfect for the foreign policy buff.
by D. Eric Schansberg – This book has been on my radar for a while and I hope to add it to my bookshelf soon.
by Thomas Woods – Tom has made a HUGE contribution to the Catholic tradition in this work, and I highly recommend it to ANY Protestant Christian 
by Gregory Boyd – I’ve recently begun reading this book and I’ve been quite impressed by Boyd’s command of history. I think it’s definitely worth having around.
by F.A. Hayek – How can you live without a copy of one of the most important books of our time? This printing is just beautiful as well…
by Robert Paper – Dying to Win is a book recommended by Ron Paul in the Revolution book at the end, and I just picked it up recently. Obviously, it’s about suicide terrorism and why they do it.
by Thomas Woods and Murray Polner – This is a collection of antiwar writings from all across the timeline of American history. It includes multiple selections by Christian preachers and theologians, such as Alexander Campbell and David Lipscomb.Thanks to the commenters, we have some suggestions for some other books as well:
Noyb: Lex, Rex, or the Law and the Prince by Samuel Rutherford and The Two Sons of Oil
by Samuel Rutherford and 
Scott Ritsema: The Way, the Truth, and the Sword by Scott Ritsema (neat!)
Chris Baker: The God of the Machine by Isabel Patterson
KTHX3819: Christianity and War and Other Essays Against the Warfare State by Laurence Vance (of course!)
by Laurence Vance (of course!)jdavidb: Democracy: The God that Failed by Hans-Hermann Hoppe
And for ncloud’s sake: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Once again, have a merry Christmas!
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Tags: recommended books, top 10
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Norman is the creator and primary writer for LCC. Learn a little bit about him in the
Have you read the best treatise on government? Lex Rex by Samuel Rutherford.
Try, also, Two Sons of Oil (freely available on the web)
Norman, I’m Scott. Good to meet you. I just came across your blog via Lew Rockwell.com. Looks great! Why are there not more Christian libertarians out there?? Your book list is awesome. I LOVE Ron Paul and Greg Boyd. And yes, Rutherford is excellent! Why do so many Christians gravitate toward using coercion in clear violation of Jesus’ teachings? You might be interested in my book that I self-published, entitled THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE SWORD: A New Christian Civics in an Age of Coercive Power. I run the news website Civics News (http://civicsnews.blogspot.com).
Noyb: Both of those look really interesting, I will put them on my wish list!
Scott: The pleasure is mine. I’m glad that LRC linked to me and that you found it! The short answer to your question, I think, is lack of understanding. Think about it, we could ask the same question of ourselves whenever we sin against God or fellow man — how could we ever do so in clear violation of Jesus’ teachings? Perhaps the sin of the State is grosser and those who participate in its evil are more culpable, but the problem still stands.
By the way, look out for when I launch this blog on a new domain soon. More on this later… Take care!
HOW could you possibly leave off _God of the Machine_ by Isabel Paterson?
How is Laurence Vance’s Christianity and War not on that list. At the least, it would seem more pertinent than ‘We Who Dared to Say No to War’ because of its obvious Christian intent.
How about _Democracy: The God That Failed_, by Hoppe, and David Lipscomb’s: _Civil Government: Its Origin, Mission, and Destiny, and the Christian’s Relation To It_?
ncloud is disappointed in you. He sees no Rand on your list. Shame! Shame!
Chris: Because I haven’t read that one, LOL! But really, I’m just not very familiar with Patterson – though long term I plan to be!
KTHX3819: Aw man, you’re right! If there was ONE book that I should have included THAT would have been it! What was I thinking? Maybe I’ll update with an 11th book…
jdavidb: Lipscomb’s book is really great, but it is somewhat difficult to get in an updated edition. I’m actually working on editing the book for re-publication. This is a long-term project and if you stick around you will hear more about this in the future!
Oh ncloud why Rand when you can have Ron?
Founders’ Second Amendment: The Origins of the Right to Bear Arms by Stephen P. Halbrook
I totally forgot about your site since I first posted a comment here. Now I’m bookmarking it!!
