Defiance: Why the fetal position stops defiance in its tracks

Many parents have to deal with it. Most children show defiance from time to time, with very few exceptions. Most parents in biblical times dealt with defiance differently than parents do today. Mothers in biblical times treated their defiant children with the fetal position.

The fetal position is part of the Christian doctrine of mutual submission. Children rested in the loving arms of children, and parents provided sustaining warmth to reassure a child who was ramping up. 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 as they would to God, expecting absolutely nothing in return, with children resting safely and securely in the submisiion 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 to, 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 a child. 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 them as a quartered slave. Paul here was lifting up the Law in order to convict a group of Greek Christian parents 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 in his writings. 

Defiance was a rather uncommon problem for parents in biblical times. Most children were disciplined in biblical times, especually after age 6, and gravitated towards their parents since day one. Defiance was not dealt with by way of punishment in biblical times, as punishing a child was a violation of Christian law, with this Christian ordinance being reflected in the Bible.

When children were defiant, parents let it go at first. But, then, when children got uppity enough, mothers grabbed hold of the defiant child, and curled up with the child on the ground, reassuring the child with reassurances such as "this too will pass". The intent behind this intervention was to reconnect the child with his/her parents. Most of the time, children were held in skin-on-skin comfort when placed in the fetal position.

Most of the time, when the child was placed in the fetal position, their anger and frustration turned to silent tears of relief. That relief was relief caused by the presence of mothers. It was a way to break the will of the child without any punishment or controlling measures. The tears released oxytocin, and helped the child bond with their mother, and by extension, their father. 

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 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 the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!