What do Christian libertarians generally view as legitimate duties of the national government? Does this differ at all from “standard” libertarians?
Christian libertarians look at government in the same manner as other libertarians, but also use Scripture, Christian theological reasoning, and the Christian faith tradition to support such views. For most Christian libertarians, our aim is to show how natural rights and libertarian political theory coincide with proper ethics from a Christian perspective. Regarding the duties of national government, they consist of little to almost nothing. If government has any purpose at all, it is to protect the rights and property of individuals, and this only with the explicit consent of the governed. At most, this would include a court of final authority and protection. This would be considered the minarchist perspective, but many would go so far to say that any government that maintains a monopoly of force in law and protection will inevitably choose to abuse its power and become tyrannical. That is, even minarchism is doomed to failure in the long run. Many Christian libertarians believe this
