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Rory Stewart@RoryStewartUK · Jan 31, 2025

An honour to have my IQ questioned by you Mr VP. But your attempts to speak for Christ are false and dangerous.…

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Summary

A thread arguing that Christian teachings emphasize universal love and radical inclusion of outsiders and enemies, not tribal prioritization of family and in-group. The author contends that invoking Christ to justify selfishness or in-group loyalty contradicts core Christian principles of equality and care for the vulnerable.

Summarized by ThreadOut AI from the full thread. May miss nuance — read the thread below.

  1. #1

    An honour to have my IQ questioned by you Mr VP. But your attempts to speak for Christ are false and dangerous. Nowhere does Jesus suggest that love is to be prioritized in concentric circles. His love is universal. 🧵

    JD Vance@JDVance · Jan 30, 2025

    I’ve said before and I’ll say it again: the problem with Rory and people like him is that he has an IQ of 110 and thinks he has an IQ of 130. This false arrogance drives so much elite failure over the last 40 years.

  2. #2

    This is what made Christianity so radical among tribal religions. When asked “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus chose a Samaritan—an outsider and theological enemy of the Jews—as the moral exemplar - to challenge the idea that obligation is primarily to one’s own people or community.

  3. #3

    This does not mean that Christians should not care for their families. St Augustine + Aquinas talk about why for practical and emotional reasons we focus on those closest to us. And they reflect on how difficult it can be to reconcile love with the demands of justice and mercy.

  4. #4

    But Christian love is radical precisely because it always extends to the most vulnerable and marginalised and to those we desperately do not want to love. Hence “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven”

  5. #5

    Christ does not command loyalty to family first; instead he calls for total allegiance to God. Hence he says “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.”

  6. #6

    Aquinas lived this demand painfully and personally - for he himself turned away from his family and nation for the love of God.

  7. #7

    Christ’s message is astonishingly difficult. We all fall short magnificently. We all are drawn to care most for those closest to us. That is why it is so difficult to encourage people to support the poor in Africa or at home.

  8. #8

    I too am very selfish. We are often a deeply selfish and tribal species. But the last person we should be invoking to justify our selfishness is Christ.

  9. #9

    And the fundamental underlying principle of Christianity is that we are ALL people created in God’s’ Image. Equal in rights and dignity. Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”