Spanking is NOT God’s Will Part 1

I am reading a wonderful book by theologian, Samuel Martin, Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me. It’s clear from historic, contextual, Hebrew info on the book of Proverbs that we are NOT to spank (hit) children. The book of Proverbs was not meant for verses to be taken out of context. Even Jewish scholars believe that spankings are for boys 12 years & up and only as an absolute LAST resort. Proverbs was written under the Law of Moses. Christians are under the Law of Christ.  What is the Law of Christ?  Grace, peace, mercy and love.  ” But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law”  Galatians 5:22-23.

Jesus freed us from the Law.  “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law”  Galatians 5:18. When we spank, we are parenting under the Law.   We are not accepting the grace, mercy and forgiveness of Jesus.  Jesus died for us.  He was beaten to a bloody pulp for us.  Why do we feel we must beat, spank, and hit our young children who do not understand sin nor physical punishment.  “In regard to evil be infants” 1 Corinthians 14:20b.

Even Jewish scholars forbid the use of physical punishment for children under 6.  The very age Christian advocates of spanking say it’s best for.  Every time you hit a child, even “lovingly,” you create confusion, anger, fear, and resentment which breed sin later on.

Jesus says, “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.    6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come” Matthew 18:1-6.

May our hearts and eyes be open to your Truth Lord Jesus!

(Continued)

 

 

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Spanking is NOT God’s Will by Steph is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.    Based on a work at www.whynottrainachild.com.

7 Comments

  1. […] Spanking is NOT God’s will part 1 Spanking is Not God’s Will part 2 Spanking is NOT God’s will part 3 Spanking is NOT God’s will part 8 […]

  2. […] blog that turned up in a Google search.  It got my wheels turning. I also found an interesting series of articles against spanking that explains the context of Proverbs 13:24 and has me thinking even […]

  3. […] spanking/hitting children were never meant to be taken literally (see my series entitled “Spanking is NOT God’s Will” or my book for more info on how to accurately interpret the “rod” verses), that they quickly […]

  4. dadblunders on November 19, 2012 at 5:35 pm

    I am a stay-at-home dad and former Social Worker of Child Abuse Investigations. I just wrote an article “Is Spanking Child Abuse.” I wrote the article because I know in general spanking never leads to any good. Many parents use it at every opportunity for discipline issues. It is mainly used on young children that have no emotional control or understanding of the world.

    I know that when a parent strikes a child out of anger or frustration they are only reinforcing a loss of trust with a child. Children begin life with a bond of trust and their parents (safety is generally the first trust bond). The moment a child is hit the trust bond of safety is in question by the child. If a child sees you can’t be trusted with keeping them safe what else might you not be able to be trusted with. A child might not be as willing to share things with a parent later in life.

    I never criticized anyones beliefs in my article. I just asked people to make an informed decision, “Think before you act.” I have seen far too many children abused based on spanking (and the parents tell me its biblical). I have had many parents responding to me on twitter over my post telling me they will go with God’s will. I have also had a few parents tell me they have never thought about it in the way I wrote it.

    Thank you for making this site available and showing parents that “Spanking is not god’s will.”

    Aaron

    • Steph on November 20, 2012 at 7:29 pm

      Thank you very much for your WONDERFUL comment, Aaron! Everything you said is absolutely spot on. Hurting children does so much harm. And it absolutely breaks children’s trust in their parents. This is not what God intended whatsoever.

      Thank you for writing your article! It is so important that we try to educate as many parents who are willing to be educated. I’d love to read your article! God bless.

  5. […] Please take a moment to read the rest of the article found here, as well as the three that precede it in the series. […]

  6. Zooey on January 5, 2011 at 12:07 am

    Well said!!

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