Punishment of children: Why punishing children is banned under God's Law

Many parents believe in punishment in some way, in some form, in parenting. It is a common belief among parents that children are deserving of punishment. Most of these parents use the Bible as an excuse for abuse. However, the Bible prohibits any punishment or controlling demeanor in parenting. God's Law is above the law of the land, and punishment is prohibited under His Laws.

The centerpiece of an attached Christian parenting home is Christian Agape love for children, as denoted by the Greek root word αγαπαο (Latin: agapao), which refers to prioritizing children first, and yourself as a parent last, in a fearful and convicted way leading to dutiful and selfless submission to children and their every vulnerable need, expecting absolutely nothing in return from parents, with children resting safely and securely in the good works of parents. See Colossians 3:20-21 KJV:

Children, obey your parents in all things: as 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. Parents are to be extensions of Christ in the family home, sacrificing for their children, just as Christ sacrificed for His children, with children resting safely and securely in the sacrifice of parents. Parents labor, toil, and work to win over the good graces of children, with children resting in such love and good works. Attachment parenting was the established norm in Ancient Jewish culture, including the Early Church. In Ancient Israel, attachment parenting was mandated under Jewish customary law. In the Early Church, attachment parenting was banned by church ordinance. This word lifts up the attachment parenting context for the relevance of all. 

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers to damages or abuse, namely child abuse in this context. Child abuse, as defined under biblical law, at minimum, is the slightest of personal offense perceived by the child, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by the child, coming from entitlement. This commandment was intended by the Apostle Paul, and understood in the context in which it was given, as a prohibition against all punitive parenting, including any punishment or controlling demeanor towards children. Patrias postestas translates to "power to the father" or else "power to the parent", and refers to a father's right under Greco-Roman law to police his home as he saw fit. No analogous law existed under Jewish law, including Christian ordinance. Punitive parents, in the Old Testament, were put to death by way of bloodletting, after punishing their children enough times, with parents being given many warnings before being charged with kidnapping - the Law likened all punishment of a child to taking them hostage over things they did wrong. The Apostle Paul here was lifting up that historical context.

The teaching of "biblical spanking" does not come from the Bible, but instead comes from the Roman Catholic Church pandering to European pagan cultures that beat and whipped their children into submission. This false and abusive teaching then spread throughout all areas occupied by Rome, including England, where the Anglo-Saxons absorbed their harsh ways of dealing with children in with their interpretation of the Bible. Most all of the pagan peoples of mainland Europe were punitive parents towards their children, and colonialism spread this punitive mindset in parenting throughout the world.

What are the alternatives to punishment? The national parenting of the Ancient Jewish people, including the Early Christians, is a special, distinct form of attachment parenting where children were deified, in the form of pro-social deification and pro-social child worship. Children were worshipped and venerated as extensions of God and His Authority on earth (see Matt. 25:31-46), with parents being struck with reverent fear and terror for their children's every need/want, with parents being compelled in the Lord to submit to and surrender to the child and their every vulnerable need/want, with parents being the enemy of children, just as mankind is the enemy of God and is subservient to Him as such. The every need/want of children was seen as Divine Law, with children being able to issue lawful and binding orders just by crying out loud for their every vulnerable need. Children could even take their parents to court, and by then, it was already decided - the verdict in an exchange, in God's eyes, always is in favor of the child, even if not in the eyes of men.

How does this deified form of parenting pan out in real life? Children went naked wherever they went. Women went naked as well, in the family home, in order to serve their husbands and their children, separately. Mothers served their children by giving them nourishment and sustenance, namely breastmilk (up until age 3) and skin-to-skin closeness and intimacy (especially during co-sleeping). By day, children were ranged beside mothers, sometimes clinging to her. By night, children slept next to their mothers, being guarded by mothers from all threats external and domestic, soaking up the rays from skin-to-skin closeness and intimacy. Fathers also nurtured, but from afar, usually in the form of encouraging the religious vocation of children. Fathers spoke to their children on formal terms, until the individual child "broke the ice" and invited the father to casual conversation. This limit was in place because adult men in biblical times were pedophiles towards their own children, usually in abstinent format. Even the ancients had an understanding of child sexual abuse being wrong, with all sexual activity with a child under the age of majority, as well as any sex outside of marriage, being punished in the Early Church as fornication. Both parents took orders from children, and were bossed around by children, with children being the boss of what they need.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be forever cast 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 forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!