Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

The Christian response to unrepentant sin by a brother is correction followed by shunning while the response to outsiders is non-judgmental.

1Co 5:11 -13 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler–not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

The Old Testament likewise seems to focus on judging within a small community of like minded individuals. The first form of government I see in the Old Testament is federal; very local and community based (groups of ten).

Exo 18:21-23 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.

This seems to be consistent with Madison’s view in Federalist 10 that democracy can only work in very small communities lest the majority oppress the minority faction.

Perhaps Madison view is further confirmed by the fact that the Ten Commandments were accepted by a unanimous not a majority vote. Ex 24:7.

Finally, God views centralized government as a rejection of God that will cause the people to cry out (you can’t get more centralized than a king).

1Sa 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

1Sa 8:18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.

So without your religious upbringing, my first impression after reading the bible is that it teaches a libertarianism and freedom based on small groups of like minded individuals. Essentially, I think it tells us that we should be living in a series of Galt’s Gulches. The San Francisco gulch would have their rules (probably not very Christian) and the Mobile, Alabama gulch a different set of rules. As long as people can move from gulch to gulch and a central authority doesn’t try to impose its views on a gulch, then it seems both biblical and libertarian.

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

The Christian response to unrepentant sin by a brother is correction followed by shunning while the response to outsiders is non-judgmental.

1Co 5:11 -13 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler–not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

The Old Testament likewise seems to focus on judging within a small community of like minded individuals. The first form of government I see in the Old Testament is federal; very local and community based (groups of ten).

Exo 18:21-23 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.

This seems to be consistent with Madison’s view in Federalist 10 that democracy can only work in very small communities lest the majority oppress the minority faction.

Perhaps Madison view is further confirmed by the fact that the Ten Commandments were accepted by a unanimous not a majority vote. Ex 24:7.

Finally, God views centralized government as a rejection of God that will cause the people to cry out (you can’t get more centralized than a king).

1Sa 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

1Sa 8:18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.

So without your religious upbringing, my first impression after reading the bible is that it teaches a libertarianism and freedom based on small groups of like minded individuals. Essentially, I think it tells us that we should be living in a series of Galt’s Gulches. The San Francisco gulch would have their rules (probably not very Christian) and the Mobile, Alabama gulch a different set of rules. As long as people can move from gulch to gulch and a central authority doesn’t try to impose its views on a gulch, then it seems both biblical and libertarian.