Child abuse definitions: Why the Bible calls for tougher laws on the books protecting children from abuse

Many parents think that the Bible has no concept of child abuse apart from obeying the law of the land. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. Most American parents support the present-day definitions of child abuse under state and federal law. However, God's Law is above the law of the land. The Bible has its own definition of child abuse - whatever the child victim perceives as abuse.

The Greek root word denoting parental entitlement is πλεονέκτης (Latin: pleonektés) and is defined as, officially speaking, wanting things from children, to the point of imposition. Unofficially speaking, parental entitlement consists of a parent who is sorely disappointed whenever they don't get the well-behaved child that they feel that they deserve. Parents are deserving of absolutely nothing in relation to children just for existing. Even any parent anger directed towards a child is parental entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. Whenever this sense of entitlement in parents was perceived by a child as offensive or damaging, it was deemed child abuse. See also Colossians 3:21 KJV:

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. Child abuse in the Bible, as a legal concept, consists of entitlement in parents, leading to offense in children. The key to not abusing your child is to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just as hurt feelings are inevitable in relations between adults, hurt feelings are also inevitable in children when dealing with them. Thus, in order to avoid offense in children, you need to be willing to give a meaningful apology whenever you hurt your child's feelings. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent coming from parents, in the form of an informal apology, whenever you hurt your children's feelings with limits not set out of anger, such as "I'm sorry, but I had to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if you ever lose your cool with your child as a parent, including while setting limits, you definitely need to give a formal apology for hurting your child's feelings with your anger, such as "I apologize for losing my temper with you", and then commit never to lose your cool with your child ever again, as any parent anger directed towards children alone is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. This commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin phrase roughly translating to "power to the parent", namely the power to impose punitive sanctions on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. However, this commandment was ultimately received by the parish at Colossae as prohibiting all forms of offenses as perceived by a child, at minimum. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive parenting in his secular writings.  Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men. 

The Greek root word translated "they be discouraged" is αθυμέω (Latin: athumeo) and refers here to long-term damages, including childhood trauma. The ancients had a basic understanding of childhood trauma. Whenever a child grew up to be atheist, it was seen as a shame on the parents, not the child, with the parents being suspected of child abuse. An atheist was seen in the Early Church as an abused child, not a "lost soul" to be :won over". 

The ancients even had a concept of child sexual abuse. The Greek root word translated "fornication" is πορνεία (Latin: porneia) and refers here to any sexual relations outside of the context of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman, with the marriage having to be equal in nature. Most child sexual abuse then came in the form of father-child incest, with daughters being the usual target. Fathers in particular avoided sex with his daughter by indulging in righteous masturbation without pornography to the fantasy of his daughter. All sexual interaction between an adult and a child was seen as child sexual abuse in the Bible. Child sexual abuse in the Early Church was rare, meaning next to non-existent ,apart from a few cases that shocked the whole Israelite nation. 

Child abuse in the Early Church was prosecuted by way of an internal investigation. In most cases, this investigation started with a child confiding into a clergyperson about their home life. From there, the parents of the child victim were summoned to appear before a council of 3 elders, who would decide the fate of the parents. If the parents defended themselves at all in open court, as opposed to answering to the court directly, they were swiftly excommunicated from the Early Christian Churches of God for their entitlement.

The Bible is an anti-spanking document. All 88 books of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation - were written by anti-spanking Jews, with no Jew worth mentioning ever condoning the punitive treatment of children. Each of the biblical writers also wrote parenting manuals that advocated attachment parenting. Even King Solomon wrote an attachment parenting manual, with the rod in Proverbs referring to the 40 minus 1 lashes. It just so happens that these parenting manuals were not translated into English until the 1960s. 

The Bible is America's book. America is a Christian nation, founded on Judeo-Christian values. We as a society glean from the Bible and its context as to how to live and treat each other with respect. Even our legal codes under the English common law are based off of biblical teaching. However, the "reasonable chastisement" defense is based off of dated biblical teaching. It is about time we repeal the "reasonable chastisement" defense, and amend the child abuse definitions under state and federal law as being whatever the child victim perceives as abuse. 

