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

Many parents think that the ancients in the Bible had no concept of childhood, let alone child abuse. This is a common belief amongst American parents. Most American parents support the present-day definitions of child abuse. However, God's Law is above the law of the land. The ancients in the Bible had their 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 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 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 damages or offenses, 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 inevitable in children when dealing with them. Thus, in order to avoid offense in your child, 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, when 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, 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 losing your cool with your 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 translated 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 then as prohibiting any offenses 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 in the Early Church, 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 imposed on a child, namely childhood trauma. The ancients in the Bible had a basic understanding of childhood trauma. If a child grew up to be atheist, shame fell onto the parents, not 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 refers here to any sexual relations outside of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman, with this marriage having to be equal in nature. A groom then was only allowed a bride his age, or else up to 4 years older. Any sexual relations with a child then was prohibited in the Early Church. Most child sexual abuse then happened in the form of father-child incest, and when that happened in the Early Church, the perpetrator was excommunicated from the Early Christian Churches of God. Most fathers kept a masturbatory fantasy going about their daughters, as a means of rechanneling their sex drive away from hitting their daughters directly. Child sexual abuse, in the biblical context, was rare, meaning next to non-existent, and was a huge moral outrage whenever it happened. 

Child abuse was prosecuted in the Early Church by way of internal church investigation. The investigation usually started out with a child confiding into a clergyperson about their home life. From there, the parents were subpoenaed to appear before a council of 3 elders. If the parents defended themselves at all, as opposed to answering to the court directly, they were 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 Jewish rabbi ever recommending punitive measures in parenting, then and now. All of the biblical writers also wrote parenting manuals advocating for attachment parenting. Even King Solomon wrote an attachment parenting manual for minor children, with the rod of correction in Proverbs referring to the 40 minus 1 lashes, towards an adult son, as a sentence for a crime. 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 for answers as to how to live and treat each other with respect. Even our legal codes largely are based off of biblical teaching. However, the "reasonable chastisement" defense is based off of dated biblical teaching. It is about time we abolish the "reasonable chastisement" defense, and expand the child abuse definitions, under both state and federal law, to prohibit any abuse as perceived by the child victim.

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!

Abortion: Why abortion benefits men and harms women

Most people have an opinion on abortion. Most American mothers on the political left support abortions for other women "if they need it". Most American mothers would never get an abortion themselves, but allow for other women to get abortions. Abortion isn't what most women think it is.

Abortion isn't a procedure involving the doctor reaching into the vagina of the mother and pulling out a baby. Abortion involves a prescription of a category of drugs known as abortifacients. Abortifacients are drugs that induce a miscarriage. The baby is still going to come out, but only in a state of being stillborn. Most women who learn this come to oppose abortions. If most women knew what abortion is, they wouldn't support abortions.

The Bible is anti-abortion. The Greek root word translated "murder" in the New Testament is φονος (Latin: phonos) and refers here to any death other than natural death. This was seen then as prohibiting murder in the womb, with childhood in the Early Church beginning at conception. Whenever a woman got an abortion in the Early Church, the mother and the man impregnating her were excommunicated from the Early Christian Churches of God. Most women murdered their unborn children by drinking abortifacient teas. Such herbal drugs did not grow in Ancient Israel during the time of the Old Testament being written. Whenever such teas were caught at the border, they were treated as contraband, and were kept out.

Most men benefit from abortions. Many men pressure women into abortions in order to escape the responsibility of being a father. Also, abortion removes the consequences of male promiscuity, including sexual violence such as rape. When men are faced with the possibility of fathering a child, they are more reluctant to sleep around town. Ask any young woman who is pro-life - the men go elsewhere.

Abortion is also bad for women. Abortion doesn't stop the baby from passing through the birth canal. Instead, the baby comes out stillborn. This experience is traumatic for mothers. Most mothers regret the lost time spent with the child that they killed. Only the coldest of mothers defend abortion as a right. A mother who got an abortion in the Early Church was seen as cold on the nurturing side, and was ostracized from Christian society then. Most women in the Early Church were warm and kind on the nurturing. 

An unborn child is a valid child. Only half of the baby's DNA belongs to the mother. The other half of the baby's DNA belongs to the father. Thus, the unborn child is not a part of the mother's body - it is a body within the mother's body. If you truly support the science on genetics, you must support the rights of the unborn.

Being pro-life does not end at birth. I support paid parental leave for all mothers, for the first 6 years of childhood. I also support a social safety net that supports all human beings from conception to natural death - from the womb to the tomb. Whenever the government takes care of core expenses such as healthcare or parental leave, that leaves less expenses for working families to worry about. I support, to fund these expenses, abolishing the IRS and having a federal sales tax to fund a governmental safety net. I support the free market and a safety net, all in one. I support, as a Christian, caring for the poor and the vulnerable, and that includes with my tax dollars. I don't mind paying more in sales tax. See Matt. 25:31-46. 

