The Reformed Libertarians Podcast

Gregory and Kerry share their stories of how they became Reformed libertarians. Each include some of their background, how questions and thinking about political and economic issues first arose, some important influences, and the process of discovering libertarian answers understood through a Reformed perspective.

https://reformedlibertarians.com/bonusD

Main Points of Discussion

00:00 Introduction

00:31 About Kerry Baldwin

01:23 From Lutheran Republican To Reformed Libertarian

04:28 Early adulthood

07:45 Ron Paul

11:07 Resolving objections

16:12 About Gregory Baus

16:36 How I Became A Reformed-Christian Libertarian-Anarchist

21:11 Beyond Highschool

26:50 'Austrian' economics and anarchism

32:13 New Series Forthcoming

Additional Resources

Kerry's Story Re-published here:
https://reformedlibertarians.com/from-lutheran-republican-to-reformed-libertarian/

• https://mereliberty.com
• https://vitanova.academy

• David Baldwin's Vietnam War experience
  https://mereliberty.com/podcasts/the-first-battle-of-loc-ninh-vietnam/

• What Is Baptism? by R.C. Sproul
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSGFS5YK

• Lee Iron's "And The God Of Thy Seed," 8-part series on paedobaptism and covenant nurture
  https://upper-register.com/mp3s.html#baptism

• The Ron Paul Institute
  https://ronpaulinstitute.org

• Good To Be King by Michael Badnarik
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594110964

• The Constitution Party
  https://constitutionparty.com

• The Orthodox Presbyterian Church
  https://opc.org

• North American Presbyterian And Reformed Council (NAPARC)
  https://www.naparc.org/directories-2/

• "The Reason You Hate Politics" by Kerry Baldwin
  https://libertarianchristians.com/2021/01/12/the-reason-you-hate-politics/

• Books from Rothbard and others
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/resources/#books

• Episode 2 on Romans 13
  https://reformedliberarians.com/002

• Answers to Minarchist Objections (episodes 3, 5, 9, and 12)
  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzgsueW6DtHQrcfPmSbkGQfQKy5tEWbB9

• Material about abortion
  https://mereliberty.com/tag/abortion/

• Episode 8 on The Boetie Option -the peaceful underthrow of the state
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/008

Gregory's Story re-published here:
https://reformedlibertarians.com/how-i-became-a-reformed-christian-libertarian-anarchist/ 

• A Christian Manifesto by Francis Schaeffer
  https://amazon.com/dp/1581346921/

• Reformed Political Resistance Theology annotated bibliography
  https://tinyurl.com/RefoPoliResistBib

• "Romans 13 and Stateless Civil Governance" by Gregory Baus
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/romans-13-reformed-view/

• The Two Empires In Japan by John M.L. Young
  https://amazon.com/dp/B0156XFDKC

• America's Counter-Revolution by Sheldon Richman
  https://amazon.com/dp/0692687912/

• Lectures On (Neo-)Calvinism by Abraham Kuyper
  https://monergism.com/lectures-calvinism-ebook

• Kingdom Prologue by Meredith G. Kline
  https://amazon.com/dp/1597525642

• Roots Of Western Culture by Herman Dooyeweerd
  https://amazon.com/dp/0888153538

• The Myth Of Religious Neutrality by Roy Clouser
  https://amazon.com/dp/0268023662

• About Societal Sphere Sovereignty
  https://youtube.com/watch?v=fjpnd7reMU0

• The Mises Institute
  https://mises.org

• On Praxeology
  https://praxeology.net/praxeo.htm

• "Rothbard's 'Left and Right' Forty Years Later" by Roderick Long
  text: https://mises.org/mises-daily/rothbards-left-and-right-forty-years-later
  audio: https://mises.org/podcasts/asc-2006/rothbards-left-and-right-40-years-later

• "Libertarian Anarchism: Responses To Ten Objections" by Roderick Long
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/answering-objections-anarchism/

