In an op-ed published by the Christian Post on Thursday, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden cited Scripture and his Catholic faith in an attempt to appeal to religious voters. However, some noted that if Biden really believes that man is made in the image of God like he asserts, he would not support the murder of unborn children.
In the piece, entitled “The Greatest Commandment Has Guided My Politics,” Biden quoted from Matthew 22:36-40, in which Jesus stated that the two greatest commandments are to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” and to “love thy neighbor as thyself.”
“These abiding principles — loving God and loving others — are at the very foundation of my faith,” Biden wrote. “Throughout my career in public service, these values have kept me grounded in what matters most.”
He said that the commandments are the “cornerstone” of his family and sustained him when he lost his first wife and infant daughter in a car crash in 1972, as well as when his son Beau died in 2015 of brain cancer.
“My Catholic faith drilled into me a core truth — that every person on earth is equal in rights and dignity, because we are all beloved children of God. We are all created ‘imago Dei’ — beautifully, uniquely, in the image of God, with inherent worth,” Biden stated. “It is the same creed that is at the core of our American experiment and written into our founding documents — that we are all created equal and endowed by our creator with inalienable rights.”
He then proceeded to address various societal issues, including systemic racism in America, which he said is “antithetical to the idea of imago Dei, and which has long deprived too many of our sisters and brothers of color of the opportunities they deserve as equal children of God.”
Biden also talked about his plan to combat the novel coronavirus, including quicker testing, rapid distribution of a vaccine and making mask-wearing mandatory.
“It’s not a political statement. It’s a manifestation of God’s commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves, so we can save lives,” he said.
The former vice president under the Obama administration stated that his faith motivates him to tackle the issue of poverty, citing Christ’s words that “to whom much is given, much will be required.”
“It means building an economy more reflective of the hope expressed in Isaiah 65 — a world where children are not born into misfortune, where workers fully share in the fruits of their labor, where the old live out their years,” he stated.
Biden additionally pointed to the Bible’s commandments to welcome the stranger, which he said are “a direct extension of the Greatest Commandment.”
“People of faith have been at the forefront of many of our country’s most important achievements for justice, equality, and peace. I remain committed to partnering with congregations, faith-based organizations, and faith leaders to strengthen and expand the important work they do to meet essential community needs made worse by this pandemic,” he wrote. “We are called, as Christians, to serve rather than be served, and a Biden-Harris administration will embody that foundational value.”
As previously reported, Kamala Harris also identifies herself as a person of faith, as she attends Third Baptist Church of San Francisco, led by Amos Brown.
However, while Biden spoke much about faith, some readers were quick to note that the unborn are also our neighbor.
“If you love God with all your heart, soul and mind, how then can one approve of murdering unborn children being formed in the womb by God? How can one approve of gender mutilation of children created in the image of God?” one commenter wrote.
“How can one approve of same-sex marriage when God created male and female to be bound in marriage before God? You see, Joe, loving your neighbor as yourself is only acceptable to God when loving God with ALL comes first and is the foundation of such brotherly.”
“While we cannot know the motive of anyone, we can know people ‘by their fruits.’ This man says we are going into a winter of death and supports abortion,” another noted.
“Perhaps Joe missed the part about protecting the widows and orphans, since he supports killing the unborn,” a third likewise stated. “And he missed the part about God creating two genders, man and woman.”
MOST CLAIM TO BE CHRISTIAN
As previously reported, most presidential candidates have claimed to be people of faith, including Hillary Clinton, who told New York Times’ Sunday Book Review in 2014 that the Bible is “the biggest influence on my thinking.” In 2016, she told “The View,” “I’m a Christian, and I take my faith very seriously. It has gotten me through some difficult times in the course of my life.”
In 2013, then-President Barack Obama stated during the National Prayer Breakfast, “God has told us how He wishes for us to spend our days. His Commandments are there to be followed. Jesus is there to guide us; the Holy Spirit to help us. Love the Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. See in everyone, even in those with whom you disagree most vehemently, the face of God. For we are all His children.”
And in an article published last week, current President Donald Trump told Religion News Service that he identifies as a non-denominational Christian.
“Melania and I have gotten to visit some amazing churches and meet with great faith leaders from around the world. During the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak, I tuned into several virtual church services and know that millions of Americans did the same,” he said.
Last month, on the National Day of Prayer and Return, Trump released an official statement, remarking in part, “As we continue to combat the challenges ahead of us, we must remember the sage words of President George Washington during his first Presidential Address: ‘[the] propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.’ As a country and a people, let us renew our commitment to these abiding and timeless principles.”
And Vice President Mike Pence, who identifies as an evangelical Catholic, likewise penned an op-ed in the Christian Post on Thursday, asserting that “people of faith have no greater champion than President Donald J. Trump.”
The late Princeton theology professor B.B. Warfield once stated, “If everything that is called Christianity in these days is Christianity, then there is no such thing as Christianity. A name applied indiscriminately to everything designates nothing.”
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