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. Most American parents support the present-day child abuse definitions. However, the Bible calls for changing the child abuse definitions. In the Bible, child abuse is defined as 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 is when parents are sorely disappointed when they don't get what they feel that they deserve from children. Parents are deserving of absolutely nothing from children just for existing. Even 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 seen 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 to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement, with this entitlement including any parent anger directed towards children. 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 with relations between adults, hurt feelings are 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 whenever a child cannot accept a limit 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 need to definitely 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 never to lose your cool with your child ever again, as losing your cool as a parent 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. 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 concept of childhood trauma. Whenever a child grew up to be atheist, shame fell onto the parents for causing their child to lose heart. Atheists were seen then as victims of child abuse, not "lost souls" to be "won over". 

The ancients even had a concept of child sexual abuse. The Greek root word translated "fornication" in the New Testament is πορνεία (Latin: porneia) and refers to any sexual relations outside of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman of equitable age. Intergenerational marriage was strictly prohibited in the Early Church, with the couple being required to be same age or else the bride being 4 years older at maximum. A man had only two acceptable outlets then - sex with his wife, or else masturbation without pornography for health reasons. Child sexual abuse in biblical times was rare, meaning next to non-existent. 

Child abuse in the Bible was prosecuted by way of a internal church investigation into the matter. Usually, the investigation started when a child confided into a church clergyperson about their home life. From there, the parents were called to testify before the council. If the parents were defensive at all, 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 Jews, with no Jew worth mentioning ever endorsing the punitive treatment of a child. Each of the biblical writers also wrote a parenting manual that advocated attachment parenting. Even King Solomon wrote an attachment parenting manual for minor children. However, these parenting manuals were not translated into English until the 1960s.

America is a Christian nation, founded on Judeo-Christian values. We as a society glean from the Bible and its context as to live and respect one another as a society. Our legal codes, including the current child abuse definitions, are inspired by some form of biblical teaching. However, most Christians got the Bible wrong on child abuse definitions, including lawmakers.  

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 had to deal with it. A child is being defiant to parents. Most American parents think that children need punishment for defiance. However, the fact of the matter is that defiance happens whenever a child cannot accept a set limit. The key to diffusing the situation is to apologize for hurting your child's feelings with your limits.

The Bible says to avoid offense in children. This means apologize whenever you offend your child, including when they cannot accept a set limit. 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, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement, with this entitlement including any parent anger directed towards children. The idea is to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just like in relations between adults, hurt feelings in children are inevitable when dealing with them. One big reason why children's feelings are hurt is when they are given a limit that they cannot accept. One way that children express their displeasure for set limits is by being defiant towards the limits of parents. The key is to apologize whenever your child is defiant in their attitude towards you, lest it officially be an offense in children. Even when it is hard, you need to apologize to children whenever their feelings are hurt by a limit. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent when a child cannot accept a limit 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 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 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. 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 of the time, children growing up in attachment parenting homes do not defy their parents. But, sometimes, they cannot accept a set limit coming from parents. When a child cannot accept a limit, they sometimes express this displeasure by defying the limits of their parents. They aren't trying to undermine you. They simply cannot accept a limit coming from parents. All it means when a child cannot set a limit is that they are immature. Defiance is normal childhood behavior, and is bound to happen at some point in childhood. Just apologize and get it over with. You may find that an apology alone diffuses the defiance of children, as it helps children to know that they are being listened to. 

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!

Positive reinforcement: How to discipline your child without punitive measures

Many parents want their children to have discipline. This is a common goal for parents to have for their children. However, most parents equate discipline with punishment. However, the fact of the matter is that the Bible supports the concept of positive reinforcement, namely catching children being good.

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, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement, with this entitlement including any parent anger directed towards children. It is one thing to stop punishing your child. However, it is not enough to stop punishing your child. You need to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just as with relations between adults, hurt feelings are inevitable in children when dealing with them. Thus, in order to properly 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 when children cannot accept a limit 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, including while setting limits, you definitely need to give a formal apology to your child, 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 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. 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 of this commandment spells out what kind of discipline is acceptable, with the first stanza ruling out anything punitive with children. The Greek root word translated "nurture" is παιδεία (Latin: paideia) and refers here to a specific form of nurturing, namely of the teaching sort. Children then were left to form their own discipline. Whenever children started to show discipline, they were lavishly praised and encouraged to keep up the good work. Christian parents in the Early Church set a good example for their children to follow, but backed it up with praise and encouragement, not punishment or force. Christian parents in the Early Church looked for preferred behaviors in children, and when they showed those behaviors, they were praised and encouraged for more of the same. Religious instruction is also necessary in disciplining children, 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 referring to religious instruction in particular, done in a certain specific way. 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 the Bible. Fathers then said "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 being quick to give pointers on the context. This method of child discipline is known as positive reinforcement, and is a Hebraic tradition predating Christ by thousands of years. The idea is to catch your child being good, as opposed to catching them misbehaving, which is a Judeo-Christian tradition found even in the biblical context.