• "Foundations Of Libertarian Ethics," 10 lectures by Roderick Long
  (see dropdown at each to toggle youtube to audio): https://mises.org/podcasts/foundations-libertarian-ethics
  video playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwrDNUO5MDu-pUCxIbC86kTOa9bOXlVIN

• The Reformed Libertarianism Statement
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/reformed-libertarianism-statement/

• Putting Amazing Back Intro Grace by Michael Horton
  https://amazon.com/dp/0801014212

• Study Guide for Westminster Shorter Catechism by G.I. Williamson
  https://amazon.com/dp/0875525210

• Study Guide for Heidelberg Catechism by G.I. Williamson
  https://amazon.com/dp/B005H7ANH6

• Sacred Bond by Michael Brown and Zach Keele
  https://ccrbooks.org/products/sacred-bond-covenant-theology-explored-2nd-edition-brown-and-keele

• With Reverence And Awe by Darryl Hart and John Muether
  https://amazon.com/dp/0875521797

The Reformed Libertarians Pod...

We explain what becoming and being a Reformed Christian and a Reformed libertarian is and means in basic terms. We say why one should, and how one can, become a Reformed Christian and a Reformed libertarian. We explain what libertarianism is, and why every libertarian is already a religious libertarian. We mention the ultimate purpose in becoming a Christian, and part of how Reformed Christianity grounds our view of libertarianism. We briefly explain how the Reformed view of Romans 13 is compatible with libertarianism. And we conclude with three general things a non-Christian can do to facilitate their discovering that Christianity is true.

https://reformedlibertarians.com/024

Main Points of Discussion

00:00 Introduction

00:32 Episode description

02:06 What it means to become and be a Christian

05:38 What we mean by libertarianism

09:54 Why every libertarian is already a religious libertarian

15:55 The ultimate purpose in becoming a Christian

18:20 How Reformed Christianity grounds libertarianism

25:27 What about Romans 13?

29:19 Recap

30:12 Three things to discover Reformed Christianity is true

Additional Resources

• Episode 1: Reformed Libertarians Podcast introduction
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/001 

• Episode 12: Is Civil Governance Without The State Plausible?
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/012 

• Episode 19: The Myth of Religious Neutrality
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/019 

• For more about self-evidence see the 11 lecture series (about 3.5 hrs total) “Philosophy of Religion and Knowing God is Real,” especially lectures 6 & 7
  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwrDNUO5MDu_XWQBwDFvjTk0Au0-6un3D 

• Episode 2: What Does Romans 13 Say About Civil Government?
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/002 

• The Reformed Political Resistance Theology annotated bibliography
  https://tinyurl.com/RefoPoliResistBib 

• "The Problem Of Evil Answered"
  https://sites.google.com/view/problemofevilanswered 

• Three things Non-Christians can do to facilitate discovering the truth of Christianity is discussed in lecture 11 of the series mentioned above.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWusi_p9RhU&list=PLwrDNUO5MDu_XWQBwDFvjTk0Au0-6un3D&index=11

• The New Testament Gospel of John
  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John&version=ESV

• Following the plot of the Bible’s big picture
  https://upper-register.com/mp3s.html#unfolding 

• Study Guide to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, by G.I. Williamson
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/0875525210 

• Putting Amazing Back into Grace: Embracing the Heart of the Gospel, by Michael Horton
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/0801014212

• Walking with Jesus through His Word: Discovering Christ in All the Scriptures, by Dennis E. Johnson
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1596382201

• Contact Gregory and Kerry
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/#contact 

• EXTRA: "Answers To Some Questions From A Non-Christian Libertarian"
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/answers-to-some-questions

The Reformed Libertarians Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute: https://libertarianchristians.com and a member of the Christians for Liberty Network: https://christiansforliberty.net

Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com

An interview with Dr. Jonathan McIntosh on several of his presentations at The George Buchanan Forum. We discuss errors in Calvin’s view of civil government, and we mention the God-ordained check on abuse and tyranny. We then discuss McIntosh’s outline of a classical or Thomistic natural law tradition approach to libertarianism, and his critique of the Aristotelian-Thomist view of politics. We also discuss the neglected figurative or typological character of old covenant civil law by scholastic thinkers. We conclude with information about The George Buchanan Forum and other articles from McIntosh.

https://reformedlibertarians.com/023

Main Points of Discussion

00:00 Introduction

00:32 Episode description

01:30 Guest intro and background

10:11 Errors of Calvin’s view of civil government

15:21 Value in such critique and why Calvin’s erroneous view is popular

19:53 Comments on Reformers vs Calvin and obsta principiis

23:03 Natural Law Libertarianism

31:59 Moral realism, harm, and double effect

39:32 Errors of a Thomist view of politics

43:56 Neglected “figurative” or typological character of Mosaic civil law in a scholastic view

51:18 Respective specifications of moral and civil law

56:00 Errors of an establishmentarian view

1:00:21 The George Buchanan forum

Additional Resources:

• Links for Dr. Jonathan McIntosh
  - on fb: https://facebook.com/jonathan.mcintosh.161
  - on x: https://x.com/DrJMcIntosh
  - blog: https://jonathansmcintosh.wordpress.com
  - other blog: https://naturallawlibertarian.wordpress.com
  - His book The Flame Imperishable: Tolkien, St. Thomas, and the Metaphysics of Faerie:
  https://amazon.com/dp/1621383156
  - articles:
    "Theonomy, General Equity, and Libertarianism"
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/theonomy-general-equity-and-libertarianism-by-jonathan-mcintosh/
    “Aquinas and Libertarianism: Coercion and the Common Good in the Summa’s Definition of Law”
  https://www.marketsandmorality.com/index.php/mandm/article/view/1587
    “The Libertarian Aquinas”
  https://libertarianchristians.com/2021/04/05/the-libertarian-aquinas/

• Links for The George Buchanan Forum
  - website: https://tgbf.org
  - on FB: https://facebook.com/TheGeorgeBuchananForum
  - on X: https://x.com/BuchananForum
  - on YT: https://youtube.com/@thegeorgebuchananforum6899
  - Presentation by Jeremy Bunch on “George Buchanan & Scots Reformed Resistance Theory”:
  https://youtube.com/watch?v=JZcpcYqhs5o

• The Silence Of St. Thomas, by Josef Pieper
  https://amazon.com/dp/1890318787

• On the “School of Salamanca” or late Spanish Scholastics’ (early modern Roman Catholic Thomists) economic views:
  https://mises.org/mises-wire/true-founders-economics-school-salamanca
  ( See also Alejandro Cafuen’s Faith and Liberty: The Economic Thought of the Late Scholastics
  https://store.mises.org/Faith-and-Liberty-The-Economic-Thought-of-the-Late-Scholastics-P170.aspx )

• A more favorable view of Van Til, contra Aquinas
  https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc745/
  ( See the full course on the Doctrine of Revelation by Lane Tipton here:
  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5DwS6MFoBBE-_RkMx4umfvDlligzvj1 )

• The 1st presentation discussed: “Evaluating Calvin: A Critique of On Civil Government,” by Jonathan McIntosh
  https://youtube.com/watch?v=DS9RW3e7eMQ 

• The Reformed Political Resistance bibliography
  https://tinyurl.com/RefoPoliResistBib

• Johannes Althusius rightly contradicts Calvin on political and domestic abuse in Politica, chapter 18, section 105
  https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/althusius-politica#lf0002_footnote_nt_293_ref

• Rutherford in Lex Rex under question 23, explains that there is no God-given requirement to suffer abuse or tyranny
  https://books.google.com/books?id=SK8rAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA111

