Passing down the faith: How to instruct your child in the Lord without punitive measures

Most parents want their children to have religion. This is a common desire amongst American parents. However, most parents think religious instruction needs to hurt in order to be useful. However, the Bible calls, in context, for religious instruction to never be painful.

God's Law on passing down the faith is spelled out in Ephesians 6:4 KJV:

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

This first stanza clarifies for the second that religious instruction should not hurt. The Greek root word translated "provoke...to wrath" is παροργίζο (Latin: parorgizo) and refers here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived as 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 any parent anger directed towards children. The idea in parenting is to avoid offense in your child. This means that any time you hurt your child's feelings, you should be willing to give a meaningful apology to your child. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent. However, if you ever lose your cool as a parent, you should definitely apologize to your child, and then commit never to losing your cool with your child ever again, as losing your cool as a parent, in and of itself, is entitlement, with this entitlement being seen as unlawful entitlement in the biblical context. However, whenever you refuse to apologize for causing upset in your child, 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", namely 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.

Religion is a human need for children and adults alike. There is no need to beat a religious education into a child. The Greek root word translated "admonition" is νουθεσία (Latin: nouthesia) and is better translated as "instruction" in more modern versions of the Bible. Starting at age 6, fathers left out a Bible for children to discover and explore. When children were caught in the act of studying the Bible, fathers lavishly praised and encouraged, with fathers then saying to children "you can ask me anything about that book". From there, religious instruction came in question and answer format. Children were curious to learn about Scripture, with fathers giving pointers on the context.

A common way for modern-day Christian parents to pass down the faith is to break their child's will. A child does not have a will that needs to be broken. Religion is a basic human need. "Breaking their will" is wholly unnecessary, and creates a power struggle over religion that needn't be. All a parent has to do is leave out a Bible, with childhood curiosity taking over from there.

Childhood religious learning shouldn't be rushed or hastened. Grateful postures don't need to be forced onto children. Grateful postures come on their own, and are a sign of a good spiritual temperature in a child. I myself tie my hands behind my back wherever I go, and nobody forced me. I tie my hands behind my back because it is comfortable, and also to remind others that they are in the presence of the elect.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to wrath 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!