Ccontext punishment: Why punitive parenting is prohibited in the Bible

Many parents feel entitled to their so-called "right" to punish or be controlling with their children. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. Most American parents insist on their so-called "right" to use punitive measures in parenting, which includes child abuse such as punishing children. Indeed, the ancients had a concept of child abuse - whatever is perceived by child victims.

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. Unofficially speaking, parental entitlement is a parent being sorely disappointed when they don't get what they feel that they deserve from children. Parents are deserving of absolutely nothing from children just for existing. Parents who merely got angry with their children were charged with parental entitlement. Whenever this sense of entitlement was perceived as offensive at the very least by children, it was deemed child abuse. See also 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 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 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 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.

Punitive parenting here is defined as any parenting motivated by anger. Most parents in the Early Church did not ever expose their children to parent anger, except to protect them from harm or abuse. Most parent anger in biblical times was intended ON BEHALF of the child, as opposed to AT the child.

All punitive parenting was prohibited in the Bible. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, any punishments or reprimands towards children. Whenever parents were caught being harsh or punitive with their children in the Early Church, they were put before the council. When convicted, the parents were excommunicated from the Early Christian Churches of God. 

Child abuse did exist in the Early Church, and it stuck out like a weed. What parishioners looked for in a parent was a hot temper. Most Christian parents in the Early Church never got angry with a child. So, when parents lost their cool with their children, they were immediately identified as abusers. Most parenting then was motivated by worry or concern, not anger. 

The depraved and entitled parents who provoked 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!