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

Many parents believe that the Bible has no concept of child abuse apart from obeying the law of the land. 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 a child is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. Whenever this sense of entitlement then 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 relation to children, 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 to your child for hurting their 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 their 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 whenever you hurt 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 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 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. An atheist in the Early Church was seen as an abused child, not a "lost soul" to "win over".

The ancients in the Bible had their own understanding 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 this marriage being equal in terms of the age of the participants. A groom was only allowed a bride his age or up to 4 years older than him. Intergenerational marriages were banned in the Early Church, as was any sexual advances towards a child at minimum. The most common form of child sexual abuse was father-child incest, with daughters being the usual target. Most fathers in the Early Church masturbated righteously to thoughts of his child that he was attracted to. Child sexual abuse was rare in the biblical context, meaning it was next to non-existent. Sexual abuse then did not exist on the gaslighting level, but existed at a level where a child could easily self-report their sexually abusive parents to the church authorities. Whenever a child was sexually abused by parents or other adults, it was seen as a huge moral  outrage.

Child abuse in the Early Church was prosecuted by way of internal investigation. This investigation usually started with a child confiding in a clergyperson about their home life. From there, the child's parents were summoned to testify before a council of 3 church elders that would decide the fate of the parents. If the child's parents defended themselves at all, as opposed to answering to the court directly, they were excommunicated from the Early Christian Churches of God. Contrary to popular belief, the Early Christians were not well-integrated into Rome, and instead lived in enclaves in big cities, shunning the outside Greco-Roman world. 

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  a child. 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 the book of Proverbs referring to the 40 minus 1 lashes. It just so happens that these parenting manuals were not translated into English until the 1960s. Before then, only the Jews knew what those attachment parenting manuals said. 

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 abolish the "reasonable chastisement" defense, and expand child abuse definitions to include anything that the child 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.