"The civil government, according to Scripture is supposed to "punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right." How do you determine what is right or wrong in a certain society or civilization?
You really only have a few options:
The majority of people in a society determine it for themselves for that time and place. (Cultural Relativism)
It is determined by the ruling elite (Monarchy, Republic, Oligarchy, etc.)
There is a higher moral law to which all people are accountable.
This is where Libertarianism falls short. Ayn Rand and other Libertarians have tried to create a moral order called Objectivism. It teaches that you can have a moral law, without a Moral Law-Giver (i.e. God). Libertarianism and Objectivism (concepts that are joined at the hip) are both deeply rooted in Secular Humanism and the Epistemology of human reason alone being sufficient to determine Ethics.
Despite their protests to the contrary, a pure Libertarian can never truly say that anything is Objectively right or wrong.
This is why Ron Paul (whose worldview is Libertarian) will not say that homosexuality is a sin:
Any political philosophy that does not begin with Theism (a belief in a personal God) as THE FOUNDATION of all Law, will end up eventually in the ditches of Totalitarianism or Anarchy. It is important to view the political spectrum depicted above as a circle. Without the restraining influence of Biblical morality in our culture, Libertarianism quickly turns into Anarchy, which then quickly leads all the way back to Totalitarianism. Anarchy is not sustainable for any society, and only order and structural rule can hold it together" (Biblical Worldview).
You really only have a few options:
The majority of people in a society determine it for themselves for that time and place. (Cultural Relativism)
It is determined by the ruling elite (Monarchy, Republic, Oligarchy, etc.)
There is a higher moral law to which all people are accountable.
This is where Libertarianism falls short. Ayn Rand and other Libertarians have tried to create a moral order called Objectivism. It teaches that you can have a moral law, without a Moral Law-Giver (i.e. God). Libertarianism and Objectivism (concepts that are joined at the hip) are both deeply rooted in Secular Humanism and the Epistemology of human reason alone being sufficient to determine Ethics.
Despite their protests to the contrary, a pure Libertarian can never truly say that anything is Objectively right or wrong.
This is why Ron Paul (whose worldview is Libertarian) will not say that homosexuality is a sin:
Any political philosophy that does not begin with Theism (a belief in a personal God) as THE FOUNDATION of all Law, will end up eventually in the ditches of Totalitarianism or Anarchy. It is important to view the political spectrum depicted above as a circle. Without the restraining influence of Biblical morality in our culture, Libertarianism quickly turns into Anarchy, which then quickly leads all the way back to Totalitarianism. Anarchy is not sustainable for any society, and only order and structural rule can hold it together" (Biblical Worldview).
