Christianity, as designed, comes with a set of default values (think of the Ten Commandments). This is normal. America was founded on certain values, our homes place certain values above others, our schools teach certain values, and even local businesses strive to abide by a set of values. These values impact our everyday life and determine our paradigm.
A paradigm is similiar to a lens. When a photographer raises his camera to his eye and looks through the lens he is seeing what is on the other side of the camera by first looking through the lens. If there is a smudge, stain, or crack in the glass his object will also appear to be smudged, stained, or cracked even though it may not be in reality. Seeing the world through this biblical perspective changes how we see things just as it does with the photographer. People will see some activity as moral while others see it as immoral. Some will see a punishment as just while others see it as unjust. Christians are called to live by a unique paradigm. Christians are called to see things in life through the lens of Christ, His impact on the world, and our calling to make disciples of all nations.
An obvious starting point for the convergence of Biblical values and socio-political/economic systems is the value of the individual versus the value of the collective. This perspective, the individual versus the collective, is the foundation for one’s paradigm and affects the way that one interacts with the world at a fundamental level.
Individual Liberty
Individual Liberty is the liberty of an individual person to act autonomously. It is the liberty to make choices, to have one’s own set of values and pursuits, to have preferences, to do as one desires. It is the liberty to spend money, or to not. To eat food, or to not. To worship, or to not. To conduct any number of activities, or to not. Individual liberty is the value which dictates that you are free to associate with whom you will, to vote for whom you will, to speak what you will, and to live as you will.
Individual liberty is also the value which dictates that you, having made a choice, freely accept the consequences of that choice without faulting others for any undesirable outcome you may experience. It is the liberty to have sex, and the responsibility to parent the child that…
