The Order of Charity

Abstract

The apparent disorderliness of Scripture is merely superficial; it possesses a non-logical order which appeals to the heart. The affective aspects of this notion (hitherto subordinated to the cognitive) are discussed, in ways that illuminate Pascal’s conception of faith. The fundamental message of Scripture is the necessity of charity (the love of God). The notion of the three orders (the flesh, the mind, and the will) is explained. The greatness of Christ is as much above intellectual greatness as intellectual values transcend purely material magnitude. The love of God enables liberation from toxic self-love: the Christian ethic consists in learning to see ourselves not as isolated entities but as ‘thinking members’, parts of a spiritual body, the community of the faithful.