• The 2nd presentation discussed: “Towards a Natural Law Libertarianism,” by Jonathan McIntosh
  https://youtube.com/watch?v=TSQvD9wNXCg
  ( See also: “Why We Need To Get Serious About Natural Rights,” by Jonathan McIntosh
  https://youtube.com/watch?v=3aO0L1q4CUc 

• David VanDrunen on “What Is Natural Law?”
  https://credomag.com/article/what-is-natural-law/ 

• Aggression vs harm: “How Do Libertarians Define Crime?,” by Kerry Baldwin
  https://mereliberty.com/lci/how-do-libertarians-define-crime/ 

• On the Doctrine of Double Effect
  https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/double-effect/

• Writings by Herman Dooyeweerd
  https://herman-dooyeweerd.blogspot.com 

• The 3rd presentation discussed: “Figuratively Speaking: the Old Testament, Natural Law, and Libertarianism,” by Jonathan McIntosh
  https://youtube.com/watch?v=97OvUMcYKTk 

• Economic and political essays by Frederic Bastiat
  https://mises.org/library/book/bastiat-collection

• For A New Liberty by Murray Rothbard
  https://mises.org/library/book/new-liberty-libertarian-manifesto 

• The Ethics Of Liberty by Murray Rothbard
  - text: https://cdn.mises.org/The%20Ethics%20of%20Liberty%2020191108.pdf
  - audio: https://mises.org/podcasts/ethics-liberty 
  
  
• “Against Civil Establishment Of Religion,” by Gregory Baus
  https://reformedliber...

A discussion of "What Is Culture?," Part 1 of the Reformed Libertarianism Statement. Other episodes are mentioned in which some points from episode 4 are elaborated, and the meaning of subjective sanctification of culture is reiterated. The definition of culture, and why it’s addressed is further explained. The model of reciprocally influencing layers of culture is elaborated, illustrated, and related to the study of historical process. And the promotion of so-called "cultural Christianity" is considered.

https://reformedlibertarians.com/022

Main Points Of Discussion

00:00 Introduction

00:32 Episode description

02:02 Scholasticism and Biblicism vs Neo-Calvinism

03:41 Subjective sanctification of a Christian’s cultural activity

05:16 Culture as such, and “cultus”

08:22 Why we address culture; and the image of God

12:09 The model of reciprocal layers of culture

18:10 Illustration of the cell/mobile phone

21:06 Culture and historical process

23:52 So-called “cultural Christianity”

Additional Resources

•  Episode 4 : How Should Christians View Culture and What Are Some Mistaken Views?
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/004

• Scholasticism is further addressed:
   - Episode 19 : The Myth Of Religious Neutrality
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/019
  - Episode 21 : Two Kingdoms and Christian Cultural Activity
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/021

• Biblicism (esp, theonomy and theocracy) is further addressed:
   - Episode 15 : Can Christian Civil Government Be Theocratic?
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/015
  - Episode 18 : Politics and the Church’s Mission —What Should the Church Teach About Civil Government?
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/018

• The Reformed Libertarianism Statement (and Principles)
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/reformed-libertarianism-statement/ 

• With Reverence and Awe: Returning to the Basics of Reformed Worship, by Darryl Hart and John Muether
  https://amazon.com/dp/0875521797/

• On a biblical Reformed view of the “image of God,” see by Meredith Kline:
   the article “Creation in the Image of the Glory Spirit”
  https://meredithkline.com/klines-works/articles-and-essays/creation-in-the-image-of-the-glory-spirit/
    and the book Images Of The Spirit
  https://amazon.com/dp/1579102050/
  For more on the “Structural” and “Directional” dimensions, also see Created In The Image Of God, by Anthony Hoekema
  https://amazon.com/dp/0802808506/

• “History: Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing?” by Louis Voskuil (March 1988)
  https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2213&context=pro_rege 

• “History as Process: Meaning in Change” by Louis Voskuil (June 1988)
  https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2211&context=pro_rege 

 The Reformed Libertarians Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute: https://libertarianchristians.com and a member of the Christians for Liberty Network: https://christiansforliberty.net

Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com 

A discussion of a Reformed Two Kingdoms view, and the possibility of a distinctively Christian view of the believer’s cultural activity according to an orthodox Neo-Calvinism, in contrast with a Scholastic view. Key points from episodes 4 and 19 are summarized, and the Two Kingdoms view being addressed is described. The use of the term Scholasticism is explained against an objection. And a key difference between Neo-Calvinism and a Scholasticized view is variously illustrated.

https://reformedlibertarians.com/021

Main Points of Discussion

00:00 Introduction

00:32 Episode description

02:08 Key points from episode 4 on Christian cultural activity

07:09 Key points from episode 19 on religious non-neutrality

09:23 Reformed Two Kingdoms distinctions

13:41 The views of David VanDrunen

18:43 The term Scholasticism as modified Aristotelianism

24:04 Reiteration of key difference between Neo-Calvinist and Scholastic views

25:58 More about VanDrunen’s views

27:52 Religious views of a saltshaker

32:43 The question of logical norms

34:54 Similar to interpreting Scripture

36:20 Religious views of limited civil governance

40:35 Conclusion

  *Usually we catch these things, but Gregory didn't catch his mispronunciation of philological til later.

Additional Resources

• Episode 4: How Should Christians View Culture and What Are Some Mistaken Views?
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/004 

• Episode 19: The Myth Of Religious Neutrality
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/019 

• See David VanDrunen’s more scholarly book Natural Law and the Two Kingdoms (2009)
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802864430/
  and his more popular-level book Living in God’s Two Kingdoms (2010)
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1433514044/ 

• “Five Versions Of Two Kingdoms and Foundations For Christian Cultural Activity” by Gregory Baus
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/five-versions-of-two-kingdoms-and-foundations-for-christian-cultural-activity/ 

• Info on Meredith G. Kline
  https://meredithkline.com/
  Especially see Kline's book Kingdom Prologue (1993)
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1597525642/ 

• Michael Beck’s book Covenant Lord and Cultic Boundary (2023)
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1666737577/ 

• The Catholic Encyclopedia (1912) entry on “Scholasticism”
  https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13548a.htm 

• See the first two chapters (93 pages) of Herman Dooyeweerd’s Reformation And Scholasticism In Philosophy, Volume 2 (1950) for historical background on the development of Neo-Calvinism and its criticism of Scholastic views.
  https://vcho.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Reformation-and-Scholasticism-in-Philosophy-A-Vol-5-2.pdf#page=25 

• For example of a non-Christian’s view of limited civil governance from creational revelation, see Murray Rothbard’s For A New Liberty (1973)
  https://mises.org/library/book/new-liberty-libertarian-manifesto
  and Ethics Of Liberty (1982) audio: https://mises.org/library/book/ethics-liberty
  text: https://cdn.mises.org/The%20Ethics%20of%20Liberty%2020191108.pdf 

 The Reformed Libertarians Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute: https://libertarianchristians.com and a member of the Christians for Liberty Network: https://christiansforliberty.net

Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com

In a series of highlights from earlier episodes, Kerry and Gregory explain what the Reformed Libertarians Podcast is about, their confessionally Reformed view of Romans 13, what their practical strategy is, how the goal they are working towards is entirely realistic, and how they address a prominent objection raised by, perhaps, most people.
https://reformedlibertarians.com/020

Main Points of Discussion

00:00 Start

00:32 Episode description

01:10 First highlight from episode 1: https://reformedlibertarians.com/001

09:56 Second highlight from episode 2: https://reformedlibertarians.com/002

16:12 Third highlight from episode 8: https://reformedlibertarians.com/008

26:33 Fourth highlight from episode 12: https://reformedlibertarians.com/012

37:43 Fifth highlight from episode 14: https://reformedlibertarians.com/014

The Reformed Libertarians Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute: https://libertarianchristians.com and a member of the Christians for Liberty Network: https://christiansforliberty.net

Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com

In this bonus episode, we interview Dr. David VanDrunen. We consider his reply on several points to Pastor Taylor Drummond's critical article that we discuss in episode 17. The title of that article is "Fool's Gold?: A libertarian analysis of VanDrunen's account of state legitimacy" and it examines particular arguments in David VanDrunen's book Politics After Christendom.

