Worldview

I believe the fundamental and irreducible question of human existence is: “Who is God?”

Regardless of our formal religious affiliations (or lack thereof), it could be said that the office of “God” exists in every human heart because all of us recognize some ultimate authority. But the position of "God" is not always given to the person of God. The occupant of that office is often someone very different; usually ourselves.

Our god's identity is of paramount importance because it is the wellspring of every personal value that governs our lives, from morals to ethics to political convictions, family lives, personal priorities, and so on. Our god’s identity is the basis for our own.

For my part, I believe God is the God of the Bible who, despite having told us how to live, has also given us the freedom to make our own decisions, be they to our benefit or peril. From Him, we have each received an equal measure of value, from which are derived rights that cannot justly be denied to us by those who did not impart them.

Man, however, is fallen — a morally stunted and self-serving creature. A natural tyrant, he constantly attempts to impose his flawed will on those within his grasp, instinctively trampling their rights and extinguishing their lives, which he regards as valuable only insofar as they are useful.

This innate tyranny has made liberty a historical anomaly. It never occurs by chance, but is always an intentional departure from human behavior, awkward and unnatural. Its friction with our nature places it under constant assault, such that it appears on the world stage only as a brief interlude between despotisms.

Without a vigilant defense, liberty collapses as its unsecured virtues are overwhelmed by a relentless tide of human vices. To guard against this destruction, citizens must be morally self-governed, and government’s foremost priority must be the protection of individual liberty, without which collective liberty is unattainable and tyranny certain.