One of the most prominent Christian news outlets in the U.S. published an op-ed written by Joe Biden this Thursday, where the Democratic presidential candidate declares that "loving God and loving others" is the "very foundation" of his faith.
"Throughout my career in public service, these values have kept me grounded in what matters most. As a husband, father, and grandfather, they are the cornerstone upon which our family is built," Biden writes in the Christian Post. "Through the pain of losing my wife, my daughter, and my son, they have sustained me with eternal hope. My faith has been a source of immeasurable solace in times of grief, and a daily inspiration to fight against the abuse of power in all its forms. "
Biden says his Catholic faith has helped instill in him a "core truth" -- that every person on earth is equal in rights and dignity, "because we are all beloved children of God," adding that while the U.S. has never been completely perfect or free of prejudice, it has never walked away from those ideals.
Ultimately, Biden says, we're in a "battle for the soul of our nation."
"We saw it in Charlottesville in 2017, the hatred and boiling rage of those people coming out of the fields carrying tiki torches and chanting the same anti-Semitic bile we heard in the 1930s," he continues. "We’ve seen it far too often since – attacks on immigrants, communities of color, people of different faiths – violence stemming from those who would stoke hate and division in our country. It has become too easy in recent years to define our neighbors as “others” rather than children of God and fellow Americans. It has to stop. We have to strive harder to come together, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. That is the work we are all called to by God."
Read the full op-ed over at The Christian Post.