Sometimes, a child needs limits. However, them accepting limits is a whole other story. Parents asked their children to do things, as opposed to commanded things of their children. Usually, children trusted their parents enough to listen to them. However, if a child couldn't accept a limit, Christian parents in the Early Church apologized for having to set the limit, usually by way of a reassurance of good intent. But, when parents lost their cool with their child, they gave a formal apology to their children. In the Early Church, it was rare for parents to ever get angry with their child. 

Most children growing up in the Early Church listened to their parents when they got older. A parent is not to issue legalistic commands to their children. Instead, parents asked things of their children, with children then trusting in parents enough to listen to them. This trust was built during the first 6 years of childhood. Those first 6 years formed a bond that would last a lifetime, with this bond allowing children to trust in their parents enough to listen to them. This secure bond is denoted by the Greek root word υπακουο (Latin: hupakouo). See Col. 3:20 and Eph. 6:1. 

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!

Positive reinforcement: How to discipline your child without punishment or force

Many parents want their children to have discipline. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. However, most American parents think that punishment equates to discipline. But, the fact of the matter is that parents should not catch their children misbehaving and punish them. Instead, parents are to catch their children being good, and encourage more good behavior in children. 

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, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement, with this entitlement including any parent anger directed towards a child. It is one thing to stop punishing your child. However, it is not enough to stop spanking and punishing your children. You need to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just as in relations between adults, hurt feelings are 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 when a child cannot accept a limit 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 to your child, 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 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, and 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. 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 of this commandment spells out what kind of discipline is acceptable, with the first stanza ruling out anything punitive with children. The Greek root word translated "nurture" is παιδεία (Latin: paideia) and refers here to a specific form of teaching, namely of the teaching sort. Children then were left to form their own discipline. Whenever children started to show discipline, they were lavishly praised and encouraged to keep up the good work. Christian parents in the Early Church set a good example for their children to follow, but backed it up with praise and encouragement, not punishment or force. Christian parents in the Early Church looked for preferred behaviors in children, and when they showed those behaviors, they were praised and encouraged for more of the same. Religious instruction is also necessary in disciplining children, 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 referring to religious instruction in particular, done in a certain specific way. 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 the Bible. Fathers then said "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 being quick to give pointers on the context. This method of child discipline is known as positive reinforcement, and is a Hebraic tradition predating Christ by thousands of years. The idea is to catch your child being good, as opposed to catching them misbehaving, which is a Judeo-Christian tradition found even in the biblical context.

Sometimes, a child needs limits. However, them accepting limits is a whole other story. Parents asked their children to do things, as opposed to commanded things of their children. Usually, children trusted their parents enough to listen to them. However, if a child couldn't accept a limit, Christian parents in the Early Church apologized for having to set the limit, usually by way of a reassurance of good intent. But, when parents lost their cool with their child, they gave a formal apology to their children. In the Early Church, it was rare for parents to ever get angry with their child. 

Most children growing up in the Early Church listened to their parents when they got older. A parent is not to issue legalistic commands to their children. Instead, parents asked things of their children, with children then trusting in parents enough to listen to them. This trust was built during the first 6 years of childhood. Those first 6 years formed a bond that would last a lifetime, with this bond allowing children to trust in their parents enough to listen to them. This secure bond is denoted by the Greek root word υπακουο (Latin: hupakouo). See Col. 3:20 and Eph. 6:1. 

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!

"Benign" deprivation: When telling children "no" frequently can be seen as child abuse

Many parents buy into the concept of "benign" deprivation. This ultimately refers to saying "no" for every little thing that a child wants. The idea is to say "no" to most all of children's petitioned requests. However, not giving your child what they ask for all of the time can be seen as child abuse under God's Law.

