Child abuse definitions: Why the Bible calls for tougher laws on the books protecting children from abuse

Many parents think that the Bible has no concept of child abuse apart from obeying the law of the land. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. Most American parents support the present-day definitions of child abuse 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 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 whenever they don't get the well-behaved child that they feel that they deserve. Parents are deserving of absolutely nothing just for existing. Even any parent anger directed towards a child is parental entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. Whenever 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 children. 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 children's feelings with limits not set out of anger, such as "I'm sorry, but I needed to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if you ever lose your cool with your child as a parent, 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 children 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 sanctions on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. However, this commandment was ultimately received by the parish at Colossae as prohibiting all forms of offenses as perceived by a child, at minimum. 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 childhood trauma. The ancients had a basic understanding of childhood trauma. Whenever a child grew up to be atheist, it was seen as a shame on the parents, not the child, with the parents being suspected of child abuse. An atheist was seen in the Early Church as an abused child, not a "lost soul" to be :won 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 relations outside of the context of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman, with the marriage having to be equal in nature. Most child sexual abuse then came in the form of father-child incest, with daughters being the usual target. Fathers in particular avoided sex with his daughter by indulging in righteous masturbation without pornography to the fantasy of his daughter. All sexual interaction between an adult and a child was seen as child sexual abuse in the Bible. Child sexual abuse in the Early Church was rare, meaning next to non-existent ,apart from a few cases that shocked the whole Israelite nation. 

Child abuse in the Early Church was prosecuted by way of an internal investigation. In most cases, this investigation started with a child confiding into a clergyperson about their home life. From there, the parents of the child victim were summoned to appear before a council of 3 elders, who would decide the fate of the parents. If the parents defended themselves at all in open court, as opposed to answering to the court directly, they were swiftly excommunicated from the Early Christian Churches of God for their entitlement.

The Bible is an anti-spanking document. All 88 books of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation - were written by anti-spanking Jews, with no Jew worth mentioning ever condoning the punitive treatment of children. Each of the biblical writers also wrote parenting manuals that advocated attachment parenting. Even King Solomon wrote an attachment parenting manual, with the rod in Proverbs referring to the 40 minus 1 lashes. 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. 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 under the English common law are based off of biblical teaching. However, the "reasonable chastisement" defense is based off of dated biblical teaching. It is about time we repeal the "reasonable chastisement" defense, and amend the child abuse definitions under state and federal law as being whatever the child victim perceives as abuse. 

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!