Redefining child abuse: Why our Judeo-Christian values call for expanding child abuse definitions

Many parents think that there are no answers in the Bible concerning child abuse. This is a common belief amongst American parents. Most American parents are opposed to more stringent child abuse definitions that would ban all corporal punishment against children. However, the fact of the matter is that the Bible calls for expanding child abuse definitions to include anything offensive towards a child.

The Greek root word denoting parental entitlement is πλεονέκτης (Latin: pleonektés) and is defined as, officially speaking, wanting things from children, to the point of imposition. Most parents want their children to listen to them. Unofficially speaking, parental entitlement is when parents or other adults throw a temper tantrum when they don't get what they feel they deserve from children. Any parent or adult anger towards a child was deemed to be parental entitlement in the Early Church. When children are personally offended by the temper tantrum imposed on them, it becomes 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 children, 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 was 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. The parents who punished their children were charged with kidnapping, with "kidnapping" being defined as a 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 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.

Sweden was the first country in modern times to ban all punishment of children, with this ban being passed into law in 1979. However, even before that, many ancient cultures prohibited punitive parenting under their law, and that included the Early Church. In the Early Christian context, anything that the child perceived as offensive was deemed child abuse, meaning anything stemming from entitlement.

Modern Israel had an anti-spanking law dating back to 2000. Even before that, some form of anti-spanking law existed in Jewish circles. The ban on punitive parenting simply allowed for the secular courts to step in, in the case of child abuse. Since then, the Israeli Knesset passed a law legislating a ban on all domestic violence, including domestic violence against children. All violence within the confines of a family home/is now deemed domestic violence or else domestic abuse.

Our Judeo-Christian family values, when properly understood, call for the immediate expansion of child abuse definitions. It isn't enough to treat an injury once the child arrives at the hospital. The secular law should prohibit all punishment of children, including all forms of corporal punishment. But, anything the child perceives as offensive or damaging should be treated as child abuse by the secular courts.

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!