VanDrunen expresses his appreciation for Drummond's article and our episode discussing it, raises questions concerning immoral complicity if the state is taken to be illegitimate, offers some clarification about his (up to this point) not having differentiated monopoly states from non-monopolistic civil governance in his writing, raises questions concerning what sort of consent is normative for the customary legal order's own legitimacy and its authorizing function, raises the question of when abuse or injustice might categorically disqualify one from rightfully possessing authoritative office and its relation to political resistance, and, at the end, responds to our proposal how a fuller, non-aggressionist view of proportionality in the lex talionis of the Noahic Covenant entails a conclusive argument in favor of the exclusively "protectionist" purpose of civil governance law.

https://reformedlibertarians.com/bonusC

Main Points of Discussion

00:00 Introduction

00:09 Episode description

02:15 Prefatory statements

05:37 The question of immoral complicity

16:30 Clarifying matters of complicity

21:13 The question of civil governance vs. monopoly state

27:55 Distinguishing normativity from de facto (non-)conformity to norms

31:00 The question of legitimizing consent

35:56 Distinguishing compliance under duress (by aggression)

40:45 The question of abuse/tyranny and de-legitimization

45:20 The question of a conclusive protectionist-only view

49:32 Remaining uncertainty about Scriptural “regulative principle” for civil governance

52:29 Closing remarks

Additional Resources

• About David VanDrunen
  https://www.wscal.edu/faculty-member/david-vandrunen/
    – author page at Mongerism
  https://www.monergism.com/authorsspeakers/david-vandrunen
    – bib at ResearchGate
  https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/David-VanDrunen-2115184386 

• Episode 17: David VanDrunen’s View Of Civil Government, with Taylor Drummond
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/017 

• “Fool’s Gold?: A libertarian analysis of VanDrunen’s account of state legitimacy,” by Taylor Drummond
  https://libertarianchristians.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CLR-5-Drummond.pdf

• Politics After Christendom by David VanDrunen
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/0310108845/ 

• “The Protectionist Purpose of Law: A Moral Case from the Biblical Covenant with Noah,” by David VanDrunen
  https://www.pdcnet.org/jsce/content/jsce_2015_0035_0002_0101_0117 

• Episode 2: What Does Romans 13 Say About Civil Government?
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/002 

• Episode 8: The Boetie Option - the peaceful underthrow of the state
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/008 

• Episode 14: Does Political Representation Make Sense?, with Gerard Casey
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/014 

• Episode 15: Can Christian Civil Government Be Theocratic?
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/015 

• Episode 18: Politics And The Church’s Mission: What Should The Church Teach About Civil Government?
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/018 

• Answering 10 Objections to Libertarian Anarchism by Roderick Long
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/answering-objections-anarchism/

• Replies to this episode from Taylor Drummond
  https://thearchy.substack.com/p/my-thoughts-on-vandrunens-thoughts

 The Reformed Libertarians Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute: https://libertarianchristians.com and a member of the Christians for Liberty Network: https://christiansforliberty.net

Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com

A reading of edited excerpts from the article “On The General Relation Of Religion, Metaphysics, and Science” by Dr Roy A. Clouser, presenting the Neo-Calvinist view of what has been called The Myth Of Religious Neutrality. The predominant Scholastic view of the general relation is summarized, followed by a summary of the Neo-Calvinist, or Reformational view. According to the Neo-Calvinist view, the way in which religious belief guides theories is then summarized, the view of religious belief is further explained, how religious belief within a given metaphysics affects science is further explained, and a prominent objection is answered.

