In his book Introduction to Christianity, Pope Benedict explains that being a Christian means, essentially, undergoing a transformation: from being "for" oneself to being "for" one another. I have often heard people say that it is for this reason that libertarianism, with its emphasis on individual liberty and limited government, is simply not compatible with Christianity. It seems there are growing numbers of Americans, many of them Christians, who believe that people are "for one another" only insofar as they are "for" certain kinds of government action. Fail to extol the pet projects of Holy Mother State (whether national healthcare or war) at a critical juncture, and people will often say: "You call yourself a Christian? What about sacrifice!" It’s a familiar refrain these days.

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