Expanding child abuse definitions: Why the Bible calls for stronger laws combatting child abuse

Many parents think that the Bible has no concept of child abuse apart from obeying the law of the land. 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 being parents. 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 then was perceived by a child as offensive or damaging, it was deemed child abuse. 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. 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. If you hurt someone else's feelings, you need to apologize. It works the same way when dealing with children. Avoiding offense in children, just like in avoiding offense in relations between adults, calls for apologizing for hurt feelings. In many cases, 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 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 term 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. But, this commandment was ultimately received by the parish at Colossae as prohibiting causing offenses in children as perceived by the 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, 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 for being too harsh on their child. An atheist, in the Early Church, was seen as an abused child, not a "sinner" to be "won over". 

The ancients in the Bible even had a concept of child sexual abuse. The Greek root word translated "fornication" in the New Testament is πορνεία (Latin: porneia) and refers here to any sexual relations or advances outside of the context of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman, with this marriage being equal in terms of chronological age. A groom was only allowed a bride his age or up to 4 years older. Any intergenerational marriages were banned in the Early Church, as was any sexual relations with a child. All pornography was also banned then, including that which depicted children. Most child sexual abuse then happened in the form of father-child incest, with daughters being the usual target. Fathers who had parent attractions spent away their sexual desires for their child with righteous masturbation, with righteous masturbation referring to masturbation without pornography for health reasons. Child sexual abuse was rare in the Early Church, meaning close to non-existent. Adult attraction to children was on the surface in the Early Church, with adults freely admitting to their sexual advances in abbreviated format. Thus, sexually abused children could easily tell what was happening to them, and then self-reported the abuse that they were suffering. Whenever child sexual abuse was found out, it was a huge moral outrage.

It is a myth that the Early Christians were well-integrated into Rome. Instead, the Early Christians lived in urban enclaves that shunned the broader Greco-Roman world, and the outside world at large. The Early Christians even had their own court system, which was binding up until the end of the 1s Century. The Early Christians were culturally distinct from Rome. 

Child abuse was prosecuted in the Early Church by way of 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 church elders, who would preside over the investigation into the parents. If the parents at all got defensive in court, they were excommunicated from the Early Christian Churches of God, alongside all who testified on behalf of the parents.

The Bible is an anti-spanking document. All 88 books of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation - were written by anti-spanking Jews, with Jewish law prohibiting striking a child at all. All of the biblical writers also wrote parenting manuals advocating attachment parenting. Even King Solomon wrote an attachment parenting manual, with the rod of correction referring to the 40 minus 1 lashes as a sentence for crime. It just so happens that these attachment parenting manuals were translated into English in the 1960s. Before then, this level of knowledge was only found in the Jewish world before then. 

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 the Bible. However, the legal defense of "reasonable chastisement" is based off of dated biblical teaching. It is about time we repeal the "reasonable chastisement" defense in all 50 states, and amend the child abuse definitions under state and federal law, with child abuse being redefined as anything perceived by a child 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!

Passing down the faith: How to bring up your children in the instruction of the Lord without punitive measures

Many parents want to bring up a child in the Christian faith. This is a common goal amongst Christian parents. Most Christian parents feel the need to punish children in order to "beat the devil out of them", namely by "breaking their will". However, there are better ways of teaching children about the Christian faith.

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 of this commandment clarifies for the second that punitive measures should not be used to beat a religion into a child. Religion is a base need for children and adults alike. 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 when "beating the devil out of them". 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. If you hurt someone else's feelings, you need to apologize. This also applies to dealing with children. Avoiding offense in children, like in relations between adults, involves apologizing for hurt feelings. In many cases, 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 is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. This first stanza here 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 measures on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. But, this first stanza was ultimately received by the parish at Ephesus as prohibiting offenses in children 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 second stanza of this commandment, in part, refers to how to properly teach your child values. 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, with this second stanza being received as discussing religious instruction by the parish at Ephesus. Starting at age 6, fathers left out an open Bible, with the Bible being open to a reassuring passage, such as the Beatitudes. Children in the Early Church taught themselves how to read on the Bible. When children discovered the open Bible, and were caught studying that Bible, they were given lavish praise and encouragement to keep on studying. Fathers then interjected "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.

