I bought a devotional of Puritan quotations entitled, The Puritans: Day by Day. As is indicated by the title, the devotional gives a series of quotations on different topics for each day of the year. The book is a treasure trove of Puritanical wisdom, and I recommend Christians and non-Christians alike to pick up a copy. We often imagine Puritans as violent, unenlightened Christians. This book corrects this misconception, making it clear that the Puritans are not the backwater, uneducated lunatics that the public school system1 portrays them as, but theologically sound and intelligent expositors of good practices for everyday life.
I was astounded when I came across a quote stating what I have thought for a while. Here it is:
“Unless man were his own maker, he cannot have any title to become his own master.” - Thomas Hall (The Puritans: Day by Day, page 139).
Essentially, God, by virtue of having created us, is our legitimate master. He holds a property title in us.
This is in stark contrast with the enlightened view of the world, that the world is completely open for the taking. No, by virtue of God creating the universe, he has legitimate claim to all that is within it.
In explaining the libertarian theory of legitimate property claims, theorists typically suppose uncreated humans that homestead unowned land. However, it is impossible for people to homestead land, at least not in the sense that it is discussed in these examples. God is the supreme homesteader. He first used all matter in the universe by creating all matter ex nihilo and actively upholding the existence of all matter.
Consequently, by virtue of all the ethical theorizing that consistent libertarians have done, God owns the universe and all that resides within it. Due to this, we must abide by God’s law.
Fortunately for libertarians, God has instituted laws which stem from and compliment private property. It is not my goal here to outline them in their entirety, but the commandment to “love thy neighbor as you love thyself” should suffice. Do not violate their property, which is based on their initial use of the land which God has given them.
Furthermore, you, as a creature made by God, must follow His commandments. You are obligated to. Many so-called victimless crimes have a victim. That victim is God. Take, for example, two consenting adults having sex outside of marriage. It is typically stated that this is a victimless crime. This is not true. God is the victim. God does not command that such things should happen; therefore, it is a violation of God’s private property right over mankind.
It does not necessarily follow that the government should intervene to correct such things for it is not clear that God mandates government action, but it is most definitely the responsibility of individuals to voluntarily refrain from actions that violate His law.
We, as humans, are given dominion over all the earth. Private property permeates all of God’s law, and from the scripture, it is evident that the slide from a libertarian social order to statism was not commanded by God, but directly advised against. As Christians, we are called to live by the word and not by the sword. Considering all of this, let us respect the less property rights of our neighbors while calling upon them to submit themselves and all that they have to God.
I have a number of theological projects in progress. This article is not a complete thought, but a snippet of what is to come. I would like to draw out all of the implications and limitations of this argument, but I think that would be best to do in another form. Feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me if you have any thoughts or critiques.
I remember reading a sermon by Jonathan Edwards in high school. The sermon’s point was that we need to repent or else fire and brimstone was waiting for us in the afterlife (I don’t remember what sermon it was specifically or else I would link to it). The point of it being assigned was obviously not to scare us into converting to Christianity, but to show how silly this radical strain of Christianity is (or was). “Look at how crazy and out-of-touch the Puritans were!” I remember liking the sermon. Before that, I started going to church and was taken aback by how critical of Edwards the teacher and my classmates were. I defended the sermon but was laughed at by my teacher and peers. It was not until recently that I realized how wrong it was for that sermon to be portrayed in such a way. The public school system, even in conservative areas like the one I grew up in, was openly hostile to true Christianity, preferring instead a pretend version of Christianity that caters to the present culture.
Great article, looking forward to reading others about this topic.
I LOVED THIS ARTICLE!! I can't wait for more. ✨️
Post modernist thought will not allow the individual to be claimed by God. Subjectivity is evil as it claims that there is no law. Social construct theory threatens basic dimensions of our society. In post modernity, there is no time as nothing exists. Thus, a post modern can't establish a healthy relationship with God. Evil has claimed them as their own, sinning becomes a part of everyday life. As the concept of sinning is "socially constructed." Sinning doesn't matter because there is no law only anarchy of the soul. If God does not own us, then, evil must own us.
Openness to accept God must be achieved by some form of purity. The law's purpose is to help us to become in alikeness with God. God gave us free will, not freedom of choice. Free will to choose God (existence) or deny God (existence). God owns who and what we are, to deny what we are and the purpose of being, is to deny existence. The individual practically lives in hell.
People's concepts of mercy and forgiveness are misconstrued by today's society. It's scary because the misconceptions of mercy promote more sinning. No sin is private. The individual is the victim. The society is the victim. Most importantly God is the victim. Forgiveness of sin must be achieved by good deeds and acts. Forgive but never forget. God never forgets the sin. Mercy is given to the sinners that love God with all their heart.