https://reformedlibertarians.com/019

Main Points of Discussion

00:00 Introduction

00:32 Episode description

03:29 The Scholastic View

07:46 The Neo-Calvinist (Reformational) View

13:34 Scientific theories guided by a basic view of reality

17:47 A basic view of reality guided by a religious belief

19:02 More about religious belief

27:11 How religious belief within a metaphysics affects science

37:03 Example of atomic theory

40:13 An objection answered

Additional Resources

• About Dr. Roy A. Clouser
  https://www.royclouser.com
  https://allofliferedeemed.co.uk/roy-a-clouser/ 

• “On The General Relation Of Religion, Metaphysics, And Science” by Roy Clouser
  https://tukampendatastore.blob.core.windows.net/neocalvinism/allofliferedeemed/Clouser/Clouser1996-Facets-of-faith-and-Science-ch%203.PDF 

• The Myth Of Religious Neutrality (rev, 2005) by Roy Clouser
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/0268023662 

• Introduction to A Commentary on Genesis by John Calvin (1554)
  https://ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom01/calcom01.vi.html

• Video on the Myth of Religious Neutrality by Roy Clouser
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLUAtso8cBw&list=PLwrDNUO5MDu9Y8kqS66XUSgRaVXbf9M-A&index=3 

• “Is There A Christian View Of Everything?” by Roy Clouser
  https://sites.google.com/site/christianviewofeverything

• “Five Versions Of ‘Two Kingdoms’ and Foundations For Christian Cultural Activity” by Gregory Baus
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/five-versions-of-two-kingdoms-and-foundations-for-christian-cultural-activity/  

• 11 videos on Philosophy of Religion by Roy Clouser
  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwrDNUO5MDu_XWQBwDFvjTk0Au0-6un3D 

• 32 videos on Introduction to (Reformational) Christian Philosophy by Roy Clouser
  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwrDNUO5MDu-T6PEv7K3nfET-yWKoo523

The Reformed Libertarians Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute: https://libertarianchristians.com and a member of the Christians for Liberty Network: https://christiansforliberty.net

Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com

We discuss the teaching mission of the institutional church, its relation to the church’s statements of faith, and what the institutional church must and may not teach about politics on several important points. We talk about the Reformed confessional view of submission to civil governance, the recent failure of some churches in the face of unlawful state dictates, the error of theonomic views, and how a biblically Reformed covenantal hermeneutic informs a correct view of general equity.

https://reformedlibertarians.com/018

Main Points of Discussion

00:00  Introduction

00:32  Episode description

01:00  Why are we discussing this?

02:15  What is the church’s teaching mission?

05:07  One way the Reformed confessions are part of the church’s mission

07:34  False teaching about submission to God-ordained civil governance

13:43  Not a matter of political theory

14:53  False teaching of original and so-called “general equity theonomy”

19:28  Proper meaning of general equity

24:30  The Reformed biblical covenantal hermeneutic

30:39  Recap

32:53  Disestablishmentarianism and Biblical criterion of proportional retribution

Additional Resources:

• What Does Romans 13 Say About Civil Government?
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/002

• Why Is The Right Of Resistance Important?
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/006

• Answers to Objections to Reformed Confessional View of Romans 13
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/episode/why-isnt-the-state-biblically-justified-resolving-romans-13-objections/

• Annotated bibliography of Reformed Political Resistance Theology
  https://tinyurl.com/RefoPoliResistBib

• Paper and video presentation of “Theonomy, General Equity, and Libertarianism” by Jonathan McIntosh
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/theonomy-general-equity-and-libertarianism-by-jonathan-mcintosh

• Excerpt from “Men In Combat Over The Civil Law: ‘General Equity’ in WCF 19.4” by Peter Wallace and Craig Troxel
  https://sites.google.com/view/general-equity/

• Lecture series on Reformed Covenant Theology in systematic, biblical, and practical perspectives by Lee Irons
  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwrDNUO5MDu9WPd6FaReLxZkaK7VO8plE

