Child punishment: Why punishing children is sin (and what to do instead)

Many parents believe that "God" commands that children be punished every once and a while. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. Most American parents punish their children once catching them being bad. The fact of the matter is that the Bible teaches that punishing a child is sin.

The prohibition against punitive parenting, and what to do instead, are stated in Ephesians 6:1-4 KJV:

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; for this is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

The Greek root word translated "obey" is υπακουο (Latin: hupakouo) and refers to secure, vulnerable rest in the love and submission of parents. Children are to rest securely in the sacrifice of parents, just as parent believers rest securely in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This commandment was intended by the Apostle Paul to lift up the customary law that commands a secure attachment between parents and children in the family home. This secure attachment comes from parent submission, where parents submit to their children as their enemy, from beneath yet from above, expecting absolutely nothing in return.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to wrath" is παροργίζο (Latin: parorgizo) 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, but not limited to, any punishments, reprimands, or other 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 your child as a quartered slave. Paul here was lifting up the Law in order to convict a group of Greek Christians in the parish at Ephesus 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 secular writings. Contrary to popular belief, the scourge of cords was shunned by the Early Church.

The Greek root word translated "nurture" is παιδεία (Latin: paideia) and refers to here, in this context, modeling Christian discipline to children. The Christian standard of discipline is deserving of absolutely nothing, therefore grateful for absolutely everything, coming from a sinful nature, leading to a chastened up example for children to follow. Christian parents in the Early Church centered their entitlement in view of their children, with children following in the footsteps of parents. Children in biblical times were caught being good, as opposed to being caught being bad. When children were caught emulating the Christian example of their parents, they were lavishly praised and encouraged to "keep headed down the straight path". Boys were given manly praise when caught being good, and girls were given hugs and snuggles when caught being good. Sometimes, children needed direct parental instruction. The Greek root word translated "admonition" is νουθεσία (Latin: nouthesia) and refers to the advice and counsel of parents, meaning parents then could only give advice, or else counsel a child when the child was upset. Otherwise, parents were under the divine authority of children until they left the home.

How were children motivated to learn discipline? Children were motivated to learn discipline by way of a secure attachment with parents. For the first 6 years of a child's life, children were in constant closeness to mothers, meaning that wherever the mother went, so did the child. The Early Christians practiced birth nudity, where mother and child were in the nude next to each other, in skin-on-skin closeness and intimacy. When children cried, mothers cooed while rushing in to pick up the child in skin-on-skin format, then holding the upset child close to her bosom in mammary closeness. When out and about in public, mothers swaddled their children next to her bosom in swaddling blankets. Come nightfall, children co-slept next to mothers in skin-on-skin format, with mothers breastfeeding their milk-dependent children to sleep. Co-sleeping ended at puberty, when children insisted on sleeping in their own bed. This sort of loving attention, during the formative years of a child's life, prepares children to follow the good example of parents.

Children, once they attained the age of 6, they were handed over to the providing custody of their fathers. Fathers left out a Bible for the child to find, and hopefully be engrossed in. When children were caught reading Scripture and studying it, they were praised lavishly for "reading the good book". Fathers formed a close bond to their children, and did so using righteous masturbation. Righteous masturbation centers the sexual desires of the father in one place, with the attraction then coming out in a male nurturing instinct. Mothers nurture up close, and fathers nurture from afar.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to wrath through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them forever be 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!