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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
The subject of "Christian spanking" is a divisive one, even among believers. Several countries have banned the corporal punishment of children, yet many parents consider spanking an essential tool ...
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Andrew Osakue
The world is where it is today because of anti-God laws imposed by some governments in the name of human rights. The bible is clear on laws that conflict with God's law. God's law takes precedence. But here we have a very dicey situation because it is a law in many western countries. Spank them and you run afoul of the law. It is prayer and God that will ultimately cage and bring our children under control through the help of the Holy Spirit. Paramount of all is our prayers. Sparing the rod has done the world more harm than can be imagined.
Jennifer Taylor
Obviously when men change the laws of God, we are not to submit to them. Just like the controversial topic of recognizing gay marriage as normal, even among the Christian community. Laws are changing, that we would recognize this as a marriage, however, Gods laws are clear. We can still love the sinner, and hate the sin, without passing judgement on the individual, for only God can judge. We have heard it said for quite some time, spare the rod spoil the child...however, if Jesus is the rod, perhaps this indicates if we spare Jesus from our children, they will spoil, because it is only through knowing our Lord, Jesus Christ, that we can possess his attributes, of tender mercy, kindness and forgiveness. God=love...therefore, if you do not teach your children the ways of Jesus Christ, you are spoiling your children from knowing the love of God, and thus sharing that love with others. God bless.
Jay Saunders
First of all, when you obey man's laws that go against God's precepts, guidelines, rules, judgments, or laws, you are in rebellion. Nazism is the best historical record of man's laws ruling a nation's people against God's guidance in all things. Spanking a child that needs correction is never wrong unless you harm the child physically or mentally. First of all, you should never strike a child with your hand. Why? Because you never want your physical hand associated with punishment, only love. The Bible clearly speaks of the rod of correction. Meaning an instrument of correction. Which should be a paddle, of some sort that will do no serious harm to a child but sting or inflict minor pain. Another important part of punishment is self-control. Never punish a child in a fit of anger or rage. Never punish a child that can't understand the reason for the correction. The communication before administering punishment is just as important as performing the act of punishment. The Bible clearly states the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So fear of punishment for wrong doing has its place in a child parent relationship. Explaining the concept of correction is a biblical concept to a child is useful in the child's training in righteousness. Children are always smarter in most cases than we sometimes perceive. Training a child to be responsible for toys, and minor maintenance of their room can start at an early age. Order and organization are very important skills sets needed throughout life. It is a parents responsibility to teach a child as early as possible how to be a good neighbor, friend, son or daughter and to demonstrate most of all the love of a parent and of our Lord. Jesus said those that love me obey me. Obedience is a part of a demonstration that a child loves its parents, so if your child rebels, it may need new demonstrations from a parent that they love them but rebellion deserves punishment. If you truly love your child you must correct them, this is a sign of love.
Jack Gutknecht
Proverbs 23:13-14: Read this timely bit of advice from the Voice Bible, advice FOR ALL TIMES, and be brave, parent! 13 "Do not withhold discipline from children, since corporal punishment will not kill them. 14 In fact, it may be that kind of punishment that will save them from an early grave."
Todd Rushing
The Bible clearly states that we are to, "Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6). It is obvious that some children respond well with "time-out" or loss of privileges, but others respond better to corporal punishment. This was evident in how various types of punishment were doled out to the Israelites (loss of standing before God, different types of yokes, and even physical infirmities). But the question of using corporal punishment even when in violation of the law is a sticky subject. The Bible states to "render unto Caeser that which belongs to Caeser, and unto God that which belongs to God." It's clear that our children are a gift to us from God. We are to raise them in godly principles (against that which there is no law). God's laws should always come first, but we have to ask ourselves what kind of example do we provide to the world when we disobey civil law. There is no clear answer to this. But one thing I personally know is that my parents never disciplined us in anger, but in ways to correct behavior. When it comes to whether or not to disobey the law in disciplining your children, consider Meshac, Shadrac and Abednigo. They passively resisted by going I to their homes to pray to Jehovah instead of to the king. Someone spotted them and reported it to the king. Even though they were considered to be trusted advisors to the king, they earned his wrath, being tossed into the fiery furnace. Even though God saved them, in the eyes of the people, their reputation was tarnished. What we do, even in private, may make it hard for us to reach a lost and dying world and have us labeled as rebels or radical Christians. Just something else to think about.
Myron Robertson
This tends to be a very difficult matter to deal with specifically because of Christians refusal to acknowledge their own sin and God's judgment of that sin. Often it is specifically because of their own abusiveness, and twisting and perversion of God's word to support that abuse that these matters even come up at all. Why can I say this? In my opinion, there is a rather blatant disregard of God's definition of the term "tribulation," and scripture does clearly define it in Jer 30:7-9. Because the definition uses yoke we can know absolutely that the law found in Lev 26 and Dt 28, which discusses the penalties for continued rebellion against God, is the Law of Tribulation as some have now come to call it. Dt 28:48 defines the iron yoke as the ultimate punishment of being carried off the Promised Land to serve foreign kings. In Jer 28 Judah was offered a wooden yoke, which was defined as remaining in their own land under Nebuchadnezzar's authority and paying tribute to Babylon. Thus we see that the Book of Judges is all about Israel being sold into wooden yokes (Jg 2:14, 3:8, 4:2, 10:7) and being redeemed from those yokes after their partial repentance. When God sold Judah into the iron yoke of Babylon he commanded the people to go peacefully, obey, the Babylonians, and to pray for the prosperity of that city because it was the only way they would achieve prosperity themselves (Jer 29:4-9). It is because of this that Paul wrote his counsel in Rom 13:1-7, counsel which is very unpopular in the church except when the people complain about the sins of the church leaders; then the leadership will always point to this text and insist on obedience no matter what. Look at this from a different perspective. God's law very clearly allows for both slavery of foreigners and indentured (bond) servitude of Israelites as a part of the redemption process; however, in actual practice neither of these institutions ever followed God's law, but God's law was always used by the sinful, selfish and abusive men who stole the labor of others for their own benefit. (This still has bearing to day under current labor law and practices, even though we no longer call it slavery.) In the dark ages of Western Europe the church led out in instituting and enforcing the slavery called surfdom, plunging the region into extreme poverty and ignorance at a time when Muslim regions and the orient were experiencing great prosperity and enlightenment of scientific knowledge. As God started bringing slavery to an end, first in Europe and later throughout the colonies, finally in the US the church continued to be a major factor in support of slavery while the "Babylonian" secular forces were the prime movers in seeking its end. The lines of division here are not as clear as all that because Babylon is defined by the yoke, but it was much less abusive than the church. Slavery was the prime issue on which Judah was judged to go into the iron yoke (Jer 34), and the slavery they faced in Babylon was less abusive than that which they practiced. Had the church advocated for Godly slavery rather than their extreme abuse of this institution we would still be practicing it today and would even see some benefit from its use; but because the sin of the church was greater than the sin of Babylon God used Babylon to judge the church and remove the greatest abuse of it. The same thing applies to the matter of spanking. Prov 13:24 is used as Biblical proof by those who are very abusive of their children, but the shepherd never used the rod to beat his sheep. He broke the legs of a lamb who consistently was disobedient, then set its legs and spent the next few months closely tending the beast's every need. Once healed the sheep listened to him. This is about closer supervision, not about spanking. Babylon gets it; that is why God put us under its yoke.
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