I have recently been promoting a D.C. rally supporting traditional marriage. It raised several good questions from someone I love dearly. My answers may have seemed conflicted – or worse, hypocritical – but they were not. I believe everyone has a right to live their lives as they see fit. I also believe that no one has the right to impose their beliefs upon me, the church, or any other person or entity. To complicate matters more, I believe there is a right and there is a wrong way to live. These points of view can be hard to reconcile for many but not if processed through a biblical worldview.

Libertarian is not anarchist

I was forced to think this through rather recently when a Conservative friend of mine told me about a survey she took. To her surprise, she was rated as a Libertarian and not a Conservative. Of course I became curious – curious enough to take the survey myself – and to my surprise, I also fell into the Libertarian category. Keep in mind that like my friend, I am passionate about living and supporting biblical principles – in all areas of life. And, I am not an anarchist who believes we are a law unto ourselves and can do whatever we deem right in our own eyes. Therefore, I had some serious thinking to do. (Editor’s note: the Internet has several surveys, like this one, that could produce results like these.)

My thinking led me to the Garden of Eden: starting with Adam walking with God in the Garden and ending where both Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden. In this passage I found my answer. I discovered that God is a Libertarian. However, God is not a lawless anarchist; He is a Libertarian who allows the human race to make their own decisions about every aspect of life. However, He also has created a set of laws supporting what is right and what is wrong and told us about the consequences that exist if we choose wrong over right.

How a court of men corrupts moral standards

The United States Supreme Court, with several March for Life participants in the foreground. Photo: CNAV files

Today the standards about right and wrong in this country have been corrupted – mostly by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). This body of jurists has sought to set themselves above God by dictating standards of morality that they are able to impose upon us legally. For the unfortunate souls that depend on these ideologues in black robes to properly distinguish the difference between right and wrong, the results can be catastrophic – if not in this life, certainly in the next.

There are many glaring examples of how SCOTUS has negatively influenced our lives (both in the past and in the present) by legislating morality from the bench. Several of these decisions are egregiously wrong. Only God has the authority and the wisdom to make such decisions. When man tries, we end up with blood on our hands and immorality begins to corrupt our culture.

One of the most horrific examples in the past was the Dred Scott decision that gave the culture at that time permission to continue slavery. It is probable that many living during that time believed that if SCOTUS said it was okay, then it must be okay. As a result, slavery continued and much blood was shed (by slave, abolitionist, and slave owner) before it finally ended.

Today we unfortunately have another decision by SCOTUS that has bloodied our hands more than slavery. In Roe v. Wade SCOTUS made abortion legal under the misguided decision that abortion was a choice that the mother of the child was entitled to make. While woman certainly do have the right to make decisions regarding their own bodies and their own lives, they certainly do not have the right to end the life of another person – even if that other person’s life is inconvenient in some way. And I can’t help but wonder how many distraught women finding themselves in untenable situations rested on the mistaken belief that since abortion is legal that somehow it is morally okay and acceptable. As we have seen in the past, legal does not translate into moral. And as a result, over 50,000,000 innocent babies have been killed. God help us. Libertarian or not, killing is wrong and should not be sanctioned by any government – especially one that was formed to protect our right to life! In these instances, SCOTUS has crossed the line – not only about law but about morality.

Our Founders had it right. Governments are instituted among men to secure our incontrovertible rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – and that applies to the born and the unborn. This is a perfect example why a pro-choice candidate should never be elected to any position. They do not understand that government’s primary role is to protect life. If they will not protect the lives of the most innocent among us, then whom can they be trusted to protect?

Have we a right to be Christian (or Jewish) anymore?

That brings me back to the subject that started this whole train of thought. Is same sex marriage okay? After all, SCOTUS’ passive aggressiveness penalizes business that will not service those embarking upon same sex marriage, so it must be okay. Well, SCOTUS is wrong once again. As a Libertarian/Conservative, I firmly believe that people have the right to make their own decisions about how to live and about their relationships. However, SCOTUS does not have the right to impose same sex marriage upon the rest of us under the guise of it being a “civil right.” Its attempt to do so violates our liberty of consciences, as well as the First Amendment in a multitude of ways.

Let me clarify. The Libertarian side of my brain says that people can live as they choose. The Conservative side of my brain does not dispute that. However, the Conservative and the Libertarian side of my brain both agree that SCOTUS and no one else has the right to dictate to the church what constitutes marriage. By compelling businesses to serve those in the process of creating a same sex marriage – even when those businesses object on the basis of their Judeo/Christian beliefs – SCOTUS has criminalized Judeo/Christian beliefs. If they can now tell us what we can and cannot believe, what is beyond their scope of power? Are we to become the spiritual/intellectual robots of the state, or are we to remain liberty-loving Americans? Thanks to SCOTUS, it is now impossible in America to retain your liberty of conscience and call yourself a law-abiding citizen. Therefore, you are faced with a decision. The decision is not just about whether or not same sex marriage should be permissible; it is whether or not you choose to follow God’s laws or man’s laws.

Let me be clear. My Libertarian side has no problem with same sex couples having the rights of married couples – legally, and tax-wise. But once again, there is a “but.” My Conservative side reasons that there are ways to legally accomplish this: Civil Unions, Wills, Durable Powers of Attorney, etc. The arrogance of same sex couples that would impose their terminology (which is what they are trying to do by calling their unions “marriage”) upon the church but argue that no one has the right to impose the church’s terminology upon them is ill-conceived and unfortunately given weight by the chronically abhorrent SCOTUS. You see, true Libertarians understand that liberty of conscience must exist for all people, not just minorities. If that understanding is not upheld, liberty ceases to be liberty and devolves into legislated morality where ideologues in a position of power dictate what is right and what is wrong for all people – as they do in dictatorships. This is not only sets the stage for tyranny; it places man above God – just where Satan himself always wanted to be.

While the argument for same sex marriage may be center stage right now, the real issue is whether or not you have the legal right to live by a Judeo/Christian belief system. If same sex couples have that right, so should believers. The issue isn’t as conflicted as one might think. Liberty and justice must prevail for all or liberty and justice does not exist for any. And as it was for Adam and Eve in the Garden so long ago, it is today for those who make the wrong decision. Decisions have consequences – for SCOTUS and for every single person that walks this earth.

[subscribe2]