Redefining child abuse: Why the Bible calls for expanding child abuse definitions

Many parents think that the ancients in the Bible had no concept of childhood, let alone child abuse. This is a common misconception about the Bible. Most parents instead support today's child abuse definitions. However, the Bible has its own definition of child abuse - whatever the child victim perceives as abuse. Most all of our legal codes here in the United States are based off of biblical teachings. Thus, the child abuse definitions under the secular law need to change. 

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. Even any parent anger directed towards a child is parental entitlement, and was seen as parental entitlement in the Early Church. Whenever 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 offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. 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 children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just as hurt feelings are inevitable in relations between adults, hurt feelings are also inevitable in children when dealing with them. Thus, in order to avoid offense in a child, you need to be willing to give a meaningful apology whenever you hurt your child's feelings. Usually, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent in the case of limits not set out of anger, in the form of a half-apology, such as "I'm sorry, but I had to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if you ever lose your cool with your child as a parent, including while setting limits, you definitely need to apologize for hurting your child's feelings with your anger, such as "I apologize for losing my temper with you", and then commit never to losing your cool with your child ever again, as losing your cool with your child, in and of itself, 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 children, such as spankings 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 to long-term damages, namely childhood trauma. The ancients in the Bible had their own concept of childhood trauma. Whenever a child grew up to be atheist, shame fell on the parents for being too harsh with their child. An atheist then was seen as an abused child, not a "lost soul" to be "won over". 

The ancients in the Bible even had a concept of child sexual abuse. The Greek root word translated "fornication" is πορνεία (Latin: porneia) and refers here to, in sum, any sexual relations outside of the context of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman. The only outlets a man could have then was sex with his wife, or else solo masturbation without pornography. Fathers even masturbated to sexual fantasies of their daughters, and that was seen as normal. However, whenever an adult had sexual relations with a child, it was a massive scandal. Child sexual abuse was rare in biblical times, meaning next to non-existent. 

Child abuse was prosecuted in the Early Church by way of internal investigation. Usually, a child abuse investigation started with a child confiding into church clergypersons about their home life. From there, the parents were subpoenaed to testify before the council as to their abuse of their child. If the parents did get defensive at all when being cross-examined by the church elders, 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 - were written by Jews, with no Jew worth mentioning ever endorsing the punitive treatment of a child, then and now. All of the biblical writers also wrote parenting manuals, with all of these parenting manuals advocating attachment parenting. Even King Solomon recommended attachment parenting for minor children. It just so happens that these parenting manuals were not translated into English until the 1960s. 

The Bible is America's book. America is a Christian nation founded on Judeo-Christian values. Even our legal codes are inspired by the Bible, even if they are imperfect in their application of the Bible. However, the law of the land has it wrong on the issue of child abuse, based off of dated church teachings that call for the punishment of children. The Bible opposes child abuse entirely, meaning whatever the child victim perceives as such.

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!