Religion is a human need for children and adults alike. They will find values on their own. There is no need to rush a child's religious development. An example of rushing children's religious development is by forcing children into grateful postures. I myself tie my hands behind my back when out in public, and nobody made me. Grateful postures are a sign of healthy religious development, meaning if you see them in a child, know that your child is in a good religious place. 

A common way that parents try to instruct their children in the Lord is through "reverent V". This means break down a child until they "surrender to God"  However, severe religious trauma is when a whole belief system is falsely associated with punishment. I myself do not have a severe religious trauma, but I did suffer some trauma from the rod verses in Proverbs in the form of a benign religious trauma. 

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!

Honor thy parents: Understanding the Fifth Commandment in context

Many parents feel entitled to being "honored" by their children. This is a common want amongst American parents. Most American parents feel deserving of "honor" and "respect". "Disrespecting" and "dishonoring" parents commonly leads to punishment in most American homes. The Fifth Commandment, contrary to popular belief, does not prohibit speaking against parents. Instead, honoring parents refers to honoring them in a certain specific way - taking care of them as they age. 

The Fifth Commandment is spelled out 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 is may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 

The Greek root word translated "honour" in Eph. 6:2-3 is τιμαω (Lstin: timao) and refers here to being a caregiver to another person, namely an aging parent. The idea is to reward your parents for taking good care of you when you were little. However, this only works if your parents truly weren't abusive to you at all. A trauma survivor owes nothing to their parents if their parents were abusive. If your parents were entitled in any way, you have the right to shun them. The reason for this commandment, in both the Old Testament and the parish at Ephesus, was an epidemic of elder abuse and neglect in both contexts.

Most parents punish, or use punitive measures on, their children when they feel "dishonored" or "disrespected". In some American homes, children are punished solely when the parent feels "dishonored". However, any punitive measures coming from parents are prohibited in the Bible, including when parents feel "dishonored". 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 your child when you feel "dishonored" by them. 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. In many cases, 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 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 term 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 causing any offenses in children as perceived by the 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.

You do not need to honor dishonorable parents. You only need to give your parents forgiveness if they genuinely apologize to you. However, if your parents ever go back on their apology, you can go back on your forgiveness towards them. There is nothing in the contextual understanding of the Bible mandating forgiving and forgetting, even in the context of patenting/ Forgiveness of parents in the Bible is a form of legal forgiveness, meaning you acknowledge their apology.

I myself forgive my parents for abusing me. However, the only reason I forgive them is that they apologized to me. I now give back to my mother by buying her dinner at the restaurant, if at all possible. My parents bought into parental rights tripe when reading up on how to bring me up. My father was my main abuser growing up, with him using a "disciplinary spanking" done "out of love". I was spanked and I did not turn out okay. I am grateful for my parents' apology, but still hold the topic over them/ I also profile for entitled parents, and keep down my collective abuser on that front.

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 attitude amongst American parents. However, most American parents equate discipline with punishment. However, the fact of the matter that there are better ways to discipline a child than punishing them.

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.

The first stanza of this commandment 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 to stop spanking your child, or even stop punishing them altogether for that reason. 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. Many times, 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 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 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 who brought into the church their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin term 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 by the parish at Ephesus as prohibiting causing any offenses in children as perceived by the 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 second stanza of this commandment states 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 to a specific form of nurturing, namely of the teaching sort. Christian parents in the Early Church looked for preferred behaviors in children, usually self-control and self-discipline. When children were caught showing good traits, they were given lavish praise and encouragement to keep up the good work. Christian parents in the Early Church imparted a non-entitled example for children to emulate. However, this good Christian example was backed up by praise and encouragement, not punishment or shaming. 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 "instruction" in more modern versions of the Bible. Starting at age 6, fathers left out a Bible for child to discover and explore, opened up to a reassuring passage such as the Beatitudes, with children teaching themselves how to read on the Bible. When children were caught in the act of studying the Bible, they were given lavish praise to keep studying the Bible. 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. Children were curious about Scripture, with fathers being quick to give pointers on the context. This second stanza refers to the Judeo-Christian parenting teaching of positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is an time-tested Hebraic tradition in the Bible that predates the coming of Christ by thousands of years. 

