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 understanding of childhood, let alone childhood. This is a common belief amongst American parents. However, the ancients did have a concept of child abuse - whatever the child victim perceived 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 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 parent anger directed towards a child was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. Whenever this sense of entitlement in parents was perceived as offensive or damaging by a child, 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 offenses 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 any parent anger directed towards children. Child abuse in the Bible, as a legal concept, consists of entitlement in parents, leading to offense in children. The key to not abusing your child is to avoid offense in your child. However, hurt feelings in children are inevitable in parenting, and thus a parent should be willing to apologize whenever they hurt their child's feelings. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent. However, if you ever lose your cool with your child as a parent, you should definitely apologize for losing your cool with your child, and then commit never to lose your cool with your child ever again, as losing your cool as a parent alone is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. 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 term roughly translating to "power to the parent", namely the power to impose punitive sanctions on a child, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. 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 in the Bible did have a basic concept of childhood trauma. Whenever children lost their faith in God, it was seen as a sign of child abuse, not a "lost soul" worth "winning over". 

The ancients even had a concept of child sexual abuse. The Greek root word translated "fornication" is πορνεία (Latin: porneia) and refers here to any sexual interaction between an adult and a child. Whenever children perceived sexual advances from an adult, it was deemed child sexual abuse, even if the child liked it. 

The Bible is an anti-spanking document. All 88 books of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation - were written by Jews, with no Jew worth mentioning ever endorsing the punishment of children. Even King Solomon recommended attachment parenting for the little ones, with the rod in Proverbs referring to the 40 minus 1 lashes.

America is a Christian nation, founded on Judeo-Christian family values. We as a society glean from the Bible and its context in order to know how to live and treat each other with respect. Even our legal codes are based off of the Bible. It just so happens that the Jewish parenting literature was not translated into English from the Hebrew until the 1960s.

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