Most women have natural instincts telling them not to get abortions themselves. The problem is that most women support abortions for other women. If they knew that abortion is a medically induced miscarriage, they wouldn't support it. Most women can wait in order to have the baby naturally, and then they can put the baby up for adoption. Either way, the baby is coming out, dead or alive. Pregnancy is not a big deal for a woman if she is in touch with her maternal instincts fully, even if the child wasn't planned. No nurturant mother ever defends abortion in first-person as a "choice". 

The depraved and entitled mothers who murder their children in the womb, and all those who aid and abet, will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them descend into the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent!

Child discipline: How to discipline your child without punitive measures

Many parents want their children to have discipline. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. Most parents have discipline as a goal of theirs. However, most American parents equate discipline with punishment. However, there are better ways to teach discipline than punitive measures.

God's Law on child discipline 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 clarifies for the second that 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 to stop spanking your child. However, it is not enough for parents to stop spanking their children, or even stop punishing their 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. 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, 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 first stanza of 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 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 sanction on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. However, this commandment was received as any offenses as perceived by the 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 second stanza of this commandment spells out what discipline is acceptable, with the first stanza ruling out anything punitive with a child. 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 children, with the main one of these behaviors being self-discipline. When parents saw preferred behaviors in children, the child was lavishly praised and encouraged to keep up the good work. Christian parents in the Early Church set a good example for their children, but then backed it up with praise and encouragement, as opposed to punishment or force. Children also need religious instruction, as religion is 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 discussing religious instruction. Starting at age 6, fathers left out a Bible for children to discover and explore. When children were caught in the act of studying the Bible, they were lavishly praised and encouraged to keep on studying, with fathers then adding "you can ask me any question 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 as to the context. This method of catching children in the act of being good is the Hebraic tradition of positive reinforcement. This Hebraic tradition is also a part of the Jewish faith, and predates the coming of Christ by thousands of years.

Occasionally, parents need to set limits with their children. However, children accepting those limits is a whole other story. Whenever a child cannot accept a set limit, you as the parent must apologize whenever a limit hurts their feelings. Usually, all that is needed is an informal apology. However, if you set a limit out of anger or haste, you definitely need to give a formal apology whenever you hurt their feelings with your anger.

Parent anger directed towards children was not seen as acceptable as motivation for parenting. Most Christian parents in the Early Church were not motivated by anger, but instead were motivated by worry or concern. Anger at children was seen then as akin to a viper lashing out at a defenseless child - maybe the child got some warning, but that was about it. 

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!

Passing down the faith: How to instruct your child in the Lord without punitive measures

Many parents think that children should have values. This is a common goal amongst American parent. However, most Christian parents in particular feel the need to beat a religious education into a child. However, religion is a human need for children and adults alike. Children can learn the Christian faith almost entirely on their own.

God's Law on child discipline, including religious instruction, 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 clarifies for the second that religious instruction 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 to stop spanking children. However, it is not enough to stop spanking your child, or even stop punishing your child 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 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 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 to never losing your cool with your child ever again, as parent anger directed towards children alone 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 in the parish at Ephesus 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 stanza of this commandment ultimately was received as a prohibition on 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.

Children do not need to have religion beaten into them. Religion is a human need for children and adults alike. The Greek root word translated "admonition" is νουθεσία (Latin: nouthesia) and is more aptly diagnosed as "instruction". The Apostle Paul here was discussing religious instruction. Starting at age 6, fathers left out a Bible for children to discover and explore. When children were caught in the act of studying the Bible, they were given lavish praise and encouragement to keep on studying. Fathers then said to children 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 pointers on the context. 

A common way to instruct children in the Lord is to "break the will" of children. In many Christian households, children are punished for "having a will" as soon as they are mobile. However, a child does not have a will to be broken. A child simply wants things, in most cases from you as a parent. In most cases, children aren't asking for much, so why not give them what they want. 

Many Christian parents rush the natural religious development of their children. One way parents do this is by forcing their child into grateful positions. However, grateful positions come on their own, with grateful postures being a sign of healthy religious development. I myself tie my hands behind my back, and nobody made me as a child.

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!

Pedophilic children: How to accommodate your pedophilic child

Many parents fear their child being sexually abused. This is a common and normal fear in parents. However, no parenting book ever prepares a parent for having a child who grows up to be a pedophile. No parent ever "raises a pedophile". A pedophile has a genetic disorder of sexual preference for children under age 14. A pedophile can be a child, and a child can be a pedophile.

