VIDEO FRIDAYS: Not St. Augustine’s “Ordo Amoris”

Dan McClellan’s videos popped up in my feeds months ago and I greatly appreciated his clear response to all the internet noise centered on the Bible and Biblical Scholarship. I did have to take a double-take when I found out McClellan’s personal connection to the LDS Church, but his academic rigor and mantra: “Data before Dogma” continues to encourage my belief in the ability of trained professionals to separate their personal feelings from their professional and academic practice. But this video is different from other Dan McClellan videos in that it’s longer and addresses comments made by VP JD Vance claiming to adhere to St. Augustine’s “Ordo Amoris” or “Order of Love” in understanding how we, as a Christian Nation, are supposed to “Love our neighbor.”

For those unfamiliar with St. Augustine or St. Aquinas this video might feel like it gets a bit into the weeds, but the point is that what JD Vance is claiming is actually the opposite of what these two scholars were teaching. While acknowledging our natural tendencies to care about those close to us and have less or no concern for others, The Order of Love, says that this isn’t a zero-sum-gain, but that the same compassion and empathy that we have for those whom we have direct contact with should also be given to the stranger and the person not of our tribe. We exercise this love with those closest to us, but it should be available to all, and we certainly to not weaponize it so that we can feel justified in sending the stranger away, or punishing them for coming here without asking our permission. How should I feel if I hear you say that you love your neighbor, as Jesus directed, but then see you scream that all the “illegals” should be forcefully deported and punished for trying to come to this country. Who is your neighbor?