Expanding child abuse definitions: Why the Bible calls for stronger laws against child abuse

Most parents think that the ancients in the Bible had no concept of child abuse. This is a common belief amongst American parents. Most American parents support the present-day child abuse definitions under state and federal law. However, God's Law is above the law of the land. The Bible has its own definition of child abuse - whatever the child victim perceives as abuse.

The Greek root word denoting parental entitlement in the Bible 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 the well-behaved child that they feel that they deserve. A parent is deserving of absolutely nothing in relation to children just for existing. Even any parent anger directed towards a child is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. When this sense of entitlement in 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 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 children, 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 coming from parents, in the form of an informal apology, whenever you hurt your child's feelings with limits not set out of anger, 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 give a formal apology for hurting your child's feelings with your anger, such as "I apologize for losing my temper with you", and then commit never to lose your cool with your child ever again, as any parent anger directed towards a child 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 phrase roughly translating to "power to the parent", namely the power to impose punitive measures on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. However, this commandment was ultimately received as prohibiting any offenses as perceived by a child. 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 a basic understanding of childhood trauma. If a child grew up to be atheist, shame fell on the parents of the atheist child, for the parents of the atheist child presumably being too hard on their child. An atheist, in the Early Church, was seen as an abused child, not a "lost soul" who needs to be "won over". 

The ancients in the Bible also had a concept of child sexual abuse. The Greek root word translated "fornication" in the New Testament is πορνεία (Latin: porneia) and refers here to any sexual relations outside of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman, with this marriage being equal in nature. In order for the marriage to be equal, the bride had to be the same age as the groom, or else up to 4 years older than the groom. All intergenerational marriages were banned in the Early Church, as was any sexual relations with a child. Most child sexual abuse then came in the form of father-child incest, with daughters being the target. Most fathers then masturbated righteously to thoughts of their daughters, in a manner that purged the unrequited desires. Child sexual abuse was rare in the biblical context, meaning it almost never happened. When it did happen, it was a huge moral outrage, with child sexual abuse being a capital offense in the Old Testament.

Child abuse was prosecuted in the Early Church by way of internal church investigation. Usually, this investigation started with a child confiding into a clergyperson about their home life. From there, the parents were subpoenaed to appear before a council of 3 church elders for a trial. If the parents got defensive about their parenting choices, as opposed to answering to the court directly, they were excommunicated from the Early Christian Churches of God. 

The Bible is an anti-spanking document. The Bible was written by anti-spanking Jews, with Jewish law prohibiting anything punitive with 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 wrote an attachment parenting manual, with the rod of correction in Proverbs referring to the 40 minus 1 lashes, in a courtroom setting, as a sentence for crime. 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 family values. We as a society glean from the Bible and its context as to how to live and treat each other with respect. Even our legal codes are largely based off of biblical teaching. However, the "reasonable chastisement" defense for punishing children is based off of dated Christian teaching. We now know the Truth about spanking and other forms of punishment of children - it is prohibited in the Bible. It is about time that all legal defenses for punitive parenting be repealed, and the child abuse definitions - under both state and federal law - be expanded to include any abuse as perceived by the child.

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!