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

Many parents believe that child abuse wasn't a concept that parents in biblical times had. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. However, the fact of the matter is that Christian parents in the Early Church had a concept of child abuse. Child abuse is defined under the Law as anything perceived by a child as abusive. The root of all child abuse is parental entitlement.

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 involves 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. Any anger towards a child was seen as parental entitlement. When this sense of entitlement on the part of 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 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 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.

The Greek root word translated "they be discouraged" is αθυμέω (Latin: athumeo) and refers to long-term damages, namely trauma. Atheism was a thing in biblical times, and was seen then as a sign of trauma. Whenever an adult went atheist, it was seen as a shame onto the parents, not the child. 

Punishment of a child, meaning all punitive parenting, was seen as an offense against the child. Punitive parenting was defined then as any parenting based off of anger, with this anger being seen as a form of parental entitlement. Parental entitlement was seen as an offense in and of itself, much like any form of entitlement.

The Bible is an anti-spanking document. All 88 books of the Bible were written by an anti-spanking source, as all of the biblical writers were Jewish, with Jews always being anti-spanking. When parents in the Early Church were caught punishing their children, they were brought before the council to be questioned by the church elders. The Early Christian law was an inquisitorial system of justice, meaning the council directed the investigation into the parents. The deacons then profiled for parents, with pedophiles being the "child saviors" of the time. All the pedophiles\were allowed to do was nurse the child back to health by way of male lactation - sexual relations with a child was always banned, and always will be banned under God's Law.

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!