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torrents, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

Original sin: How to talk to children about original sin

The doctrine of original sin is perhaps the most misused of all Christian teachings. However, original sin is the backbone of the Christian faith. Without original sin, Christ died in vain. Children need to know about the doctrine of original sin. However, sin shaming is not how you inform a child of their sinful nature. 

We as human beings are flawed creatures. Human beings are deserving of absolutely nothing just for existing. Mankind has turned his back on God. God hates most all of mankind, choosing a few of His creation as His adopted children. God rescued us from a peacekeeping past. There is nothing good about human nature. We as a species are glorified apes. Children aren't the only sinners. We all have turned our backs on God as human beings.

God's Law on child discipline, including instructing children in the Christian faith, is spelled out in Ephesians 6:4 KJV:

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

This first stanza of this commandment prohibits sin shaming. The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is παροργίζο (Latin: parorgizo) and refers here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. The key here is to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just like hurt feelings are inevitable between adults, hurt feelings are also inevitable in children when dealing with them. One thing that hurts children's feelings is being called a "sinner" by their parents. Sin shaming almost always comes from parent anger directed towards children. Thus, in order to avoid offense in children, you need to give a formal apology for hurting your child's feelings with your sin shaming, such as "I apologize for calling you a sinner like that". Whenever you refuse to apologize to a child for hurting their feelings, it is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. This stanza of this commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan parenting customs, which were punitive in nature. However, this commandment was ultimately received as prohibiting any offenses perceived by a child at minimum, including offenses coming from sin shaming. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive parenting in his secular writings. Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men.

This second stanza tells us how to instruct children in the Lord, with religion being a human need for children and adults alike. The Greek root word translated "admonition" is νουθεσία (Latin: nouthesia) and is more aptly translated as "instruction" in more modern versions of the Bible. The Apostle Paul here was referring to religious instruction. Starting at age 6, fathers left out a Bible for children to discover and explore, with children learning to read on a Bible. When children were caught in the act of studying the Bible, they were lavishly praised and encouraged to keep on studying. Fathers then interjected something along the lines of "you can ask me anything about that book". From there, religious instruction came in question and answer format, with children being curious about Scripture, and with fathers giving children pointers on the context. At some point, children broach the topic of original sin on their own. Children likely will ask "why did Jesus have to die?", in which case you say "We all are sinners as human beings, and so we need a Savior to save us from our sins". Never call a child a "sinner". WE as human beings are sinners, as a whole.

Most Christian parents in the Early Church never got angry with their children. Children were never called out for their sinful nature in the Early Church, as that was seen as an expression of anger, and thus entitlement. Children then were instead seen as next to God, with God siding with the vulnerability of children. See Matt. 25:31-46. 

Sin shaming involves shaming children for their sinful nature. However, we ALL as human beings are flawed creatures, especially in the case of adults. We all as adults have a depraved and decadent nature in relation to children. This form of sinful nature involves the one-sided incursion of adults towards children. Most parents have a sense of entitlement to them - in the form of parent anger directed towards children - with parental entitlement being the downfall of most Christian parents. God sides with children, not adults, with children being considered among the poor and the vulnerable due to their dependent state in relation to parents.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to wrath through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

The Fifth Commandment: Understanding the Fifth Commandment in context

Many parents feel deserving of being honored. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. Most American parents demand honor and obedience from their children. Many American parents only punish children for clear defiance. However, the Bible speaks of a specific form of honoring parents - caring for parents as they age.

