BONUS: Our 'Origin Stories' – How We Became Reformed Libertarians · The Reformed Libertarians Podcast · Radar

Kerry’s Early Life & Foundations1:24 – 4:18

Kerry BaldwinHost

1:24

From Lutheran Republican to Reformed Libertarian by Kiri Baldwin.

Kerry BaldwinHost

1:29

I was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in a politically and theologically conservative home.

Kerry BaldwinHost

1:36

I was baptized, catechized, and confirmed in faith at a local Missouri Synod Lutheran, LCMS, church.

Kerry BaldwinHost

1:43

My mother, raised Irish Catholic, the only person I've known with a BA in home economics, was never interested in politics.

Kerry BaldwinHost

1:51

But my father was.

Kerry BaldwinHost

1:53

And his views shaped mine as I grew up.

Kerry BaldwinHost

1:56

He was a Green Beret Vietnam veteran working for the Federal Department of Energy by the time I was born.

Kerry BaldwinHost

2:03

He was more or less a constitutionalist, as he understood it, and a registered Republican.

Kerry BaldwinHost

2:08

His major influences, as I recall, were Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, and to a lesser extent, Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot.

Kerry BaldwinHost

2:17

I was enamored by my father's sense of patriotism, duty to uphold the Constitution and America's founding principles, and distrust of the government.

Kerry BaldwinHost

2:27

Among other things, he impressed on me the importance of not working for, or depending upon, the government insofar as it was possible.

Kerry BaldwinHost

2:37

In my experience, Lutherans don't often have any sort of robust political theology.

Kerry BaldwinHost

2:42

This may be because their view of God's two kingdoms, in conscience and external matters respectively, tends to separate politics from spiritual concerns.

Kerry BaldwinHost

2:52

In any case, my parents were actively involved in both the fledgling homeschooling movement and pro-life activism.

Kerry BaldwinHost

3:00

One of my dad's religious influences at the time was Francis Schaeffer, a Presbyterian minister who promoted the pro-life cause among conservative Protestants.

Kerry BaldwinHost

3:10

My three brothers and I were homeschooled in our younger years before it was legal in New Mexico.

Kerry BaldwinHost

3:15

We spent many field trips at the state legislature as my and several other parents worked to legalize it, although in later years I attended both Lutheran and government schools.

Kerry BaldwinHost

3:26

I distinctly recall attending a number of pro-life events with my parents and brothers.

Kerry BaldwinHost

3:31

What I took away from those experiences at the time were the religious and emotional appeals of the movement.

Kerry BaldwinHost

3:38

The emotional appeal being the graphic nature of abortion.

Kerry BaldwinHost

3:41

The main idea was that hearts and minds of those who supported abortion would be changed if they were exposed to the horrific reality of what abortion actually is.

Kerry BaldwinHost

3:52

The religious appeal, at least among so-called evangelicals, seemed to be that scripture alone is sufficient and effective to argue against abortion.

Kerry BaldwinHost

4:01

I later came to the conclusion that, while both appeals have a certain degree of merit, they are ultimately naively reductionistic and therefore insufficient and ineffective in changing the social, political, and economic facts and beliefs that contribute to the legality and practice of abortion.