Norman, I want to get you a free copy of my book; email me… sritsema@hotmail.com
I’m finding a tremendous response from young Christians to the ideas in the book and the way they’re presented. I find the majority of young Christians to be very libertarian, whether they know it or not.
Thanks for adding the book to your list. Your readers can read free excerpts here: http://www.CivicsNews.com
Scott: Thanks for returning! I continue to read CivicsNews.com on a regular basis as well (I won’t always be commenting, you put out a good bit of stuff!).
You might consider using the RSS option or the Email subscription (look for them at the top of anywhere in the site) to keep up with new material.
I’ll email you about the book and when received will put it near the top of the list… Right now I’m reading Thomas Szasz’s “Psychiatry: The Science of Lies” and David Lipscomb’s “Civil Government” (working on getting it reprinted).
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Here’s another Christian Libertarian. I really just recently made the jump from conservative Republican to Ron Paul Libertarian. And I’ve only just started learning Austrian Economics. Wow! I love Austrian economics almost as much as Reformation theology! I’ve not seen such a satisfying and sensible understanding of economics until now. I’m currently reading Gene Callahan’s “Economics For Real People.” I also just finished “Meltdown,” what a gem. I read Ron Paul’s “Revolution…”, Thomas DiLorenzo’s “The Real Lincoln,” and I go back to Thomas Woods’ “33 Questions…” just for fun. I am also reading Rothbard’s “What Has Government Done To Our Money?” free on line and I am a daily reader of LewRockwell.com and Mises.org. So much reading to do, so little time.
It is indeed sad that the Church by and large is just as ready and willing to advance the Kingdom of God by government force as the left wing is to push egalitarianism and the right is to push aggression abroad by the same means.
Garrett: Welcome aboard, friend. As Obi-Wan Kenobi said, “You’ve taken your first step into a larger world.” I hope you’ll stick around LCC a bit and become part of our growing community of Christians who are also libertarians!
Sorry I came to the scene about a year late on this thread but the season is coming around again so who knows.
Shouldn’t any listlike this begin with Locke’s two treatises on civil goveernment (or at least the second since divine right is debated much any more) I like your list but it is largely authors and thinkers working off of previous thinkers. The second treatise sets out the basic nature, rights and limitations of government more clearly than nearly anything I have read. He clearly shows that the right to private property originates in our status as God’s property.
Locke’s work provides the philosophical basis for libertarian thought more clearly (and Biblically) than any other work I have read.
Baz: That’s a really good point. Some of those classic texts are still very important to know and to read, especially stuff by folks like Locke or Paine. Maybe I’ll include them in the 2009 edition of this post… Hehe.
I would suggest Wilhelm Ropke’s works – in particular, his “A Human Economy: The Social Framework of the Free Market”. His advocacy of freedom stems from his Christian beliefs, that the measure of man is his relationship with God. His political views are actually closer to Edmund Burke’s.
This is a most excellent review of the aforementioned book:
http://www.amazon.com/Humane-Economy-Social-Framework-Market/product-reviews/1882926242
^(c.f. Ryan Setliff’s review)
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I would like to recommend a few of books if I may.
1. The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience – Roger Williams
2. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism – Max Weber
3. Liberty of Conscience, Roger Williams in America – Edwin S. Gaustad
4. The Moral Theology of Roger Williams, Christian Conviction and Public Ethics – James Calvin Davis
5. Calvinism and Religious Toleration in the Dutch Golden Age – Hsia & Van Nierop
Ive read all of these, real eye openers.
Rand was under the silly notion that religious worship was psychotic. Why one earth would she be added to a list like this?
It strikes me as much easier to be a libertarian once you have the whole system of property rights and the concomitant economics in favor of it spelled out for you fairly clearly.
On that note: I think Rothbard’s “Man, Economy, and the State” should be added as supplemental
Also, Hoppe’s book “A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism” is another good read.
From a practical standpoint, no book compares to Bruce Benson’s “The Enterprise of Law”. This one book more than any other actually turned me down the path of Market Anarchy.