God's Law on honoring parents is stated in Exodus 20:12 KJV:

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

And is repeated in Ephesians 6:2-3 KJV:

Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 

The Greek root word translated "honour" in the context of the Fifth Commandment in the New Testament is τιμαω (Latin: timao) and refers here to a specific form of honoring parents - caring for them as they age. The reason for this commandment in the context of Exodus was that elder abuse and neglect were endemic in Ancient Israel. However, this commandment only works if your parents took good care of you. If your parents abused you at all, you have the right to shun them. You only have to forgive your parents for abusing you if they are truly repentant. Even then, if they go back on their apology, you can go back on your forgiveness. 

Most American parents punish their children whenever they feel dishonored by their children. Many parents punish their children only for "dishonoring" them. However, the Bible prohibits punishing a child for any reason, including for children "dishonoring" parents. See Colossians 3:21 KJV:

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. It is one thing to stop spanking children when their behavior is seen by parents as "dishonoring". However, it is not enough to stop spanking your child, or even stop punishing them altogether for that matter. You need to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just as hurt feelings are inevitable in relations between adults, hurt feelings are also inevitable in children when dealing with them. Thus, in order to avoid offense in children, you need to give a meaningful apology to children whenever you hurt their feelings. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent in parents, in the form of an informal apology, whenever your child's feelings are hurt by limits not set out of anger, such as "I'm sorry, but I had to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if you ever lose your cool with your child as a parent, including while setting limits, you definitely need to give your child a formal apology for hurting their feelings with your anger, such as "I apologize for losing my temper with you", and then commit never to lose your cool with your child ever again, as any parent anger directed towards a child alone is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. This commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin phrase roughly translating to "power to the parent", namely the power to impose punitive sanctions on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. However this commandment was ultimately received as prohibiting any offenses as perceived by a child, at minimum. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive parenting in his secular writings. Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men.

How do you get your child to honor you by being your caregiver? It all rests in the first 6 years of a child's life, which are the formative years of a child's development. For the first 6 years, children were in close proximity to mothers, meaning that wherever mom went, so did her child. Many times, children were milk-dependent until age 6, or sometimes even later. Whenever mom as much as left the room, children bawled their eyes out crying. All this usually paid off with a 6-year-old being interested in religion, as well as a child cooperating with parents when parents asked things of them. Children were seen in the Early Church as next to God. See Matt. 25:31-46. 

I myself have made peace with my parents. They started out as punitive parents in their entitlement. I was punished within the law, with the parents being the main excuse of my parents. My father would laugh at me when I debated him on spanking, and said "wait until you become a parent". However, the worst part of it is that the abuse I suffered was defensible under the law. I support the police because I wanted my parents read the riot act by the police and the caseworker. I do forgive my parents, but I do not forget. My main pet peeve as a children's rights conservative is parental entitlement, and I judge parents for their entitlement as parents, refusing to even speak with entitled parents. It is okay to hold judgment against a parent in the Bible, as only God is to be obeyed blindly. If you say to me "I am" next to "parent", that is the last time you will hear from me. 

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

"Benign" deprivation: Why not to say "no" to children "frequent and often"

Many parents buy into the doctrine of "benign" deprivation. This means that parents say "no" for most everything that a child asked for from parents. However, the fact of the matter is that saying "no" all of the time can be perceived by a child as child abuse.

God's Law on child abuse is spelled out in Colossians 3:21 KJV:

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated :provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. The key here is to avoid offense in a child. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just as hurt feelings are inevitable in relations between adults, hurt feelings are also inevitable in children when dealing with them. One thing that hurts children's feelings is when you as the parent say "no" to most everything that your child asks for. The idea instead is to only say "no" to a child when absolutely necessary, meaning rarely. When a child absolutely needs to hear the word "no", you should be willing to apologize to a child whenever the child cannot accept a set limit, lest it officially be an offense. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent, in the form of an informal apology, whenever you hurt your child's feelings with limits not set out of anger, such as "I'm sorry, but I had to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if you ever lose your cool with your child as a parent, including while setting limits, you definitely need to give a formal apology whenever you hurt your child's feelings with your anger, such as "I apologize for losing my temper with you", and then commit to never losing your cool with your child ever again, as any parent anger directed towards a child alone is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. This commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan parenting customs, which were punitive in nature. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive parenting in his secular writings. Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men.

