Vice President JD Vance is stirring up conversations again—especially among Christians—after invoking classical theology to defend nationalism and civilizations. Some are praising his insights, while others seem either confused or outright furious.
The Hierarchy of Love: Why Priorities Matter
During a one-on-one interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Vance laid out a traditional Christian view of love, emphasizing that love isn’t just a vague, feel-good emotion—it has an order. He explained:
“You love your family, then you love your neighbor, then your community, then your fellow citizens in your own country. And then, after that you can you focus and prioritize the rest of the world. A lot of the far-left has completely inverted that. They seem to hate the citizens of their own country and care more about people outside their borders. That is no way to run a society.”
This is a principle President Trump has embraced through his “America First” approach. Trump went out of his way to create an America First Coalition by bringing former Democrats into the America First fold because they understand the concept. Trump has expanded his Republican Party with like-minded Americans who believe the government needs to serve the American people before any foreigner.
Trump once said, “America First doesn’t mean America alone. It means we take care of our people first, and then we worry about the rest of the world.” And he was right.
Vance pointed out that this isn’t some radical new idea. Leaders around the world do it. Xi Jinping prioritizes China, Vladimir Putin prioritizes Russia, and Britain’s prime minister focuses on Britain. It’s common sense that a leader’s first duty is to their own people. That used to be politics 101. Yet, for some reason, liberals in America have their priorities mixed up. They believe that the United States needs to take care of the rest of the world first, and Americans last. It is a twisted backward way of representing the American people, and it’s why Donald Trump won in an absolute landslide on November 5.
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Ordo Amoris: The Right Ordering of Love
Vance referenced the idea of Ordo Amoris—a theological concept that means love must be properly ordered. This idea, championed by St. Augustine, is central to classical Christian thought. But as Vance noted, many modern Christians seem unaware of it:
“There were all these comments after the interview—’Who are you to claim to order my loves?’ ‘How dare you define what I’m supposed to love?’ This reaction exposes the total failure of contemporary American Christianity, which has become radically secularized.”
Vance is highlighting something profound: classical Christianity teaches that love must be aligned with divine order, while modern progressive ideology often pushes love in disordered, destructive ways.
Vance added:
“There’s something very deranged in the mind of the far left in this country where I really do think that they feel more of a sense of compassion for illegal aliens who have no right to be in this country than they do their fellow citizens. And that really has to change.”
Ordered Love in the Ancient World
Ancient societies didn’t just believe in “doing what feels right.” They embraced what’s known as cosmic piety—the idea that the universe has a divine order, and that to live well, we must align our lives with it. This belief was foundational to wisdom and virtue.
The Bible reinforces this. In Genesis, God declares creation “good” (tov in Hebrew, kosmos in Greek). But not everything was equally good—humanity was called “very good.” This shows a divine hierarchy of value, which forms the basis of ordered love.
St. Augustine later built on this idea, defining virtue as ordo amoris—the proper ordering of love. Here’s a simple way to understand it. Loving a child is good. Loving a cheesesteak is good as well. However, if both of them are about to fall off a cliff, and you save the cheesesteak, you have utterly failed at ordering your loves in the world.
There’s nothing wrong with the cheesesteak itself. The problem is failing to recognize which love should come first.
Disordered Love and the Fall
This disordering of love is exactly what led to The Fall in Genesis 3. When Eve saw that the fruit was “good for food” and “desirable to make one wise,” her desires were out of order:
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise… (KJV)”
Instead of trusting God’s wisdom, she pursued wisdom apart from Him. That’s what happens when love is disordered—it leads people away from divine truth.
The Greatest Commandment: Love in the Right Order
Jesus reaffirmed this ordering of love when He declared:
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself… Matthew 22:37-39 (KJV) “
Did you notice the order? Love of God comes first, then love of others. Christianity isn’t just about loving—it’s about loving correctly.
Culture, Paideia, and Civilizational Christianity
So how does this concept of ordered love apply to society? The answer lies in paideia, an ancient Greek word referring to the values, customs, and traditions passed down through generations or the rearing of the ideal member of the society. In the early Church, paideia became synonymous with cultura—where we get the word culture.
St. Paul emphasized this in Ephesians 6, urging fathers to raise their children in the paideia of the Lord—a distinctly Christian culture. Early Christians didn’t reject existing cultures, but transformed them through faith. That’s how Christian civilization took shape.
Now you know why the radical left in this country can’t stand Christians. They don’t like to be told they have to follow an order of love to maintain a healthy society because they know better. Just ask them and they’ll tell you so.
Christian Nationalism vs. Secular Globalism
Throughout history, Christianity has shaped cultures rather than erasing them. Today, Eastern Orthodox nations like Russia, Greece, Serbia, and Armenia embrace civilizational nationalism, integrating faith with their national identity. Christianity, and the Bible itself, create a formula for how to behave in a structured civilization that will last and thrive. Take that away and chaos ensues.
On the other hand, modern secular globalism does the opposite. The left often pushes an ideology where loving one’s own nation is considered wrong while prioritizing outsiders is celebrated. However, the Christian vision involves love all the way through, while the secular vision involves love for one and hatred for the other.
This was evident during the recent controversy at the National Cathedral, where a leftist bishop used their platform to condemn her own country instead of affirming its Christian heritage. I wrote an email explaining my distress at how Bishop Mariann Budde virtue signaled President Trump and Vice President Vance on Inauguration Day. It was a disgrace and a sign that even some in the clergy have lost the idea of ordered love.
A Christian Civilization: Ordered Love on a Global Scale
Christianity doesn’t teach us to reject outsiders—it teaches us to strengthen our own culture so we can better serve others. A nation aligned with God’s design becomes a beacon of hope and light.
That’s what Vance is advocating for: a return to ordo amoris, where love is properly ordered so nations and cultures thrive.
JD Vance and the Return to Classical Christianity
Vance’s defense of ordo amoris is one of the most compelling restatements of classical Christian theology in modern politics. While progressives promote a distorted, disordered view of love—one that erodes national identity and Christian civilization—Vance is calling for a return to historical Christianity. No one in modern political memory has articulated this profound vision more faithfully than our very own vice president.
His message is clear: if we want a thriving society, we must first love correctly or rightly—starting with God, then our families, our communities, and our nation. That’s not just a spiritual calling—it’s the foundation for civilization itself. God Bless.
#JDVance #AmericaFirst #ChristianNationalism
