Ep. 23: Calvin, Thomism, and Natural Law Libertarianism, with Jonathan McIntosh

Ep. 23: Calvin, Thomism, and Natural Law Libertarianism, with Jonathan McIntosh

Summary – Calvin, Thomism, and Natural Law Libertarianism, with Jonathan McIntosh

An interview with Dr. Jonathan McIntosh on several of his presentations at The George Buchanan Forum. We discuss errors in Calvin’s view of civil government, and we mention the God-ordained check on abuse and tyranny. We then discuss McIntosh’s outline of a classical or Thomistic natural law tradition approach to libertarianism, and his critique of the Aristotelian-Thomist view of politics. We also discuss the neglected figurative or typological character of old covenant civil law by scholastic thinkers. We conclude with information about The George Buchanan Forum and other articles from McIntosh.

Jonathan McIntoshJonathan McIntosh has a PhD in philosophy from the University of Dallas (2009). In addition to presentations at The George Buchanan Forum, he has published on Anselm, Tolkien, Aquinas, and libertarianism, including his book The Flame Imperishable: Tolkien, St. Thomas, and the Metaphysics of Faërie (2017). Dr. McIntosh and his wife have four daughters. His article “Theonomy, General Equity, and Libertarianism” is published at our website.

Main Points of Discussion

00:00 Introduction
00:32 Episode description
01:30 Guest intro and background
10:11 Errors of Calvin’s view of civil government
15:21 Value in such critique and why Calvin’s erroneous view is popular
19:53 Comments on Reformers vs Calvin and obsta principiis
23:03 Natural Law Libertarianism
31:59 Moral realism, harm, and double effect
39:32 Errors of a Thomist view of politics
43:56 Neglected “figurative” or typological character of Mosaic civil law in a scholastic view
51:18 Respective specifications of moral and civil law
56:00 Errors of an establishmentarian view
1:00:21 The George Buchanan forum

 

Additional Resources

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The Christians for Liberty Network is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute consisting of shows and hosts offering various perspectives on the intersection of Christianity and libertarianism. Views expressed by hosts and guests do not necessarily reflect the view of the organization, its staff, board members, donors, or any other affiliates (including other hosts or guests on the network). Guest appearances or interviews of any incumbents, officials, or candidates for any political, party, or government office should not be construed as endorsements. The Libertarian Christian Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and does not endorse any political party or candidate for any political, government, or party office. For information about the Libertarian Christian Institute’s core values, please visit this page.

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