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 to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement, with this entitlement including any parent anger directed towards a child. The idea behind not abusing your child is to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children involves, in part, not saying "no" to almost every little thing that they ask for. Children need to hear the word "no" only when absolutely necessary, meaning almost never. Parents should find every reason to tell their child "yes" as opposed to telling them "no". However, children will need to hear the word "no" at some point in their childhood, in which case a meaningful apology is in order for hurting a child's feelings, lest it officially become an offense. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent in the case of a child not accepting the word "no" when not given 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 saying "no" to a child, 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 losing your cool in and of itself 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, 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.

In the Early Church, parents found nicer-sounding ways of declining a request, such as "that won't work", "that can't happen", or "that isn't possible". Even in the case of clear fornication, which was something then that you confessed at your baptism, children were scolded in a reassuring manner, promising that "you will get a chance when you are older". 

There is no need for a child to be deprived of items they want at the store. Maybe they already have the same toy at home, but don't question the petitioned requests of a child that far in. They are only asking for things from you because they associate the presents from the store with YOU. 

Parenting in the Early Church was never motivated by anger. Instead, parenting was motivated by worry or concern, with disappointment being the only acceptable displeasure for children in parents. Parent anger directed towards a child was seen as akin to a viper lashing out at an unsuspecting child. Most arbitrary limits from parents come from anger, not worry or concern.

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! 

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

Many parents want their children to have religion. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. However, most American parents feel the need to force religion onto their children. But, the fact of the matter is that there are better ways to instruct a child in the Lord without punitive measures.

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, including, but not limited to, the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement, with this entitlement including any parent anger directed towards a child. The key here is to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding children in other adults. Just like with relations between adults, hurt feelings are inevitable in dealing with children. 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 case of a limit 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 need to give a formal apology, 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 in the parish at Ephesus 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 measures on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. 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 is no need to beat a religious instruction into a child. Religion is a human need for children and adults alike. The Greek root word translated "admonition" is νουθεσία (Latin: nouthesia) and is better translated as "instruction" in more modern versions of the Bible. The Apostle Paul here was discussing religious instruction, namely religious instruction of a specific type. 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, with fathers then saying "you can ask me any question 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. 

Christian parents tend to rush the religious development of their children, and that is where contention in the home starts. For example, there is never a need to force children into grateful postures. Such postures come on their own, and are a sign of appropriate religious development. I myself tie my hands behind my back, and nobody made me as a child. I am a Christian fundamentalist, and nobody taught me religion as a child. Religion is a part of child development, meaning children form their own religious beliefs, if you let them.

It is a myth that a parent needs to break the will of a child in order to teach them religion. Many Christian fundamentalists don't realize that a child does not have a will, as children are not narcissists. A child instead has wants, with most of these wants being harmless. The idea is to give children most of what they want, and everything that they need. Children will learn non-entitlement in due time, when they emulate the non-entitled example of parents.

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 stronger laws against child abuse

Many parents think that the ancients in the Bible had no concept of childhood, let alone child abuse. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. Most American parents support today's child abuse definitions. However, 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 when they don't get what they feel that they deserve from children. Parents are deserving of absolutely nothing from 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, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement, with this entitlement including any parent anger directed towards a child. 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 in relations between adults, hurt feelings in children are inevitable when dealing with them. Thus, in order to properly 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 when a child cannot accept a limit 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 children'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 in and of itself 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. 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 of the child for being too strict with their child. An atheist in biblical times was seen as a victim of religious child abuse, 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, in sum, to any sexual relations outside of marriage, including any sexual relations with a child whatsoever. The only sexual outlets allowed for a man in the Early Church was sex with his wife, or else masturbation without pornography. Fathers in the Early Church in particular masturbated to sexual thoughts of his daughter in particular, with fathers having parent attraction to his child, usually with this parent attraction being with his daughter. The sexual abuse of a child was a rare event in biblical times, meaning it pretty much never happened. Whenever a child was sexually abused in the Early Church, the perpetrator was excommunicated and shunned. 

Child abuse was investigated in the Early Church by way of internal church investigation. This investigation usually started when a child confided into a clergyperson about their home life. From there, the parents were called to testify before the council, where a council of 3 elders decided the fate of the parents. If the parents were at all defensive in their testimony, 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 Jews, with no Jew worth mentioning ever endorsing punitive measures in parenting. Each biblical writer also wrote parenting manuals that advocated attachment parenting. Even King Solomon wrote in favor of attachment parenting in the parenting manual that he wrote, with the rod of correction in Proverbs referring to the 40 minus 1 lashes as a sentence for a crime. 

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. It just so happens that the parenting manuals from the biblical context were not translated into English until the 1960s. Before then, we didn't know much about the biblical context on parenting.

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!