A pedophile is not an anger packet directed at a child. A pedophile is a human being with a sexual preference for children under age 14. Most of the time, a pedophile has a form of autism that is child-centered in nature. Pedophilia involves an autistic specialty in children in terms of knowledge and social preference. Whenever you see a grown man with autism get along naturally with children - meaning he is a born nurturer - think pedophile, but the right kind. 3 out of 4 pedophiles have never sexually abused a single child throughout their lives. Researchers estimate that about 1-2% of the male population are pedophiles, though the exact percentage is probably even less than that. A child can be diagnosed as pedophilic as young as age 16, and perhaps identified even earlier. 

Pedophilia is a form of arrested sexual development. In most men, age-based sexual preferences change as they get older. However, with pedophiles, the individual grows up, but their attractions do not. Most men have age-based sexual preferences their age or slightly younger. Pedophilia is a genetic disorder associated with autism in terms of genes, with the genes usually being triggered by the onset of puberty.

The Bible itself does not treat pedophilia as a sin. The Greek root word translated "fornication" is πορνεία (Latin: porneia) and refers to any sexual relations outside of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman, with this marriage having to be equal in nature. A groom could only have a bride his age or up to 4 years older. Sexual relations with a child then was seen as a form of rape even then. Possession of pornography on one's person was seen then as fornication as well, including when children were depicted in the material. The idea is to allow your child to masturbate righteously to thoughts of children, meaning masturbate for health reasons.

Most pedophilic offenses against children are not due to anger at a child, but instead involve body curiosity. The way to quench this curiosity is to allow pedophilic children to reuse body positivity literature intended for children. 

Pedophilia is the most stigmatized of all mental health disorders. The mental health stigma against pedophilia is on the admit level, meaning simply admitting to that disorder invites shame and ostracism. Most pro-pedophile advocates blame us at trauma survivors for the hysteria surrounding the issue of pedophilia. The stigma actually started with Pope Constantine, with a papal decree stating that whenever a person admitted to attraction to children, that all friends and family must disperse from the holder of the attractions, and that anyone defending them was lumped in with the adult attracted to children. Survivors of child sexual abuse also chimed in against pedophiles, but only in order to get a certain specific form of opposition based on the trauma held by the pedophile.

Most pedophiles will never offend sexually against a child. Most pedophilic offenses against children do not involve intent to harm. Most child sexual abuse committed by pedophiles involves sexual harassment. Most pedophilic rapes are committed by adults with a developmental disability such as severe autism. I myself am a pedophilic adult, and I have offended sexually against a child. My usual modus operandi involved street harassment, but also committed a form of sexual assault by the feminist definition of the term, with this incident taking place in the attic of my grandparents' house, with a cousin. I was excused by the police for not meaning harm towards my cousin. I was falsely and fraudulently accused of rape by a family member, with my cousin being accused by rogue police of being my first victim. Most pedophilic sex offenders mean well, and so the police cut them a break. Most actual pedophilic rapes take place with the offender having an IQ of under 70. 

Most pedophiles are victims of child abuse. Pedophiles have a collective parent trauma from sexually shaming parents. Most parents kept the topic of pedophilia down, and threatened abandoning their child if they even disclosed their pedophilic attractions. However, pedophilic child needs to talk out their desires with a parent or therapist. 

A pedophile's risk to children can be gauged by the tone of the disclosure. Most pedophiles disclose with tears their sexual preferences for children. If your child is tearful in their disclosure, it is likely because they don't want to hurt a much younger child. A pedophile who discloses in a tone-deaf manner has a greater risk of sexually abusing a child through sexual harassment. Most pedophilic sexual abuse is due to an autistic fixation on a specific child. That type of pedophile was me. 

The depraved and entitled parents who abuse their pedophilic children will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them descend into the abyss which is the lake of fire and burning sulfur! Repent!

Childhood bipolar disorder: How to discipline your actively bipolar child

Many parents think that their child is simply a "bad kid" when they act oppositional and defiant. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. However, oppositional and defiant behavior, when severe enough, is a sign of childhood bipolar disorder. All they need is medication to be well. But, what does a parent do until then? The answer involves catching your bipolar child being good, and then praise them for it.

Child discipline is spelled out in the Bible 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.

Punitive measures do not work with children with bipolar disorder, with this being true about all children, but especially those suffering from bipolar disorder. 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 not to spank a bipolar child. However, it is not enough to stop spanking these children, or even stopping all punishment for that matter. You need to avoid offense in your bipolar child. 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 inevitable in all children when dealing with them, but especially children with bipolar disorder. 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, in the form of an informal apology, whenever you hurt your 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, 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 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 Christians in the parish at Ephesus 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 ultimately was received as prohibiting offenses in children, as perceived by the 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.