There is never a case where a child shows no good traits automatically in the course of their development. All children show good traits now and then, especially as they get older. Whenever children show these good traits, they should be lavishly praised and encouraged for finding discipline on their own. If you leave children to their own devices, they will find discipline on their own. The point of discipline is to speed up the process of discipline, and gently guide where the child's self-discipline should go.

It is a myth that the fathers in the Bible sexually corrected their children with "hand-me-down-the-slate" gaslighting. The Bible prohibits all sexual abuse of a child with the word πορνεία (Latin: porneia), with this word referring to any sexual relations outside of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman, with this marriage having to be equitable in nature - the groom was only allowed a bride his age or up to 4 years older. All sexual relations with a child was banned in the Early Church. Fathers who raped their children then were swiftly excommunicated from the Early Christian Churches of God. In the Old Testament, any sex with a child was a capital offense. Other cultures then did use sexual correction when a child was crying off the hook, but not Ancient Israel or 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 torrents, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

Defiance: Why never to punish your child for defiance

Many parents have been there. A child is acting defiant of the limits set by parents. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. Most American parents punish their children for defiance. However, these parents need an attitude adjustment. Punitive measures in parenting is prohibited in the Bible. 

The Bible bans all punitive measures for defiant children 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 your child for defiance. However, it is not enough to stop spanking your defiant 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. One thing that hurts a child's feelings is not being able to accept set limits. One way that children voice displeasure for set limits is by acting in a defiant manner. Children have limited self-control, meaning what is simply disappointing to parents is catastrophic to a child, in which case they lash out tearfully at parents. 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, including in the face of your child's defiance. In many cases, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent coming from parents, whenever children's feelings are hurt by limits not set our 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 Pau; here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin term roughly translating to "power to the parent", namely the power to impose punitive measures on children, such as spanking ot other forms of punishment of children. However, this commandment was ultimately received by the parish at Colossae as causing any offenses in children 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.

Some parents only punish their children for clear defiance. Most parents think that a defiant child is out to get them. However, most children act defiant when they cannot accept a set limit. This is due to lack of self-control. This lack of self-control is a normal form of childhood development. Most all children lack the self-control necessary to accept set limits. 

Whenever your child lashes out at you, the idea is to apologize righteously in the face of their defiance. In the case of parents not setting limits out of anger, an informal apology would be appropriate, However, if you ever hurt your child's feelings. 

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!

Redefining child abuse: Why the Bible calls for tougher laws against child abuse

Many parents believe that the Bible has no concept of child abuse apart from obeying the law of the land. 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 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 being parents. 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 Early Christian parents was perceived by the 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. In many cases, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent coming from parents, in the form of an informal apology, for hurt feelings in children due to 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 with them their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin term 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 causing any offenses in a child as perceived by the 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, 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 atheist child, not the atheist child themselves. An atheist in the Early Church was seen 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 the context of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman, with this  marriage having to be equal in nature. A groom in the Early Church was only allowed a bride his age or up to 4 years older. Most child sexual abuse happened as father-child incest, with daughters being the usual targets. Fathers dealt with their incestuous attractions by way of righteous masturbation, meaning masturbating to child fantasies without pornography. Child sexual abuse was a rare crime in the biblical context, meaning it was next to non-existent. Adult attraction to children then existed on the surface level of society meaning men in particular were honest about their sexual attractions to children. Whenever a man his sexual attraction to children, his hide stood out, and he was suspected by all for sexually abusing a child. Child sexual abuse was somewhat submerged in the biblical context, meaning children knew exactly what was happening to them, and then they self-reported their own abuse.

