Intro to the New Church Doctrines Journal #9

[Image Description: "BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ARE PERSECUTED BECAUSE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, FOR THEIRS IS IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. -MATTHEW 5:10" in center-aligned white letters on a black letter board with beige wooden bordering. The letter board is also standing on a flowered table cloth on a white bureau with a bright pink wall as the background.]



CONTENT WARNING: The religious/spiritual opinions on this blog post are mine based on my own experiences and do not reflect the opinions and experiences of everyone. Commentaries published on my First Former Buddy Club President influencer page represent diverse viewpoints. If you would like to submit a commentary, please contact me for more information. All perspectives and experiences are welcome here.


In my first trimester at Bryn Athyn College, I was required to take a religion course along with eventually some other religion courses since it is a religious school. Bryn Athyn practices the New Church religion of Swedenborg so the required religion course that I took this trimester was Intro to the New Church Doctrines. For the class, one of the required assignments was to write daily journals based on readings from "You Can Believe!: An Introduction to the New Christianity" written by Grant Schnarr (The author was actually my professor for the class! He is a minister in the church!) and we students had to apply what we read to our lives. So, since some of the content mentioned in this short essay that I wrote is related to the content that I post on my disability advocacy influencer page, I have decided to upload it is a blog post. Here is Journal #9.


TRIGGER WARNING: In addition, if you are affected bullying, violence, and/or any type of abuse this blog post may be triggering. If you need support right now, please seek help from a therapist, other mental health professional, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text "HOME" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 if you live in the USA or text "CONNECT" to the Crisis Text Line at 686868 if you live in Canada.






Prompt: "Read the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5-7 (Bible). Copy and paste your favorite part into the journal. Journal about the part that you found the most interesting. Show me you read, thought deeply about what you read, and apply it to your life."

Quote I chose: "11 'Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.'"

    While there are many positive people in the world, unfortunately, there are also many people who choose to act cruelly worldwide. In Chapter 5 of the Gospel of Matthew in the Bible, the following is stated: "11 'Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.'" I can definitely relate to this because how people treat others does not define the individual being treated that way; it defines the character of the person choosing to make those acts.

    Evil actions can include a variety of things such as bullying, violence, discrimination, abuse, and plenty of other toxic behaviors. Life is supposed to be where everyone builds connections with each other and do positive things; meanwhile, however, the world can also be full of hatred and conformity when people say mean things to or about others. These issues can contribute to part of what causes people's mental health to decline by not feeling good enough. I like that this quote recognizes that despite how hurtful any evil actions can be, what happened does not define the warriors of this trauma. Matthew addresses this when he refers to the victims as "Blessed are you" and that they will go to Heaven for being such great people (Matthew 11). He also addresses how the warriors still matter in this world despite what was said about them when he states "14 'You are the light of the world." Overall, this Matthew 11:12 quote serves as a reminder that despite cruelty that anyone experiences, the warriors are still beautiful people and thanks them for their positive character.

Related Links:



If you are interested in reading the Gospel of Matthew too, here the link to the online version that I was assigned to read for this class: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205-7&version=NIV 



If you are affected by bullying, violence, or any abuse, you are not alone and there is hope. If you or someone you know needs support right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text "HOME" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 if you live in the USA or text "CONNECT" to the Crisis Text Line at 686868 if you live in Canada.

You can also visit The Mighty's hotline resources page by clicking on this link: https://themighty.com/suicide-prevention-resources/





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                                                           Citations

1. "Matthew 5-7 NIV - Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount." Bible Gateaway. N.d. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205-7&version=NIV 

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