David Davis
My younger boy had his first communion today, nine years after the other one who blogs sometimes on here. Unlike many other hard-libertarians, I see no conflict whatsoever between the profession of libertarian ideas, and (with my hard-scientist-hat on) the hypothesis that the astonishing level of observed order in the Universe and its Laws of action _/may/_ be the result of what goes on in God’s Mind.
Creationists have tragcially got the wrong end of the stick. They take folk-tales like the Book of Genesis, written down as the Apostle Paul said quite clearly, “through a glass, darkly”, and try vainly and without hope of success to conflate their supposed meaning to overlay and explain observed reality. It will never work and will only lead to more ructions and maybe “rivers of blood”, but I hope not. Only if the socialists, who cleverly encourage these sadly misguided people for the useful idiots they are, manage to get all the lights turned out and the food-production facilities destroyed, as they wish to do.
The older one has no problem being a libertarian, while heading for a scientist of some kind who can also gig on stage with an electric cello or guitar, and yet can calmly stroll up to the Priest in Mass. Perhaps the younger will be as lucky. Perhaps this intellectual integration can only be properly accomplished in the Anglosphere?
I don’t see how you can reconcile Christianity with libertarianism, but then again, to be a Christian in this day and age requires quite astonishing feats of doublethink. Libertarianism is incompatible with most, if not all, religions, not so much because it debunks myths (after all, it has axioms and principles which arguably constitute a kind of doctrine), but because it promotes godless self-reliance: a ‘belief in one’s own strength’. If you have faith in yourself, you don’t need any other gods.
A libertarianism based on the Non-Aggression Principle can coexist with most versions of Christianity. It’s not possible to have this coexistence with the “Primacy of the Market” folk who are not opposed to private armies, the unrestricted possession of nuclear missiles and so on. Nor with the authoritarian Christian Right, especially in its US forms.
Tony
I don’t see why any religion should be unable to coexist with any other religion, or Libertarianism. It seems to me that the problem always lies with those so dogmatically attached to their faith, creed or whatever, that they end up demonising non-believers. What’s wrong with live and let live?
Individual freedom and responsibility under God is my libertarian take on things.
Western thought, especially British has become so obsessed with “myths” as in ‘debunking them’ that the consequent religion they espouse (R Dawkins) is rather hardline.
If the Bible is the word of God, there is no mucking about. Spiritual reality is reality and if the power is in those words then it is.
Indeed, we do see through a glass darkly which is why we cannot understand what we perceive as being contradictions.
In some ways I am fortunate, I came into thinking about things from the scientific perspective which I became aware was unsatisfactory in terms of establishing a full understanding of thing. My eventual conclusion as a teenager was that the only position one could take as certainly true was to accept the possibility of anything and nothing.
Which has led to my more recent thought of: How does order occur spontaneously in randomness, or as Tony has asked: Why does anything exist at all?
If Libertarianism is going to take an ideological stand against religion then it really is screwed. I’m glad that you are able to be sensible on this matter.
PS, why so quiet around here?
Only when people learn to accept the dictates of their inner voice that the feud about true religion will be disregarded. We are created by the SOURCE as the Supreme Creation and yet we prefer to act as if we are NOT. We oppose one’s belief without realizing that what we wanted to happen are perfectly going towards the same GOAL . Remember: We can not mix Oil with Water however, they possess the same form and that is they are both LIQUIDS. 🙂
To C H (above)
We have all had somewhat of other pressing matters to attend to, this last month or so. Sean and I, with young families, tend to be busy this time of year. Michael W has his pig herd to marshal but does what he can. Fred Bloggs has had a spate of exams, and, masochistically, has started an OU physics/maths degree.
We will all try to make the effort to comment more in the next month or so.
Good to hear DD. I wasn’t actually criticising you, more wondering at the apparent paucity of comments. It seems quite quiet.
The calm before a storm?
The bolgosphere in general has gone quietish, probably the exhaustion after the election. Only the old reprobates like us, The Devil, Legiron, the Englishman, Mr Eugenides, Samizdata and the like, are keeping up the pace somewhat….
Quality will win out over quantity.
Tony