Christianity and Libertarianism

This talk was given on August 8 at the Christians for Liberty conference in Austin, Texas.

Although I have been writing from the perspective of a conservative Christian libertarian for the past twenty years, it was not until 2009 that I first wrote something about the Drug War. This is because I knew the negative reaction I would receive from conservatives—and especially Christian conservatives. But after writing that initial article, there has been no turning back. I now write about the Drug War, not as much as I write about Christianity and war, but quite often.

Do you want to live in an authoritarian society? Do you desire an intrusive government? Do you wish for a government that is a nanny state? Do you yearn for government bureaucrats to tell you what you can and cannot do? Do you want to give up your personal and financial privacy? Do you like puritanical busybodies telling you how to live your life? Do you believe the government should define and enforce morality? Do you reason that vices should be crimes? Then you should support the War on Drugs.

I don’t trust the government. As a believer in Jesus Christ, a theological and cultural conservative, a believer in moral absolutes, an adherent to the ethical principles of the New Testament, and a believer in the inspiration and authority of the Bible, I reject the government’s War on Drugs because I believe in the power of religion, persuasion, and education instead of the power of legislation, police, and prisons.

Legalize freedom, legalize drugs.