Religion stands up to Big Brother - Christian Libertarians oppose pornography and drug abuse and government intervention to prevent their pervasiveness; includes analysis of the work of Reverend Robert Sirico and the Action Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty

0 Comments | Insight on the News, June 7, 1993 | by Richard Miniter

Perhaps the biggest policy difference between the religious right and Christian libertarians is on the issue of homosexuality. Many Christians consider sodomy -- in fact any sex outside of marriage -- sinful. What sets Christian libertarians apart is that they favor repealing sodomy laws. "Churches have every right, and indeed obligation, to preach that sex properly belongs within the covenant of marriage," Bandow wrote in a letter to the Washington Post. "Of course, this bars nonmarital heterosexual sex as well as homosexual sex. ...Sexually active gay -- and heterosexual -- singles are victimizing themselves, not nonconsenting third parties. Thus, there is no intrinsic reason for government to ban homosexual behavior."

Christian libertarians are also making some thunder on the left. They are challenging an idea dear to theologians such as John Cort, author of Christian Socialism, that capitalism is fundamentally immoral. "A Christian could, not to mention should, be a socialist," writes Cort, who calls upon the "spirit of Christian love" to support redistribution of wealth. Others cite the Gospels' frequent criticism of the wealthy and the particular attention Jesus paid to those at the bottom of Jewish society.

Christian libertarians respond that most of the passages cited by those on the religious left are not core tenets of Christian faith, and they also point to the writings of Saints Peter and Paul. Peter told followers that they had no obligation to sell their property and turn the proceeds over to the church, although many early Christians freely shared their possessions with other believers and some lived communally. Paul advised in 2 Corinthians: "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." The policy prescription, according to Bandow? "A faith that refuses to order its adherents to give not surprisingly provides little support for using the state to make others give."