The Libertarian Christian Institute has five core values that we believe every Christian libertarian should feel confident affirming, even if those individuals express these values with their own nuance. Our aim is not to comprehensively spell out everything Christian libertarians must believe, but provide a central set of tenets that we can all start from, regardless of differences in denomination or theological inclinations.
The Libertarian Christian Institute envisions a world where Christians around the world promote the values and principles of a free society as the most consistent expression of Christian political thought. We see a world where, instead of polarizing to the left or right, Christians demonstrate that individual liberty is a force for the common good. We aim to persuade Christians that the political expression of our faith inclines us toward the principles of individual liberty and free markets.
We seek to create quality resources to equip Christians to promote individual liberty among their families, friends, ministries, and churches. We view ourselves as a contributor to the vast resources of libertarian content online by making the Christian case for a free society. We resist the assumption that the default political position of Christianity is domination and control, and we combat this by employing studies in history, theology, and biblical exegesis in a variety of venues.
The Libertarian Christian Institute has five core values that we believe every Christian libertarian should embrace:
A comprehensive view of the biblical narrative indicates that the Church’s proclamation of Jesus’ lordship is not a mere personal statement of allegiance; it is also an anti-imperial declaration that the way of peace comes through Christ’s counter-cultural kingdom of love and service. Followers of Christ are called to be a prophetic voice against the powers of domination and violence. The State — the monopolized institution of force in society — is never to be confused with the Kingdom of God, and when the power of the state grows, the rightful influence of churches, families, and local communities is diminished.
The ethics modeled by Christ and the early Church call us to change the world and build the Kingdom of God through service rather than force; through persuasion rather than coercion. The use of political force to compel ethical behavior cannot change hearts and only antagonizes our struggle against sin, death, and evil. Christians must call for repentance from sin in humility and never with violence. As such, a consistently Christian ethic always embodies non-aggression.
As God is intrinsically relational within the Trinity, so also human beings are created to live in community. Sin has marred the communal relationships for which we were created by pitting individuals against God, against one another, and against the earth for which we are called to be wise stewards. Affirming the dignity, worth, and rights of the individual as an image-bearer of God is a first step toward restoring authentic, Christ-centered community among diverse individuals. Because society is comprised of individuals, a healthy society requires healthy individuals. Through voluntary cooperation and respect for freedom, people can join together to trade, innovate, create, collaborate, share, and build a world that simultaneously respects the individual and betters our neighbor.
Humans are created to be social beings, and God’s design is that we work together to develop institutions which promote human flourishing. Insofar as these institutions are voluntary, peaceful, and non-coercive, human beings possess the God-given capacity to solve the worst of problems in the best of ways. Social institutions founded upon mutual cooperation — such as marriage, family, church, organizations, and businesses — are vital for authentic humanity.
Respect for private property, voluntary exchange, condemnation of theft, and the value of cooperation and service towards achieving common goals flow naturally from Christian thought and habit. This is what defines “capitalism” in the libertarian view. Wealth is a tool given by God, and all who possess such wealth are expected to utilize it for God’s Kingdom and the good of our neighbor. Taxation and regulation tend to destroy wealth, discourage innovation, and centralize power, and therefore hamper our ability to fulfill the calling of God. Where free markets are allowed to flourish, human beings will prosper both materially and spiritually. Additionally, Christian ethics helps equip our economies for service toward God and neighbor.
We are not affiliated with the Libertarian Party. We are a 501(c)(3) organization, and as such are unable to do so. For other reasons, however, we do not align with the Libertarian Party, even though we of course share some of the same views politically. We neither reject nor endorse the official platform of the Libertarian Party, and come to our own conclusions about the core values of the LP.
We believe that party affiliation is a personal choice, and that “small-l libertarians” can advance the cause of liberty from within any party with varying amounts of efficacy.
One might think that because capitalism has gotten a bad rap, and is essentially conflated with the idea of “cronyism,” that we would abandon the term altogether for a something more accurate, maybe even catchier. But all of the alternatives, even if they capture the essence of capitalism better than the connotations of the term itself, are not catchy, are in some ways clunky, and really don’t improve our ability to argue for it. Furthermore, it’s not always necessary for us to replace a perfectly good word, properly understood. In fact, we think of it as a pedagogical opportunity for Christians and libertarians alike to reclaim a proper understanding and appreciation for what capitalism is and does.
So while we don’t disparage the promotion of other words and phrases to describe capitalism in a way that captures its essence, we believe the larger purpose of those endeavors is to point us back to what capitalism really is all about.
As an organization we support the libertarian movement broadly and affirm the ecumenical Christian creeds. We may sometimes not have an official opinion or position on any given topic, as it is often the case that well-meaning and well-reasoned libertarians will come to different conclusions about the same topic. Even within the organization, individuals hold nuanced and sometimes opposing views. And we believe this is okay. One of the reasons we developed our Core Values statement is so that Christian libertarians can align with and maintain affinity for the same things as we advance the message of liberty.
The Core Values above, as well as our commitment to the historic ecumenical creeds, is the extent to which we have a “statement of faith.” We understand and encourage that those belonging to other faith traditions hold and defend more specific views, but we also recognize that the plurality of doctrinal alignments within the libertarian Christian movement is a strength and not a weakness. We do not all need to align to the same narrow doctrinal statements to preach the message of peace.
We equip followers of Jesus Christ to make the Christian case for a free society.
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