Control from beneath: Understanding the role of children in biblical society

Many parents think that biblical rimes were harsh on children. This is a common narrative fed to children by their parents. Most parents in America believe that parents had the upper hand in biblical times. This is a myth about biblical times that needs to go. The fact of the matter is that children controlled from beneath to get what they need from their parents. 

The concept of control from beneath is how one can understand the dynamic behind the Christian doctrine of mutual submission. 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. Children are to rest securely in the sacrifice of parents, just as parent believers rest securely in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Parents are to be extensions of Christ in the family home, dutifully and selflessly submitting to children just as they would to God, expecting absolutely nothing in return, with children resting safely and securely in the submission of parents. Parents are to submit to children as their enemy, from beneath yet from above, revering and fearing children as vulnerable extensions of God.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers to damages or offenses, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, including, but not limited, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. This commandment was intended by the Apostle Paul, and understood in its original context, as a moral statute prohibiting all forms of punitive parenting, including any punishments or controlling demeanor towards children. In the Old Testament, punitive parents were put to death by way of bloodletting, after punishing their children one last time. Parents who punished their children were charged with kidnapping, with "kidnapping" being defined under the Law as the slightest of damages or offenses stemming from hostage-taking - child punishment was seen in biblical times as holding your child hostage merely for things that they did wrong, thereby treating children as quartered slaves. Paul here was lifting up the Law in order to convict a group of Greek Christians who brought their pagan custom of spanking and punishing children into the church. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punishment of a child. Paul advocated for children repeatedly in his writings, more so than any other biblical writer, in fact.

Parents are to be submissive to their children, from beneath yet from above, fearing the Lord in their children, regarding their children as the "least of these". In biblical times, children were seen as vulnerable extensions of God, meaning vulnerable appearances of God. God was believed then to appear in children, in order to judge righteously the charity and good will of men. Ancient Jewish culture, including the Early Church, was a child worshipping society, not a child enslaving society. 

Children were obeyed by parents and other adult caregivers from beneath. Children, in biblical society, had immense lobbying power with parents and other adults. Children demanded what they wanted from parents, and parents obeyed, providing for children most of what they wanted, and everything that they needed.

Parenting manuals in biblical times stated clearly, in convicting format, that whatever you did for your child, you did for God. Conversely, the parenting manuals also said that whatever you didn't do for your child, you didn't do for God. The manual went on to say that parents were inherently worthless in value, and had to earn their worth by performing good works for their child. Parents were to submit to their children dutifully and fearfully, from beneath yet from above, meaning the child was seen as more significant than the parent, for being as small and vulnerable as children naturally are, and not despite the vulnerability of children. The vulnerability of children convicted most Jewish and Christian adults in biblical society, and when you weren't convicted by their vulnerability, that defined you as a bad person. 

Parents in biblical times put their children on a pedestal, worshipping their children in a reverent and fearsome way, valuing their children as vulnerable extensions of God. A good Christian parent in the Early Church valued their child even above themselves, and would martyr themselves for their child, just as Christ martyred Himself for His children. This was so much that parents didn't mind feeling worthless, while their child owned all of the worth. Parents in biblical times stived for perfection, knowing they'd never get there, struggling against every pareting error, just for their children. Nothing mattered but their children, and everything in 1st Century Christian society surrounded the child, including the Christian work ethic found in the Early Church. Christian parents in the Bible were deeply devoted to their children. The most common reason for suicide amongst women in biblical times was the sudden death of a child. Fathers usually put daughters in particular in a different way - worshipping them like a sex goddess, in an abstinent way, indulging in masturbatory fantasy about his daughter as a form of child worship.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke 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!