• Video explaining the relations between the Abrahamic, Old Mosaic, and New Covenants, by Lee Irons
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_ScAhK-s2s

• 5 videos explaining the typological works principle in the Old Mosaic Covenant, by Lee Irons
  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwrDNUO5MDu-vEf9AeUSZt8UY53E7OYnF

• The Westminster Confession of Faith (1788)
  https://opc.org/wcf.html

• The Belgic Confession of Faith (1958)
  https://threeforms.org/the-belgic-confession/

• Resources on the false teaching of Theonomy
  - Meredith G. Kline’s article on theocracy
  https://meredithkline.com/klines-works/articles-and-essays/the-relevance-of-the-theocracy/
  - Lee Irons’ article on Theonomy’s Dispensational Hermeneutic
  https://www.the-highway.com/theonomy-hermeneutic_Irons.html
  - Lane Tipton’s article on The Eschatology of Hebrews 2:1-4: A Critical Appraisal of the Theonomic Thesis
  https://kerux.com/doc/1501A1.asp
  - T. David Gordon’s article on Critique of Theonomy: a Taxonomy
  https://web.archive.org/web/20200718055717/http://tdgordon.net/theology/theonomy.pdf

• Can Christian Civil Government Be 'Theocratic'?
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/015

• “Against Civil Establishment Of Religion” by Gregory Baus
  https://reformedlibertarians.com/against-civil-establishment-of-religion/

The Reformed Libertarians Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute: https://libertarianchristians.com and a member of the Christians for Liberty Network: https://christiansforliberty.net

Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com

An interview with Pastor Taylor Drummond about his article “Fool’s Gold?: A libertarian analysis of VanDrunen’s account of state legitimacy,” which appreciatively, but critically, examines arguments in the book Politics After Christendom by Dr. David VanDrunen. Pastor Drummond introduces himself and recounts how he became a confessional, Calvinistic Baptist, and a libertarian-anarchist. He speaks about how VanDrunen’s biblical arguments for the legitimacy of the state fail his own standard for justifying the state. Drummond also explains how VanDrunen’s theoretical argument is at odds with his own view of law, justice, and rights, and is in tension with many of his economic and theological insights.

https://reformedlibertarians.com/017

Main Points Of Discussion

00:00 Introduction

00:32 Episode description

01:50 About Pastor Drummond

06:54 VanDrunen’s brief biblical arguments and Drummond’s response

17:22 Monopoly, Noahic covenant, and negative natural rights

24:26 VanDrunen’s view of customary legal order

27:50 Drummond’s response on law and rights

34:44 Need for clearly distinguishing just and unjust coercion

38:56 Protectionism, sin, politicization, and inefficiency

47:29 Concluding thoughts

Additional Resources

Article discussed: “Fool’s Gold?: A libertarian analysis of VanDrunen’s account of state legitimacy,” by Taylor Drummond: https://libertarianchristians.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CLR-5-Drummond.pdf

Politics After Christendom by David VanDrunen: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0310108845/

Taylor Drummond
  congregation: Grace Community Church, Allentown PA https://gracecommunityallentown.org/
  Politics substack: https://thearchy.substack.com/
  Theology site: https://servantofthesovereign.wordpress.com/

Other books mentioned:
  The Road To Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek: https://mises.org/library/book/road-serfdom
  The Law by Frederic Bastiat: https://mises.org/library/book/law
  Foundations of Economics: A Christian View by Shawn Ritenour: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556357249/
  The Conservative Mind by Russell Kirk: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0895261715/
  For A New Liberty by Murray Rothbard: https://mises.org/library/book/new-liberty-libertarian-manifesto

Christian Libertarian Review call for papers 2024: https://libertarianchristians.com/2024/02/03/call-for-papers-2024-volume/

The Reformed Libertarians Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute: https://libertarianchristians.com and a member of the Christians for Liberty Network: https://christiansforliberty.net

Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com