I admire much of the work of the Acton Institute. I recently very favorably reviewed Robert Sirico’s new book (he is the organization’s president). However, I deplore the people there that are Christian warmongers. The Acton Institute is advertising a new event to be held on January 30: “Why Libertarians Need God.” The speaker is Jay Richards. Says the ad (with my correction of a typo):

There are many who believe that atheism and libertarianism are compatible. Some even contend that atheism is essential to libertarianism. But the opposite is much nearer the truth. The core “libertarian” principles if [of] individual rights, freedom and responsibility, reason, moral truth, and limited government make little sense in an atheistic and materialistic worldview; but make far more sense in a theistic context. Come hear Dr. Jay Richards explain and please the case “Why Libertarians Need God.”

I agree with Dr. Richards. Libertarians need God. Just like Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives, whites, and blacks need God. My problem is a conservative lecturing libertarians on why they need God. I’m afraid that it is conversion to the god of conservatism that is the real agenda. I, a libertarian, have written about why libertarians need God in this article. I answer the question of “Should libertarians be conservatives?” in this article in which I also critique Richards.

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