The Sin That Saves Us
August 3,2006

In essentials, unity; in non-essentials liberty; in all things, love.
- Motto of the Worldwide Moravian Church

 

Despite how this epinion piece begins, this is not a religious sermon – we promise.

Full disclosure time: As a Christian, this PurpleThink editor has a very biased view of religion. I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I pray often and believe that only through Jesus can one be sustained. However, I also lean heavily libertarian.

So, am I a Christian Libertarian? Wikipedia equates Christian Libertarianism with Christian Anarchism – two very different things. Other manifestations try to layer Christian belief onto government action in one way or another. Bad idea. There needs to be a new term for a Christian that believes faith is best served by personal liberty uninhibited by government.

I believe the motto of the Moravian Church – the oldest protestant denomination of the Christian faith – is spot on. Christ initiated the belief that individuals constitute the only political unit of consequence. While groups exist, they exist purely as groups of individuals that ultimately choose their own path.

The Good Samaritan and Mary Magdalene demonstrated how Jesus believed in liberty and the power of each individual to transcend titles, nationality, and caste.

Flash-forward to the present day. Instead of advocating humble Christ-like attributes, large religious political groups press for legislation that coerces behavioral choices. The premise that laws against prostitution, drug use, and same-sex marriage will somehow make society moral is misguided at best. Ironically, PurpleThink believes such laws actually hurt the proliferation of Christianity.

By asking government to mandate laws that regulate individual liberty, Christians are granting power to the state that will ultimately be used against it. When social mores change, so do the whims of politicians looking to build credibility with their constituents. Politicians change, but the power of the office remains.

Do you want a strong moral leader that will close down that adult bookstore and censor objectionable television programming? Okay, but don’t cry when those same powers are used by the next office-holder to remove the Bible from public libraries or require churches to allow gay marriage or lose tax-exempt status.

This is not an overreaction. This has already happened many times over. For example, regardless of where you fall on the gay marriage debate, if it weren’t for slave-era Christians wanting to keep mixed-race couples from marrying, the gay marriage issue would be moot. Christians in political power codified marriage as a civil status – eligible for rights and protections from government. Talk about irony.

The rise of Islamic-fascism certainly doesn’t help matters. Because of al-Qaeda, Iran, Hamas, and Hezbolla, all Westerners look at religion very skeptically – even Christianity. Thus, the un-churched populace is increasingly equating spirituality with fanaticism. The next 10 to 20 years may find the church under attack from forces empowered to enforce social norms.

Thus, all Christians should fight vehemently for the rights of all individuals to engage in any behavior they choose so long as it does not infringe upon the rights of another. Then, energy expended by Christians lobbying government to clamp-down on morally reprehensible acts could be redirected to helping those that have lost their way.

We PurpleThinkers think it is lazy evangelism to try and save souls by forcefully changing behavior. Only a soul that willingly changes his/her own behavior has made a difference in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus’ actions stood in stark contrast to those of the Roman Empire in the Bible. This was no accident. While Jesus spoke to individuals, heard their concerns and persuaded them to make righteous choices, the Romans made edicts that centurions then enforced by crucifixion.

Regardless of your faith, or lack thereof, the liberty to pray requires the liberty to sin.

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