New Traces Dispatch
The Order of Love by Norm Klassen
Dear Traces community,
We are excited to launch the new, exclusive Traces dispatch: “The Order of Love” by Norm Klassen.
Klassen teaches in the English Department at St Jerome’s University and in the rhetoric program at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario. His two-part essay, “The Supremacy of Love,” appeared in the inaugural issue of Traces Journal. This essay serves as an excellent prelude to “The Order of Love” dispatch, where Klassen will observe a commonplace cultural trope, love-and-reason-in-tension, through ancient and contemporary examples ranging from the writing of Augustine to the popular American TV series Mad Men.
Read the first installment and subscribe to regular updates from “The Order of Love” here:
An Introduction to "The Order of Love"
Augustine (354–430 CE) taught that we are to order our loves correctly. In simplest terms, we are to love only God, to desire only him, to enjoy only him. Relative to the enjoyment of God, everything else is only to be used. To enjoy something other than God is to make an idol of it. It is to set that thing up as a rival good to God.
If you’re curious to read more, we suggest diving into Klassen’s two-part essay, “The Supremacy of Love.”
Be sure to like, comment, and share! As always, happy reading.
Maya Venters,
Traces Journal