Expanding child abuse definitions: Why the Bible calls for more laws to protect children

Many parents think that child abuse is not something that the ancients had a concept of. This is a common belief amongst American parents. However, the Early Christians did have a concept of child abuse. In the Bible, child abuse is defined as anything that the child perceives as abusive, in short. 

The Greek root word denoting parental entitlement is πλεονέκτης (Latin: pleonektés) add is defined as, officially speaking, wanting things from children, to the point of imposition. Unofficially speaking, parental entitlement involves a parent who is 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. Any anger towards a child was seen in biblical times as parental entitlement. When this sense of entitlement in parents was perceived by a child as offensive or damaging, 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 here 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 out 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, but he sure loved children, and even took in a few orphaned children during his time as a deacon.

The Greek root word translated "they be discouraged" is αθυμέω (Latin: athumeo) and refers to a child losing heart, namely long-term damages from trauma. The ancients had a concept of childhood trauma. Whenever a child grew up to be an atheist, that was seen as a sign of trauma. Maybe the adult non-believer rebelled a bit, but that was seen as due to trauma, not simply a blasphemous attitude. 

The writers of all 88 books of the Bible were anti-spanking, as all of them were Jewish, and Jews were always anti-spanking. Even King Solomon only recommended judicial corporal punishment of legal adults, and made it clear that customary law did not allow for punitive measures of any kind in his secular writings. The Bible is an anti-spanking document, through and through. The reason why this wasn't known before was due to translation errors in the Latinate Bible. But, some of it did shine through, and that is where we get the commandment not to provoke a child to anger through offenses or damages.

Whenever parents were found by the council to be abusive, they were excommunicated and shunned by the church council. However, usually, the adult children shunned their parents before reporting them to the council. Shunning abusive parents was allowed in the Early Church. However, most parents then were worthy of honor, as child abuse was not rampant like it is today.

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 burning sulfur, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!