a Thinker's Glossary

Jesus as Libertarian

As Christians we are taught that in giving of our wealth and time, we are acting in accordance with the words of Jesus. That is, we are given to believe that we have a duty to support our brothers in their times of need. This is said to apply not only to fellow Christians, but actually to anyone and everyone. The sense of this would seem to imply a demand upon our wealth simply because another has less than we have. This is a Marxist concept, not a Christian one. History has proven that the socialistic and communistic societies which derived from Marx's ideas, along with traditional monarchies and other totalitarian states, have all failed in the long term, yet Christianity continues to flourish. 

To understand this troubling distinction, we must consider the secular or, perhaps more clearly stated, the practical application of Jesus' word as separate from its spiritual meaning. Many of us notice by the reports of the Gospel that Jesus is a libertarian, perhaps the first. He simplifies the whole of spiritual and moral law in a single sentence: "Love God above all things, and love your neighbor as yourself." Then with similar brevity and richness of thought He suggests an economic model for the creation and distribution of wealth consistent with and unique to natural law, which is a part of Creation. He states, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." In reading these words we recognize that we are being beckoned to serve and be served to the mutual benefit of each of the participants. Note that this does not seem to imply a charitable relationship, because here an exchange takes place, as opposed to one individual granting an uncompensated service to another. To consider that Jesus means to underscore the validity, morality and utility of economic exchange requires a look at the subtlety of Jesus' attitude and behavior towards money, wealth and economic exchanges. Note, though, that Jesus is not discounting the value or rightness of charity born of love and compassion. He is simply making the distinction between the two concepts. 

We see Jesus as comfortable around money, wealth and productive work. He worked in His step-father's shop; He chose hard-working fishermen as His apostles; when rent was required He told His apostles how to find money for its payment; the parable of the talents instructs us on the importance of savings and investment; when confronted by an open-air market within the temple walls, He angrily berated the vendors, demonstrating respect for spiritual law and the distinction of economic exchange as a worldly enterprise; when asked if taxes should be paid, He said, "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's," which implies that we give Caesar only what is his and to others what is theirs; even His tomb was necessarily provided by a man of wealth. Jesus is a charismatic figure to whom people were generous with their food and lodging. When it was His turn to feed others, His innate Godliness enabled him to twice use a child's humble gift to feed thousands, as an example of the virtually limitless wealth and abundance available to us all. 

]esus' very existence was a kind of exchange in the economy of God's plan. Incomprehensible to our limited reason, it nevertheless defines the relationship between spiritual and physical reality and the principles that underlie and unite them. 

In addition to Jesus' spiritual and practical examples of how to live, that is, to be disciplined by moral (spiritual) and ethical (secular) behavior, respectively, and in further support of His expression of libertarian principles He also warns us to beware of political states. Further, at no time does He support or endorse the concept of political governance. Examples of this include: Jesus' refusal to accept the pleas of His followers to be their king; His admonition to avoid the soldier (police), for he does not carry a sword for nothing; His recommendation that we settle our debts quickly before going to court (a political process); His recruitment of Matthew away from the government of Rome and into His own service instead. Moreover, by allowing the Pharisees (priests) and Sadducees (lawyers) to kill Him by employment of the violent Roman state, never once acknowledging the claimed authority of Rome, Jesus demonstrates the impersonal and amoral nature of the Roman state and by extension all such man-devised constructs. 

Finally let us consider a thought about America. Most of the men who conceived of America were products of the "Age of Enlightenment" and Christian by upbringing and practice. Either by an understanding of the ideas about Jesus presented herein or the circumstance of their personal and economic oppression by the British Crown; they came to realize the inherent tyranny of monarchical governance. They also came to recognize the obvious sovereignty of the individual, with the right to his own life, intellectual and physical property and production, that is to say, his personal liberty and by extension the recognition of the liberty of all others. From this recognition and the mutual support of those of like mind came a document of historic import: the "Declaration of Independence." This statement of position identified the "rights" (ownership) of all men (mankind) to their life, liberty and the pursuit of their happiness, a true libertarian acknowledgement. The United States of America today is the regrettable offspring begat by federalization of the original, free, thirteen States (countries) colonized in America. Federalization and the Constitution which defined it, well intentioned and long revered, nevertheless corrupted the enlightened libertarian ideal envisioned by Paine and Jefferson into the political state the United States of America has become, sowing the seeds of its dismal present status. A situation I pray, Jesus' example, His direct Blessing and libertarian thinking will restore.
If one accepts that God created the physical universe, the Laws which govern it must also be accepted, (or vice versa). Physics, and its subsets, which include Economics, is the science by which these Laws, through reason and experiment are discovered. Unlike man inspired law, God's Law cannot be violated without immediate and severe consequences. Attempting to manipulate the Natural Market function of Economics will lead to not more, but less liberty, wealth and achievement. This simple concept is a part of our inheritance and of the teachings of Jesus.