Child punishment: Why punishment of children is a moral crime against children

Many parents support child punishment. This is a common way that parents react to their children's cries and upsets. Most parents in America have punished their children, in some way, in some form. Most parents use the Bible as an excuse for child abuse. The fact of the matter, however, is that the Bible actually prohibits the use of punishment or force in parenting. 

The Greek root word denoting parental entitlement in the New Testament, and cross-referencing the Tenth Commandment, is πλεονέκτης (Latin: pleonektés) and is defined as, officially speaking, wanting things from children, to the point of imposition. Once children perceived the imposition of want from an adult, it became child abuse. See Colossians 3:21 KJV:

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

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, 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 personal offenses stemming from hostage-taking - child punishment was seen in biblical times as holding your child hostage merely for things 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 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 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.

Anger at one's children was seen as something akin to a viper or a monster. Parenting in biblical times was not motivated by anger. Instead, parenting was motivated out of worry or concern. Most parents in biblical times did not want to be seen as angry at a child.

Parents in biblical times were intensely close to their children. The rat race among parents was not who was the meanest to children. In modern days, most parents brag about being mean. Most parents in the Early Church, instead, wanted to be seen as warm and loving. 

Punishment and reprimands were seen as a form of entitlement on the part of the parent. Punishment of a child was seen in the Early Church as a damage or offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. This, to be clear, was understood as banning corporal punishment. Corporal punishment was especially seen as immoral because Christ experienced corporal punishment unjustly. The rod verses in Proverbs - all 7 of them - refer to the 40 minus 1 lashes, which was a form of judicial corporal punishment for adults only. The Hebrew word translated "child" in the rod verses in Proverbs refers to an adult descendant of a 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 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!