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

Many parents think that the ancients in the Bible had no concept of childhood, let alone child abuse. This is a common belief amongst American parents. Most American parents support the current child abuse definition. However, the Bible has its own definition of child abuse - whatever the child victim perceives as abuse.

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 consists of a parent who is sorely disappointed when they don't get what they feel that they deserve from children. However, even parent anger directed towards children was deemed in the Early Church as parental entitlement, and was roundly condemned as such. When this sense of entitlement in parents was perceived by children 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 offense or damages, 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, with this entitlement including parent anger at children. Child abuse in the Bible, as a concept, includes entitlement in parents, leading to offense in children. The only way to avoid abusing your child is to avoid offense in a child. Part of avoiding offense in a child is to be willing to apologize whenever you hurt your child's feelings. However, when you lose your cool with your child, you need to give a formal apology for your entitlement, and commit never to losing your cool ever again, as losing your cool alone as a parent is entitlement. However, any time you refuse to apologize to a child for upsetting them, you are entitled. This commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin phrase roughly translating to "power to the parent", including the power to impose punitive sanctions on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive parenting in his secular writings. Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men.

The Greek root word translated "they be discouraged" is αθυμέω (Latin: athumeo) and refers here to long-term damages, including trauma. The ancients had a basic understanding of childhood trauma. Whenever a child grew up to be atheist. it was seen as a sign of trauma from child abuse, not a sign that the child was a "lost soul". 

Even in the Early Church, child sexual abuse was a concept. The Greek root word translated "fornication" is πορνεία (Latin: porneia) and refers to any sexual activity outside of proper ventricles, with this including sexual relations with your wife, or else righteous masturbation - without pornography - with yourself. Any sexual interaction between an adult and a child is child sexual abuse. This means that any perceived sexual advances towards a child by an adult is child sexual abuse, even if the child liked it. Even in the Early Church, marriage was only allowed between equals in terms of age, with the bride being either the exact same age as the groom, or with the bride being up to 4 years older than the groom. Intergenerational marriage was not allowed in the Early Church.

Child abuse was prosecuted by the church authorities in the Early Church. In most cases, a child confided into a church elder or deacon about being abused. From there, the parents were called before the council of 3 elders. If the parents defended themselves at all in court, they were excommunicated from the Early Christian Churches of God. 

The Bible is an anti-spanking document. All 88 books of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation - was written by Jews, with no Jew worth mentioning ever endorsing punitive parenting. Even King Solomon recommended attachment parenting for the little ones, with the rod of correction being for adult children who ran afoul of the Law, as a final warning before the adult child was put to death, meaning the 40 minus 1 lashes.

America is a Christian nation, founded on Judeo-Christian family values. The Bible is a founding document of this nation, even above the Constitution itself. We glean from the Bible and its context as to how to live and treat each other with respect. Even our secular legal codes are written with a Judeo-Christian bias. It just so happened that the Bible itself was poorly translated into Latin when Rome took over, and part of that was intentional. Also, Jewish scholarship on parenting is far divorced from the Christian scholarship on parenting, with very few ancient Jewish parenting manuals translated into Latin or English. 

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!