Most American parents say "no" to their children for almost everything that they ask for . This is a common attitude in parents. Most parents know when to say '"no" to their child, in terms of necessities. However, they feel that their children will want "more, more, and then some". The fact of the matter is that they ask for things that they want because those things come from YOU. 

A common place for contention in parenting is the store. In most cases, the child only wants the candy bar in the checkout line, with parents then saying "put that back", with the fight starting there. However, in the Early Church, all of the children wanted licorice from the candy stand. A child got the licorice off of the shelf, and then the mother simply asked to take the candy in order to pay for it. 

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

Defiance: Why not to punish your child for defiance

Many parents have been there. A child behaving in a defiant manner. This is a common and normal occurrence in children. However, many parents punish their children for defiance. However, children do not defy you in order to "undermine" you as a parent. They simply cannot accept a limit.

God's Law on dealing with a defiant child is spelled out in Colossians 3:21 KJV:

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. It is one thing to stop spanking children when the are acting defiant. However, it is not enough to stop spanking your child, or even stop punishing children altogether for that matter. You need to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just as hurt feelings are inevitable in relations between adults, hurt feelings are also inevitable in children when dealing with them. One thing that hurts a child's feelings is setting a limit that they cannot accept. In many cases, children cry tears of defiance when they cannot accept a set limit. The key to avoiding offense in a defiant child is to give a meaningful apology in the face of their defiance, thus helping them accept a limit that hurts their feelings. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent coming from parents, in the form of an informal apology, whenever you hurt their feelings with limits not set out of anger, such as "I'm sorry, but I had to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if you ever lose your cool with your child as a parent, including while setting limits, you definitely need to give a formal apology for hurting your child's feelings with your anger, such as "I apologize for losing my temper with you", and then commit never to losing your cool with your child ever again, as any parent anger directed towards children alone is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. This commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin phrase roughly translating to "power to the parent", namely the power to impose punitive sanctions on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. However, this commandment was ultimately received in the parish at Colossae as prohibiting any offenses or damages as perceived by a child. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive parenting in his secular writings. Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men.

Defiance is not a means of a child "undermining" you as a parent. Defiance is normal childhood behavior. The key is to stay patient and apologize to your child for setting a limit that they cannot accept. Usually, children do forgive you right away when you apologize to them for setting limits that they cannot accept. If your child truly never forgives you, you have traumatized them.

Most punishment in parenting is due to a child being defiant. In many homes, children are punished solely for acting defiant. However, most children defy their parents, and do so when they cannot accept a set limit. They are not out to get you. They simply cannot accept the limits of parents. What they need is a meaningful apology for hurting their feelings with your limits. 

Most parents punish their defiant child when they are motivated by anger as a parent. Most American parents are motivated by anger when dealing with children. However, most Christian parents in the Early Church were never motivated by anger, with worry or concern being the mortivator of Christian parenting in the Early Church.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

Father's day: The duties of fathers in Christian households

Today is father's day. Most people are buying something special for their father. The concept of father's day originated with the popular understanding of the Fifth Commandment. The Fifth Commandment is widely interpreted as commanding parental rights. However, the Bible as a whole speaks of duties of fathers, not rights of fathers. 

In a Christian household, mothers serve as the nurturers, and fathers serve as disciplinarians. However, discipline does not equal punishment. Ultimately, discipline came in the form of nurturing of a teaching type. See Ephesians 6:4 KJV:

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

This first stanza of this commandment clarifies for the second that fatherly discipline should not hurt. The Greek root word translated "provoke...to wrath" is παροργίζο (Latin" parorgizo) and refers here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. It is one thing for fathers to stop spanking their children. However, it is not enough for fathers to stop spanking their children, or even stop punishing their child altogether for that matter, as a father. You need to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just as hurt feelings are inevitable in relations between adults, hurt feelings are also inevitable in children when dealing with them. Thus, in order to avoid offense in a child, you need to be willing to give a meaningful apology whenever your child's feelings. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent, in the form of an informal apology, whenever you hurt your child's feelings with limits not set out of anger, such as "I'm sorry, but I had to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if you ever lose your cool with your child as a parent, including while setting limits, you definitely need to give a formal apology for hurting your child's feelings with your anger, such as "I apologize for losing my temper with you", and then commit never to lose your cool with your child ever again, as any parent anger directed towards a child alone is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. This commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents in the parish at Ephesus who brought their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin phrase roughly translating to "power to the parent", namely the power to impose punitive sanctions on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. However, this commandment was ultimately received at the parish at Ephesus as prohibiting all offenses or damages as perceived by a child. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive parenting in his secular writings. Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men. 

Fathers have a duty to discipline their children. However, the first stanza of this commandment clarifies for this second stanza that fatherly discipline should not hurt. The Greek root word translated "nurture" is παιδεία (Latin: paideia) and refers here to a certain specific form of nurturing, namely of the teaching sort. Christian parents in the Early Church looked for preferred behaviors in their children, such as discipline or self-control. When children showed these good traits, they were lavishly praised and encouraged for more of the same. Christian parents then set a good example for their children to follow, but backed it up with praise and encouragement, not punishment or force. The Bible also charges fathers to instruct their children in the Lord. The Greek root word translated "admonition" is νουθεσία (Latin: nouthesia) and is more aptly translated as "instruction", with the Apostle Paul here discussing religious instruction. Starting at age 6, fathers left out a Bible for a child to discover and explore, with the Bible being left open to a reassuring verse. When children were caught in the act of studying the Bible, they were lavishly praised and encouraged to keep on studying the Bible, with fathers then interjecting "you can ask me anything about that book". From there, religious instruction came in the form of question and answer, with children being curious about Scripture, and with fathers giving pointers on the context. This stanza of this commandment refers to the Hebraic tradition of positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement, as a tradition, predates the coming of Christ by thousands of years, and is practiced in Jewish homes even today. 

Contrary to popular legend, fathers did not sexually correct their children in the Early Church/  The Greek root word translated "fornication" is πορνεία (Latin: porneia)  and refers in this context to sexual relations with children, meaning usually daughters. Fathers in the Early Church rarely sexually abused their children. Instead, they masturbated righteously on occasion to sexual thoughts of their children. Usually, in the case of a father-daughter fantasy, the daughter wanted to know what the father of the house fantasized about - she usually got a good laugh about it. Pedophilia and sexual attraction to children was kept on the joke level. Child sexual abuse was at a level where children could easily make an accusation against their abuser, and then be believed. Unlike today, child sexual abuse today was not at the gaslighting level. It is a myth that Christian fathers in the Early Church literally raped their children when they were becoming unmanageable in relation to mothers. 

Fathers also set limits in Christian homes in the Early Church. However, children accepting limits was another story. Even then, children oftentimes protested the limits of their fathers, usually through crying or tantrumming. When a child could not accept a set limit, they were reassured with an informal apology that communicated good intent to children. Children usually forgave their parents, and if they didn't, it was seen as a sign of trauma. 

Fathers in the Early Church nurtured their families, and also protected them. Fathers protected their families then by standing guard using a rod and staff, namely a sepulchre. A father's sepulchre served both as menace, and a means to beat interlopers to a pulp when they posed a threat to his family. However, fathers in the Early Church were usually warm and kind, in a gruff and encouraging manner, yet still were in charge. Husbands were prohibited from beating their wives even then, with the man of the house instead overpowering anyone who might harm or infiltrate his family. 

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

Redefining child abuse: Why the Bible calls for expanding child abuse definitions

Many parents believe that the ancients in the Bible had no concept of child abuse. Most American parents support the present-day child abuse definitions under state and federal law. However, God's Law is above the law of the land. The Bible has its own definition of child abuse - whatever the child victim perceives as abuse. 

