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

Many parents believe that the ancients in the Bible had no concept of child abuse. 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 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 the well-behaved child that they feel that they deserve. Parents are deserving of absolutely nothing in relation to children just for existing. Even any parent anger directed towards children 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 other adults. Just like 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, 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 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 offenses or damages 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 here to long-term damages, namely childhood trauma. The ancients in the Bible had a basic understanding of childhood trauma. Whenever a child grew up to be atheist, shame fell on the parents, meaning never the child. An atheist was seen in the Early Church 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 prohibits any sexual relations outside of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman, with the marriage having to be equitable in nature. Ultimately, a Christian man was only allowed two sexual outlets - with his wife, or else righteous masturbation without pornography. Anything outside of these narrow outlets was seen as fornication, including any sexual relations with a child. Most child sexual abuse then came in the form of father-child incest, with daughters being the usual targets. Fathers usually masturbated on occasion to thoughts of their children, meaning usually their daughters. Fathers were even allowed to be honest with their daughters about their fantasies, as long as he was a man of few words about it. Child sexual abuse was rare in the biblical context, meaning next to non-existent. Whenever a child was sexually abused by an adult, it was a huge moral outrage. The ancients played dumb around a child sexual offender, and turned on him at the last moment, ensuring full visibility of the defiled sexual acts against children.

Child abuse was prosecuted by way of an internal church investigation. This investigation usually started with a child confiding into a clergyperson about their home life. From there, the parents were summoned to appear before a council of 3 elders, who would decide the fate of the parents. If the parents at all defended their parenting choices, as opposed to answering to the court, they were swiftly 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 anti-spanking Jews, with no Jew worth mentioning ever endorsing punitive parenting. All of the biblical writers also wrote parenting manuals that advocated attachment parenting. Even King Solomon wrote an attachment parenting manual, with the rod of correction in Proverbs referring instead to the 40 minus 1 lashes. It just so happens that the attachment parenting manuals in the biblical context 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 largely based off of biblical teaching. However, the "reasonable chastisement" defense is based off of dated theology. It is about time we repeal the pro-spanking legal defenses in out legal codes, and expand the definitions of child abuse to include anything that 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!