There are ways to discipline your bipolar child without punitive measures. The Greek root word translated "nurture" is παιδεία (Latin: paideia) and refers here to a specific type of nurturing, namely of the teaching sort. Christian parents in the Early Church looked for preferred behaviors in children, and when those behaviors showed in the child, the child was lavishly praised and encouraged to keep up the good work. The main preferred behavior then and now is/was self-control, meaning the bipolar child keeps it together, and then is praised for more of the same. This method of discipline works well with any child, but when a child has bipolar disorder, it is literally the only thing that works. A bipolar child literally cannot be stopped using punishment, and fights back when punished. But, they do respond to spontaneous praise when caught being good. Children with active bipolar disorder cannot internalize religious beliefs. Children are ready for religious learning only once stabilized, at their own pace.

Sometimes, children with bipolar disorder can't keep it together fully. In that case, you simply let it go, and keep them safe. However, if you praise them for keeping it together, they will work to gain your approval by keeping it together to the best of their ability. Punishment doesn't work with any child. But, with bipolar disorder, it is even more obvious that punitive measures don't work for such children. Most children simply hide their mistakes. Bipolar children actually fight back when punished.  

Children with bipolar disorder have their good days, and then they have their bad days. They are prone to keep it together some of the time, and other times, they want to keep it together but cannot. Whenever you see your bipolar child keep it together, praise them lavishly and encourage them to keep up the good work. They won't keep it together perfectly without medication, but they will be more likely to do the hard work of trying to keep it together.

Bipolar children cannot function fully without medication. If your child is acting disorderly and defiant to the extreme, your child is not a bad kid. Your child simply needs medicine for a brain disease. Most children benefit from mood stabilizers and/or antidepressants, starting in the teenage years. However, until then, children should be praised for keeping it together, as well as any other preferred behaviors that parents want to see; Children are not immune to mental illness. Any disorder found in adults can be found in children, including bipolar disorder, but also psychoses such as schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

I myself hold a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, with exclusively manic features. Punishment did not work at all to control me. I was punished for oppositional-defiant traits associated with my bipolar disorder. Most of my parents were looking for autistic behaviors, and ignored the fact that I had an emotional disturbance. I was suspended many times unjustly from school, when the behavior was a manifestation of my bipolar disability. Maybe a child with bipolar disorder does call out in school, but why fight that fight with them? Let them call out, and then when they do raise their hand, praise them for it. All you have to say is "Good work raising your hand this time. That's what we want." I was the schoolchild that would call out, then get kicked out of class, then fight the system. I ended up getting suspended for being defiant to the teacher. Why pick such fights with children? They are bound to raise their hand at some point, in which case you praise and encourage that behavior for more of the same. 

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their bipolar child 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!

Expanding child abuse definitions: Why the Bible calls for redefining child abuse

Many parents think that the ancients in the Bible had no concept of childhood, let alone child abuse. Most American parents support the present-day definition of child abuse. 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. It is about time our legal codes reflect this reality.

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 when they don't get the well-behaved child that they feel that they deserve. Parents are deserving of absolutely nothing from their 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 seen as offensive or damaging by the child, 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 your 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. Thus, in order to avoid offense in children, you need to be willing to give a meaningful apology to your child whenever you hurt 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 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 when you hurt 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 losing your cool with your 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 translated 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 all offense 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 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 onto the parents, and not the child. An atheist in the Early Church was seen as an abused child then, not a "lost soul" to be "won over". 

The ancients in the Bible even had an understanding of child sexual abuse. The Greek root word translated "fornication" is πορνεία (Latin: porneia) and refers here to any sexual relations outside of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman, with the marriage being equal in nature. A groom was only allowed a bride his age or up to 4 years older. Sexual relations with children were prohibited in the Early Church, including in the context of an intergenerational marriage. Most child sexual abuse then was directed towards the offender's child, usually in the case of daughters. Most men in the Early Church allowed themselves to masturbate righteously to sexual fantasies of his daughter. However, the possession of pornography on one's person was seen as a form of fornication in and of itself, including when children were depicted in the pornographic material. Child sexual abuse was rare in the biblical context, meaning next to non-existent. Whenever it happened, it was a huge moral outrage.

Child abuse was prosecuted in the Early Church by way of internal church investigation. In most cases, the investigation started with a child confiding into a clergyperson about their home life. From there, the parents were subpoenaed to appear before a council of 3 church elders. If the parents at all defended themselves in court, as opposed to answering to the court directly, they were 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 endorsing punitive measures in 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 to the 40 minus 1 lashes, namely judicial corporal punishment of adult children as a sentence for a crime. 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 largely come from 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 to define child abuse as 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!