The recent brutal whipping of teenager by her father has sparked alot of discussion. Some of which has been absolutely irrational and stipped in knee jerk sensationalism. While sharing the outrage at this abuse, I sought to see what the bible and other Christians say about spanking and child discipline. Michael Spotts has a very comprehensive article pointing out some of the logical flaws and drawing a fine distinction as to what the biblical perspective on physically chastening children is:
Instead of overreacting, I believe we should maintain a distinction between what is acceptable physical discipline and what constitutes actual abuse. This allows us to condemn the latter without outlawing the former. Throughout this article I will refrain from using the word “punishment” when describing parental responses to disobedience. Punishment, strictly speaking, is primarily concerned with subjecting guilty persons to penalties without regard for either their moral improvement or personal well being. An extreme example of punitive action is the death penalty, which punishes without any interest in improving those who receive it. Worse still is the idea of parents inflicting pain upon children merely to “get back” at them or vent anger. …Read More!
A Twisted Crown of Thorns ® 