ABOUT the Libertarian Christian Institute

The Libertarian Christian Institute started off in 2008 as a blog called LibertarianChristians.com by Dr. Norman Horn. Its purpose was to show how liberty ideas coincide with Christian theology.

In 2004, founder Norman Horn read a series of articles about something called the Austrian School of Economics, a group of economists that reject the necessity of the State to guide the economy into prosperity. Unbeknownst to him, this discovery would change his life and become the start of the dominant website for Christians devoted to liberty.

A passionate and exciting pursuit to promote individual liberty from the perspective of the Christian faith developed into a site where Christians and libertarians of all shapes and sizes now come to read about faith and liberty, find answers to common objections, and meet others committed to the same values.

Read more about Norman’s journey through liberty and faith.

If you have never heard of libertarianism before now, it is a very simple philosophy based on the non-aggression principle, which states that the initiation of physical force and the threat thereof is inherently illegitimate. In other words, everyone has the right to engage freely in whatever activity they choose so long as they do not infringe upon the rights of others.

For those familiar with libertarianism already, you might be asking can a Christian also be a libertarian? At LCI, we boldly answer YES! Christian libertarians believe that libertarianism is the only political philosophy that is truly consistent, that makes any rational or moral sense at all, and that agrees with what we understand in the Bible and Christian history. Read more about what it means to be a Christian libertarian by clicking here.

Libertarianism is a very simple philosophy based on the non-aggression principle.

Many Christians have some unfortunate misunderstandings about libertarianism, especially confusing the word libertarian with libertine. Make no mistake, there is a world of difference between these two words! Economist and philosopher Murray Rothbard wrote an excellent article in 1979 that explains some of these misunderstandings, answering such objections as:

• Libertarians are libertines: they are hedonists who hanker after “alternative lifestyles.”
• Libertarianism is atheistic and materialist, and neglects the spiritual side of life.

Theology matters, and so does interpreting the Bible in the best way we know how. Christians often object to libertarianism on the basis of Romans 13 or Matthew 22 — that we should “submit to the powers that be” and “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” Norman Horn’s widely-distributed exegeses on each of the above passages  shows how these Scriptures do not simply mean that we must do whatever the state tells us to do. Click here for the paper on Matthew 4 and 22, and here for the paper on Romans 13.

LCI’s website content is provided by authors and contributors from a spectrum of orthodox Christian beliefs, and all are committed to an ethic of non-aggression concordant with our Christian faith. You will also see guest posts throughout the site.