Redefining child abuse: 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 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 New Testament 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 that is sorely disappointed when they don't get the well-behaved child that they feel that they deserve. 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 children then 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 child abuse as understood then, namely entitlement in parents, leading to offense in children. Offense in children involves refusal to apologize to children for hurting their feelings, at minimum. 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 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. and is 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. 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 -  not the child - due to the parents being too strict with their child. An atheist was seen then as an abused child, not a "lost soul" ro 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 here to any sexual behavior outside of the Christian norm, as understood then. This can be summed up as any sexual relations outside of the context of a Christian marriage between one adult man and one adult woman, with this marriage having to be equal in terms of chronological age. A groom was only allowed a bride his age or up to 4 years older. Intergenerational marriages or sexual relations were banned in the Early Church. Same with all pornography, including that which depicts children. The most common form of child sexual abuse in the biblical context was father-child incest, with daughters being the usual victims. Most men in the Early Church had a masturbation policy, with daughters being a common sexual fantasy amongst men. Most men masturbated righteously to parent attractions for their children. Child sexual abuse was rare in the Early Church, meaning it almost never happened. Most sexual attraction to children then was on the surface, meaning adults openly admitted to sexual thoughts of children. If an adult made any attempt to hide their desires for children, apart from keeping the disclosure brief, was seen as a sign of a threat for a child. With this setup, sexually abused children knew exactly what was happening to them, and then they self-reported the abuse that they suffered.

It is a myth that the Early Christians were well-integrated into Rome. Instead, the Early Christians lived in enclaves in major Greco-Roman cities, shunning the broader Greco-Roman world, and the world at large. The Early Christians even had their own court system, with these courts being binding into the end of the 1st Century.

Child abuse in the Bible was prosecuted by way of an internal church investigation. This investigation usually started with a child confiding into a clergyperson about the abuse that they suffered. From there, the parents were summoned to testify before a council of 3 church elders who would preside over the investigation. If the parents at all got defensive in court, as opposed to answering directly to the court, they were swiftly excommunicated from the Early Christian Churches of God for their entitlement, as well as any witnesses that testified on behalf of the parents.

The Bible is an anti-spanking document. All 88 books of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation - were written by anti-spanking Jews, with spanking a child being unlawful under Jewish law then and now. All 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 repealed legal punishment that is the 40 minus 1 lashes. It just so happens that these parenting manuals were not translated into English until the 1960s. Until then, this level of parenting knowledge was only known to the Jewish world.

The Bible is America's book. America is a Christian nation, founded upon 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 are based off of biblical teaching. However, the criminal defense of "reasonable chastisement" is based off of dated biblical teaching. It is about time that we repeal the "reasonable chastisement" defense in all 50 states, and redefine child abuse as 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!