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# Evangelical Hat Tips
- URL: https://mereorthodoxy.com/evangelical-hat-tips/
- Published: 2005-05-31T16:37:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-20T21:40:12.000Z
- Description: Evangelical Hat Tips
- Author: Mere Orthodoxy
- Tags: Matthew Lee Anderson, Philosophy

I got home today and discovered [Joe Carter](http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/001342.html?ref=mereorthodoxy.com) clipped my restatement of his post. Thanks for the link, and welcome Evangelical Outpost readers.

In the same post, Carter writes:

> Personally, I have a hard time accepting the idea that libertarianism and Christianity are highly compatible. I think that libertarianism tends to favor the individual over other social structures, such as the family and community.

Disclaimer: I have yet to read [Mike's essay](http://www.blindmindseye.com/2005/05/25/christianity-and-libertarianism-some-thoughts-on-human-nature-and-the-state/?ref=mereorthodoxy.com): these are just a few quick thoughts that were prompted by Joe's comment.

Since I've picked on him lately, I'll continue. I haven't yet read the comments, so he may have clarified his position, but this hardly seems a tenable reason to dislike a philosophical position. After all, it was Christianity that gave us the concept of the individual (see Cochran's excellent [Christianity and Culture](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0865974136/qid=1117585653/sr=2-2/ref=pd%5Fbbs%5Fb%5F2%5F2/102-9169657-8623367?ref=mereorthodoxy.com)). At the least, Christianity teaches that the individual is primary in the order of salvation, and I see no reason why this can't also apply to political structures.