The Greek root word denoting parental entitlement is πλεονέκτης (Latin: pleonektés) and is defined as, officially speaking, wanting things from children, to the point of imposition. Unofficially speaking, parental entitlement consists of a parent being sorely disappointed when they don't get the well-behaved child that they feel that they deserve. Parents are deserving of absolutely nothing in relation to children just for existing. Even any parent anger directed towards children is parental entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. Whenever this sense of entitlement in parents was perceived by a child as offensive or damaging, it was deemed child abuse. See also Colossians 3:21 KJV:

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. Child abuse in the Bible, as a legal concept, consists of entitlement in parents, leading to offense in children. The key to not abusing your child is to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just like hurt feelings are inevitable in relations between adults, hurt feelings are also inevitable in children when dealing with them. Thus, in order to avoid offense in children, you need to be willing to give a meaningful apology whenever you hurt your child's feelings. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent coming from parents, in the form of an informal apology, whenever you hurt your child's feelings with limits not set out of anger, such as "I'm sorry, but I had to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if you ever lose your cool with your child as a parent, including while setting limits, you definitely need to give a formal apology for hurting your child's feelings with your anger, such as "I apologize for losing my temper with you", and then commit never to lose your cool with your child ever again, as any parent anger directed towards a child alone is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. This commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin phrase roughly translating to "power to the parent", namely the power to impose punitive sanctions on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. However, this commandment was ultimately received by the parish at Colossae as prohibiting all offenses or damages as perceived by a child. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive parenting in his secular writings. Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men.

The Greek root word translated "they be discouraged" is αθυμέω (Latin: athumeo) and refers here to long-term damages, namely childhood trauma. The ancients in the Bible had a basic understanding of childhood trauma. Whenever a child grew up to be atheist, shame fell on the parents, meaning never the child. An atheist was seen in the Early Church as an abused child, not a "lost soul" to be "won over".

The ancients in the Bible even had a concept of child sexual abuse, The Greek root word translated "fornication" is πορνεία (Latin: porneia) and prohibits any sexual relations outside of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman, with the marriage having to be equitable in nature. Ultimately, a Christian man was only allowed two sexual outlets - with his wife, or else righteous masturbation without pornography. Anything outside of these narrow outlets was seen as fornication, including any sexual relations with a child. Most child sexual abuse then came in the form of father-child incest, with daughters being the usual targets. Fathers usually masturbated on occasion to thoughts of their children, meaning usually their daughters. Fathers were even allowed to be honest with their daughters about their fantasies, as long as he was a man of few words about it. Child sexual abuse was rare in the biblical context, meaning next to non-existent. Whenever a child was sexually abused by an adult, it was a huge moral outrage. 

Child abuse was prosecuted by way of an internal church investigation. This investigation usually started with a child confiding into a clergyperson about their home life. From there, the parents were summoned to appear before a council of 3 elders, who would decide the fate of the parents. If the parents at all defended their parenting choices, as opposed to answering to the court, they were swiftly excommunicated from the Early Christian Churches of God.

The Bible is an anti-spanking document. All 88 books of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation - were written by anti-spanking Jews, with no Jew worth mentioning ever endorsing punitive parenting. All of the biblical writers also wrote parenting manuals that advocated attachment parenting. Even King Solomon wrote an attachment parenting manual, with the rod of correction in Proverbs referring instead to the 40 minus 1 lashes. It just so happens that the attachment parenting manuals in the biblical context were not translated into English until the 1960s.

The Bible is America's book. America is a Christian nation, founded on Judeo-Christian values. We as a society glean from the Bible and its context as to how to live and treat each other with respect. Even our legal codes under the English common law are largely based off of biblical teaching. However, the "reasonable chastisement" defense is based off of dated theology. It is about time we repeal the pro-spanking legal defenses in out legal codes, and expand the definitions of child abuse to include anything that the child victim perceives as abuse. 

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torrents, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!