It is a myth that the Early Christians were well-integrated into Rome. The Early Christians instead lived in urban enclaves in major Greco-Roman cities, shunning the broader Greco-Roman world, and the world at large. The Early Christians even had their own criminal court system that was binding into the turn of the 2nd Century. The Early Christians were a culture of their own. Punitive parenting was seen then as of this world.

Child abuse was prosecuted in the Early Church by way of internal church investigation. This investigation usually started with a child confiding into a clergyperson about their home life. From there, the parents were summoned before the council of 3 elders that would preside over the investigation into the parents. If the parents at all were defensive in the court proceedings, they were excommunicated from the Early Christian Churches of God for their parental entitlement alone.

The Bible is an anti-spanking document. All 88 books of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation - were written by anti-spanking Jews, with Jews always opposing punitive parenting throughout history. All of the biblical writers also wrote parenting manuals that advocated attachment parenting. Even King Solomon wrote an attachment parenting manual for minor Jewish children, with the rod in Proverbs referring to a form of judicial corporal punishment known as the 40 minus 1 lashes. It just so happens that these attachment parenting manuals were not translated into English until the 1960s. However, these parenting manuals were known to the Jewish world long before 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, comes from Christian teaching. However, the legal defense of "reasonable chastisement" is based off of dated biblical understanding. It is about time we repeal the "reasonable chastisement" defense and redefine child abuse as anything perceived by a child victim 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 torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

"Benign" deprivation: Why children don't need to hear the word "no" from parents "frequent and often"

Many parents have bought into it. The idea that children need to hear the word "no" from parents "frequent and often". This is a common attitude amongst American parents. However, saying "no" to your children "frequent and often" can be a form of child abuse in and of itself. Most American parents need an attitude adjustment on this issue.

God's Law on child abuse, including "benign" deprivation, 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 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 avoid hurting their feelings, including with the word "no". One thing that hurts a child's feelings more than anything is being told "no" for almost everything that they ask for. The key here is to avoid saying "no" to a child whenever possible. The idea is to reserve the word "no" for when children are behaving in an unsafe manner, such as running into a busy street or playing ball in the house, or else when they ask for something unsafe. Apart from that, parents should avoid offense in children by avoiding the word "no". However, sometimes hurt feelings are inevitable in children when they are told "no", in which case a meaningful apology is in order. In many cases, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent coming from parents, in the form of an informal apology, for 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 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 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. 

Children need to hear your "yes" far more often than your "no". The idea is to avoid saying "no" to your child except for safety's sake. Whenever you hurt your child's feelings with the word "no", you should give a meaningful apology for hurting your child's feelings. However, if you ever lose your child as a parent while saying "no", you definitely need to give a formal apology for hurting your child's feelings with your anger.

A common place for contention in parenting is in the store. In most cases, a child picks up a small item from the shelf - usually a candy bar - and then the parent tells the child "put that back", and from there, the power struggle begins. In the Early Church, the candy that all the children wanted was licorice. When children got licorice off of the shelf, parents knew that they'd have to pay extra, but they didn't care, since their child was like God to them (see Matt. 25:31-46). The idea is to get for your child whatever their heart contents. If you cannot afford it, promise them to save money yourself for the item that is too much to afford. 

Most of the time, there is a better way to decline a request from a child than a flat-out "no". In most cases, all that is necessary is a nicer-sounding declination of requests, such as "that won't work", "that can't happen, or that isn't possible". A firm "no" should be saved for clearly unsafe behavior, such as running into traffic or playing ball in the house. A child usually cannot understand the dangers of a busy street until they are at least age 6, and thus before that age, children need to be nurtured at home as babies, with breastfeeding lasting until age 6 or even beyond in some cases. The Early Christians treated young children under age 6 as babies, with many children being nourished with the teat of mothers for as long as necessary, meaning sometimes until age 6 or even beyond.

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!