Original sin: How to bring up children with convicted attitudes (without punishment or force)

The doctrine of original sin is one of the most misunderstood and misused of all Christian teachings. Yet, original sin is the backbone of Christianity. Without original sin, there would be no need for a Savior. I myself hold Mennonite values, and the core of all Mennonite values is being convicted of your original sin.

I myself am a depraved and decadent sinner who is deserving of nothing but non-existence, and thus am grateful merely for being alive. God hates all mankind merely for existing, as we have turned our back to God. Many will be called to be Christians, yet only a few will be saved. The rest will be cast into everlasting fire and torment, suffering the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices. The main factor, I believe, will be how you treat children.

Part of imparting the Christian doctrine of original sin is in the Christian doctrine of mutual submission, in the form of Christian attachment parenting. Christian attachment parenting is summed up in Ephesians 6:1-4 KJV:

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long 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. This word ultimately refers to a secure attachment between parent and child in the family home. This secure attachment comes from parent submission, where parents are to submit to their children as they would to God, 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 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. Paul may not have gotten along with the women of the church, but he sure loved children, and even took in a few orphaned children during his time as a deacon. Indeed, Greco-Roman fathers got out the scourge of cords in order to punish their children, but NOT the Christians among them - the Early Christians were largely persecuted for being "too soft" on their children.

The Greek root word translated "nurture" is παιδεία (Latin: paideia) and refers to here, in this context, any modeling or encouragement of Christian discipline. 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 their footsteps. Children in biblical times were caught being good, as opposed to being caught being bad. Whenever children were caught showing good traits - such as waiting their turn, being patient, or showing self-control - they were lavishly praised and encouraged to "keep headed down the straight path". Boys were given manly praise when caught being good by fathers, whereas girls were given a side embrace when caught being good by fathers. Children also need a good religious education. The Greek root word translated "admonition" is νουθεσία (Latin: nouthesia) and refers to a warning, namely in the form of religious instruction from fathers. This religious education started with fathers leaving out an Aramaic copy of the Hebrew Bible for children to discover and explore. When children were caught reading the Bible, they were praised and encouraged for their religious vocation with statements such as "that book is good for you". From there, religious instruction came in the form of question and answer, with children from there being eager to learn the facts of life, and with fathers giving pointers on the context of the Bible.

Original sin is a topic that should come up early in the question and answer setup between parent and child. Children will ask "Why did Jesus have to die?". The appropriate answer is simply "we are all sinners in the world that we live in, and so is the world itself". From there, children will likely have a somber moment, in which case children would deserve comfort from mom in the form of skin-on-skin warmth and sustenance. Mothers were there to comfort, and fathers were there to teach, with both roles requiring nurturing of some sort.

What motivates a child to hear out the warning from fathers? Why not start out with treating young children to a secure attachment between mother and child? For the first 6 years of childhood, mothers were in constant closeness to mother, meaning that wherever the mother went, so did the child. For the first 2 years of childhood, children were constantly held by their mothers, either in her arms, or else on her back in papoose bag when her hands were full. When children were aged 2-6, they ranged next to mothers, following her from room to room, fearing that mom would "go away and never come back". Whenever children cried, mothers cooed at their children before picking them up, then holding to their child to their bosom in skin-on-skin mammary closeness. When out and about in public, mothers swaddled their children to their bosom in swaddling blankets. Come nightfall, children co-slept next to mothers in skin-on-skin closeness and intimacy. This co-sleeping didn't stop until the child reached the onset of puberty. 

A convicted attitude is the attitude that you know that you are deserving of absolutely nothing, therefore being grateful for absolutely everything. The idea is to focus on your own sins, and then the rest will pan out on its own. But, when you see real progress in your child, it is good to give them lavish praise and encouragement. Children grow towards your example, and once you see that growth in children, it is good to lavishly praise and encourage such growth in children. All of the selfish, childish behaviors that children exhibit when they are younger are actually developmentally appropriate, and go away as the child matures. What attitudes replace the childish attitudes that children exhibit? Our own attitudes will become the attitudes of the next generation. 

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