Questions on being Christian and libertarian in a coherent way? In an episode of the “And If Love Remains” podcast, host Mike Lovett interviews Kerry Baldwin, a Reformed libertarian thinker and founder of MereLiberty.com, who shares her journey from Ron Paul-inspired minarchism to Christian anarchism, emphasizing trust in God over monopolized state power for governance. Baldwin critiques Christian nationalism—particularly figures like Doug Wilson and Stephen Wolfe—as coercive and incompatible with true faith, arguing that genuine Christianity spreads through voluntary persuasion and love, not state enforcement or “cultural Christianity” via the sword.
She defends a pro-life libertarian stance on abortion using property rights from conception while respecting women’s rights, counters Walter Block’s evictionism, challenges idealized 1950s gender roles as unbiblical and industrialization-driven, and highlights issues like gun rights suspensions tied to underlying social crises such as male suicide rates.
Summary – On Being Christian and Libertarian – And if Love Remains Podcast
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| 00:00 | Introduction |
| 02:04 | Bio and how I became libertarian – Ron Paul, Non-interventionist foreign policy, minarchism, anarchism |
| 05:50 | Is libertarianism anti-religious, and where did Christians stop trusting God for civil governance? Monopolization of power and authoritarian Christians |
| 11:15 | Top down vs bottom up; law and order; |
| 12:23 | Christian nationalism and Doug Wilson, Stephen Wolfe |
| 15:33 | Who counts as Christian in a Christian nation? |
| 17:03 | Civil religious pluralism – disagreement over religious beliefs is a matter of persuasion. |
| 15:58 | We’re living the product of so-called “cultural Christianity” – Christianity is not spread through the sword. |
| 20:07 | Mises Institute / Mises Caucus; Abortion; Walter Block |
| 23:48 | Human rights in terms of property rights from conception; recognizing the property rights of women |
| 24:58 | The Libertarian Party was not de facto pro-choice |
| 28:33 | Steel-man Walter Block’s view of Evictionism |
| 34:50 | Where is your research taking you? |
| 36:33 | Libertarian Christian and gender roles; 1950s housewife is not Biblical ideal because it was the first time in boys were raised exclusively by their mothers |
| 42:50 | The romanticizing of separating families in the name of economic opportunity |
| 43:55 | Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and suspension of 2nd amendment – epidemiology of gun violence – suicide (not homicide) is the problem. |
| 47:07 | Closing |
In this episode of “And If Love Remains,” host Mike Lovett interviews Kerry Baldwin, an independent researcher and writer, founder of MereLiberty.com, and a contributor to the Libertarian Christian Institute. She also hosts a podcast called “Dare to Think” (1:10–1:40).
Kerry’s origin story
Baldwin shares her origin story (1:59–2:03), detailing her upbringing in a “red-blooded Republican” family in New Mexico (2:10–2:37). Her journey into libertarianism began during the 2008 presidential primary when she realized Ron Paul was the only constitutional candidate (2:37–3:21). Initially a minarchist, she became a libertarian anarchist in 2016 after exploring the theological implications of anarchism and its alignment with scripture (4:40–5:13).
Christian Nationalism
She discusses the historical tendency of believers to turn to the state, citing examples from the Old Testament with Israel demanding a king, and New Testament times with Jews expecting a political Messiah (6:50–8:01). Baldwin criticizes Christian nationalism, particularly the views of Doug Wilson and Stephen Wolfe (12:21–13:20). She argues that Christian nationalism is a “bait and switch” that, despite sounding benign, ultimately requires the state to endorse a specific interpretation of Christianity, thus undermining true religious freedom and leading to coercion (13:47–17:00). She believes that cultural Christianity, which she sees as leading to the current “disaster” of a culture, is not the answer; genuine Christian society comes through voluntary conversion and love, not force (18:47–20:03).
Debate with Walter Block on Abortion
Baldwin delves into her debate with Walter Block on abortion, which focused on a libertarian theory of abortion from a Rothbardian perspective, using property rights arguments (21:21–21:46). She took the pro-life side, arguing for the rights of the fetus from conception based on property rights, while also recognizing the rights of the woman (24:03–24:20). She clarifies the historical stance of the Libertarian Party on abortion, noting it was not initially on their radar and their platform plank on the issue was a reflection of Roe v. Wade (26:02–26:28). She explains that the party was historically divided on the issue (27:57–28:23). She also outlines Walter Block’s “evictionism” argument, where he views an unwanted fetus as an “unwanted guest” that a woman has the right to evict from her body (29:00–29:40). Baldwin counters this by stating that the emergence of new life is not analogous to renting an apartment or having an unwanted guest, and that natural law should be the basis for deriving normative law in such cases (31:19–33:00). Her current research focuses on fleshing out how property rights can answer questions about common property in the context of pregnancy (34:07–34:10).
Gender Roles and Industrialization
She then discusses gender roles and industrialization (36:50–37:00). She argues that libertarianism dictates the government should stay out of promoting or financing specific gender roles or interventions like gender reassignment surgery (37:34–38:09). Baldwin pushes back on the 1950s housewife ideal, noting it’s not historically accurate or biblical, and points out that industrialization, by taking fathers out of the home, led to women exclusively raising boys for the first time, contributing to today’s “boy crisis” (38:49–41:20).
Towards the end of the interview, Baldwin touches upon the New Mexico governor’s attempt to ban the Second Amendment (43:50–43:54), and critiques the focus on gun violence without addressing the underlying issue of suicide rates among men and teen boys in New Mexico, suggesting that government intervention and economic issues are major contributing factors (44:44–47:01).
On Being Christian and Libertarian
Kerry Baldwin’s future research plans include submitting her work on abortion theory for peer review, with the eventual goal of turning it into a book (35:41–35:57).
You can find more of Kerry Baldwin’s work at mereliberty.com (48:00–48:03), where you can also support her research and find information on her critical thinking courses (48:05–48:36). Additionally, for libertarian content from a Christian perspective, you can visit reformedlibertarians.com (48:43–49:09).
