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

Many parents think that the Bible has no concept of child abuse apart from obeying the law of the land. 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 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 being parents. 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 then 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. Whenever you hurt someone else's feelings, you need to apologize. It works the same way when dealing with children. Thus, in order to avoid offense in children, you need to be willing to apologize for hurting your child's feelings. In many cases, 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 hurting your feelings with my temper", 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 term roughly translated to "power to the parent", namely the power to impose punitive sanctions on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. But, this commandment was ultimately received by the parish at Colossae as prohibiting causing offenses in children 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, 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 onto the parents for being too harsh on their child. An atheist in the Early Church was seen as an abused child, not a "lost soul" to be "won over".

The ancients in the Bible also had a concept of child sexual abuse. The Greek root word translated "fornication" is πορνεία (Latin: porneia) and refers in this context to any sexual relations outside of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman, with this marriage needing to be equal in terms of chronological age. The groom in a marriage was only allowed a bride his age or up to 4 years older. Intergenerational marriage was banned in the Early Church. Most child sexual abuse then came in the form of father-child incest, with the usual victims being daughters. Fathers instead usually masturbated to sexual thoughts of children, including his daughter. Whenever an adult sexually abused a child in the Early Church, it was a huge moral outrage. Adult attraction to children then existed on the surface, with fathers being open about their sexual fantasies of their children. Thus, children knew exactly what was going on when being sexually abused, and then self-reported the abuse that they suffered.

Child abuse in the Early Church was prosecuted by way of 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 preside over the investigation. If the parents at all were defensive of their "rights", 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 striking a minor child being prohibited under Jewish law. All of the biblical writers also wrote parenting manuals that advocated attachment parenting. Even King Solomon issued an attachment parenting manual, with the rod in Proverbs instead referring to the 40 minus 1 lashes. It just so happens that the attachment parenting manuals were not translated into English until the 1960s. Before then, this level of biblical knowledge was known only to the Jewish world.

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 to know 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 criminal defense of "reasonable chastisement" comes from dated biblical teaching. It is about time that the "reasonable chastisement" defense being repealed, with the child abuse definitions under state and federal law being expanded to include anything perceived by the child victim as abuse. 

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke your 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!