BREAKFAST BIBLE STUDY

Who Are the Righteous?

Matthew 5:10 (NRSVACE)

5/17/26

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus

Since we had a good planting this month, Grace and Christian decided we needed to head to the mall for some summer shopping, even though I think it’s going to storm.

Even though I think we can do our breakfast Bible studies anywhere, Grace and Christian get embarrassed when we talk about Jesus or the Bible while we’re out to eat on the road. That means that we do our breakfast Bible study while driving.

Grace does the driving, even though we are taking my truck. Christian rides in front so he can stretch his legs. I sit in the back, which is only fair because I am the youngest.

“You remembered your Bible,” Christian said.

“But I didn’t really need to because I know Matthew 5:10, which I’m not so sure the Christian nationalists would hate,” I said. “See, you said Christian nationalists hate the beatitudes because Christian nationalists left Jesus for Donald Trump and even built a golden calf that looks like Trump without the turkey neck.”

“They would claim they worship Jesus, not Trump,” Grace said. “They just don’t have a clue about his message.”

“Who gets persecuted for righteousness nowadays?” I asked.

“People who stand up and do the right thing often get knocked down,” Christian said. “In America, we have courts that are supposed to offer due process, but those courts are far from perfect. In other countries, people are imprisoned and killed for doing the right thing.”

“Like where?” I said.

“Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South America, Central America,” Christian said. “Russia, North Korea. Authoritarianism is on the rise all over the world.”

“In America, too,” Grace said.

“Because of Trump?” I asked.

“People are being taken to concentration camps without due process,” Grace said.

“It’s happened throughout history in America,” Christian said. “It’s happening now.”

“Christian nationalists wouldn’t like that?” I asked.

“Christian nationalists want righteousness for themselves,” Grace said. “They believe they are being persecuted. They believe persecuting people who are different will create some sort of justice for them, but it won’t.”

“Regular Christians get persecuted, don’t they?” I asked.

“That’s what we were taught in church,” Christian said. “It’s nonsense.”

“How come?”

“How many people around the Four Corners aren’t Christian?” Grace said.

“Sheriff Roberts doesn’t go to church,” I said. “I’m not sure who else.”

“Does Sheriff Roberts persecute Christians?” Grace asked.

“No.”

“Does the government protect religion?” Christian said.

“Isn’t that in the Constitution?” I asked.

“It sure is,” Grace said, “but many Christian nationalists believe those protections should only apply to Christianity. That’s why they want laws that otherize non-Christians.”

“Christians and Christian nationalists feel oppressed when they can’t force their beliefs on other people,” Christian said. “That’s the whole issue with prayer and the Ten Commandments in public schools.”

“But people can pray in school if they want and can get Bibles from the library,” I said.

“Not according to ongoing disinformation campaigns,” Christian said.

“People can send their kids to church schools, too,” I said. “That’s not persecution. I’m not sure adding prayer to schools hurts anybody.”

“If I forced a Buddhist or Hindu student to pray a Christian prayer, or read the Bible, or recite the Ten Commandments in public schools, would that be okay?” Christian asked. “Or am I forcing my beliefs on children who don’t share my beliefs?”

“If someone doesn’t want to participate in any of this Christian indoctrination, would they be harassed by classmates or mistreated by teachers? And trust me, there is a long tradition of this mistreatment in America,” Grace said.  

“I don’t know about all of that, but the Christian Bible could save anybody, right?” I asked.

“From what?” Grace said.

“From Hell,” I said.

“Who sends people to Hell?” Grace asked.

“They…um.”

“Who’s all-powerful?” Grace said.

“God.”

“So, people need to be saved from God?” Christian said.  

“But wait, Jesus said that those who are persecuted would get the kingdom of Heaven,” I said. “That’s the good part, right? So maybe if the Buddhist people are a little persecuted—”

“Are you saying Christians should persecute non-Christians to create some sort of loophole to salvation?” Grace asked.

“Would that work?” I asked.

“What do you think, Cole?” Grace asked.

“I don’t think anybody should be persecuted,” I said.

“Persecution always starts in seemingly benign increments,” Christian said.

“Now, I’m not sure about this beatitude,” I said. “Is it bad or good?”     

“Jesus was speaking to people who actually were persecuted,” Christian said. “Jesus was offering hope to the poor and oppressed. We’ll have to look at the woes that follow the beatitudes to see the type of people doing the persecuting.”

In state legislatures across the country, Christian fundamentalists are passing laws meant to force the teaching of the Christian Bible in public schools. From the posting of textually inaccurate iterations of the Ten Commandments on the walls of classrooms to the incorporation of the “Trump Bible” across multiple pedagogical disciplines, these laws and mandates are sweeping the reddest parts of this nation.

The height of hypocrisy is banning books in the name of “protecting children” while mandating one particular book rife with numerous acts of sexual violence and scenes of graphic violence and genocide.

Book bans are dangerous. The Bible is worth reading and exists online and in public school libraries across the country, but proponents of mandating its formal teaching in public schools need to know what it actually says.

Some of the biblical themes in the books below might not be appropriate for children.