Pro-social deification, pro-social child worship: Why children were worshipped in biblical times

Many parents believe that biblical times were harsh on children, and that children were seen as property by parents. This is a common misconception about the Bible. Certain ancient societies were child worshipping societies, and ancient Israel and the Early Church were both societies that worshipped children.

Jesus Christ said in Matthew 25:45-46 KJV:

Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to the least of these, ye did it not unto me. And these shall go into everlasting punishment: and the righteous into eternal life.

This passage from our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Matthew denotes what pro-social child worship meant in the Bible. Children were seen as extensions of God, meaning they were in place of God on earth. The child's every self-advocated need was seen as a sign of God, in a convicting way that struck reverent terror and fear for the child's vulnerability. The average parent's reaction to their child's cries and demands for love and attention was one of shaking and quaking reverence.

Every single parent and adult is guilty in relation to children, and are deserving of DEATH and DESTRUCTION merely for existing in relation to children, with parents/adults being meek and shamefaced in relation to children, speaking to them only at their consent and cue. Parents especially are to esteem their child above all else, putting children first, and parents last, leading to dutiful and selfless submission to children and their every need, expecting absolutely nothing in return, with children resting safely and securely with parents. See Colossians 3:20-21 KJV:

Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "obey" is υπακουο (Latin: hupakouo) and refers to secure, vulnerable rest in the love and grace of parents, with parents being attendant caregivers to children, with children owing nothing in return to parents, with children being in place of God on earth. Attachment parenting was the norm in biblical times. Think a mother holding pales of water, with a young child wrapped up next to her bosom, with an older child in tow next to her mother, with the mother gathering water from a desert stream for drinking water and for cooking food. This is America's parenting, as we draw from the Bible and its context for wisdom. Attachment parenting is American parenting, as any biblical parenting is American parenting. Children, in the Bible, rested in the care and protection of parents, and this is because the above-mentioned Greek lettering refers to a resting, safe form of submission where children retreat to their parents for safety and security.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers to damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, including the slightest of offensive touch or words perceived by the child. This was intended by the Apostle Paul to lift up the Law about punishing and controlling children to Christians in the 1st Century. The punishment of children carried severe penalties under both Jewish and Christian law. The traditional punishment for a punitive parent was death by bloodletting (hanging up parents like poultry). In the Early Church, after Christ abolished the death penalty and corporal punishment on the cross, the punitive parent(s) were excommunicated, alongside anyone that would protect the abusers. The rod verses in Proverbs and Hebrews do not refer to spanking, but to a dated form of judicial corporal punishment - the 40 minus 1 lashes with the rod of correction, as a last warning before putting an offender to death. The children mentioned in all of the English translations of the Bible in Proverbs refer to ADULT children of Hebrew parents - the translations into Latin were tampered with by the Council of Nicaea, to justify the Roman authoritarian views on Christ and Christianity. The verses in Hebrews 12:5-11 refer to the rod of correction figuratively, as a symbolic way to depict trials and tribulations in life, with us enduring hardship to make us better. Corporal punishment was not practiced in the Early Church, due to its strong connection traditionally to capital punishment. They just excommunicated you if you did something wrong, after a church inquisition. Punitive parents were the first to be punished by the Law in both the Old and New Testaments. 

Children in ancient Israel and adjoining churches were worshipped. Children in biblical times were demanding to the point of issuing edicts and orders to parents, with parents surrendering to children, giving in and giving up, with children policing their parents for their needs. Sometimes, children screamed in the face of parents, swore at them, and otherwise were a menace to parents. Parents saw this behavior, given the size and age of the children, to be endearing. 

Children were seen figuratively as extensions of God to be appeased to and venerated, meaning the belief among Christian parents in the 1st Century was that if you didn't appease your children and keep them happy, they would eat you alive. Children were treated as royalty, with adults stepping aside when children were running and playing, with there being very few restrictions on children.

Children up until age 6 were intensely close to mothers, and never left their mother's side. Older children played freely, but never left the line of sight of their parents. Children, however, were allowed to play freely within the line of sight of parents, including high-risk play. Children in biblical times did not wear clothing, as clothing was seen as for adults as a status symbol. Overt sexual penetration was prevented by way of separating children and supervising them more closely when they were about to go that route, the bulk of games biblical children played had at least vague sexual undertones, with the most high risk game being "marriage" - most children simply embraced during that game (the defining contract of marriage under Jewish and Christian law was sexual intercourse). The moral of the story here is that children were seen then as sacred persons, with adults largely leaving them to their own devices in terms of development, intervening rarely, and then only to keep them safe. The idea is that if you controlled children too much, they would fight back and rebel, so the idea was to keep children happy. Children were seen in place of God in the tense of keeping them happy and appeased, and never desecrated by punishment, control, or fornication.

The depraved and entitled parents will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them burn in 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 Hell and torment, suffering God's Wrath for all eternity! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!