Lately, the question of whether or not corporal punishment is a religious and parental duty has caused division among Christians, according to an
article on ABC News.Tyler Wallick, a fundamentalist Christian, says that it is out of faith and love that he spanks his children. He says that he only spanks his two sons when they are being dishonest or disrespectful. In order to support his disciplinary practices, Wallick cites Proverbs 13:24, which states: "He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly." Wallick further argues, "The bottom line is -- people who do not think it is OK to paddle their children do not believe God's word."
Wallick's beliefs that it is okay to spank children largely runs counter to the disciplinary methods that many child psychologists condone. Most parenting experts believe that while spanking has the potential to encourage violence in the mind of a child, other measures such as time-out and taking away privileges are more suitable methods to teach children that their actions are wrong.
Other Christians are strongly against spanking. The United Methodist Church issued a proclamation against all corporal punishment of children in 2004, and several Catholic dioceses have voiced their opinions against this disciplinary method.
Upon viewing an ad for a nylon whipping stick designed specifically for spanking children, Susan Lawrence, a Christian from Arlington, Mass., initiated a web-based crusade against spanking.
Lawrence, and many other Christians, believes that this debate points to much more than whether or not spanking is an acceptable punishment method. She points out that many Evangelicals are wrongly placing emphasis on the Old Testament, with its wrathful God, instead of the gentle Jesus of the New Testament.
The issue at hand here is how the Bible should be interpreted, and if all of the laws outlined in the Old Testament still apply to us today. Many modern Christians find that the Old Testament lays down various laws that are no longer relevant in today's society, and that no longer need to be obeyed.
Al Crowell, director of the San-Francisco based advocacy group Christians for Nonviolent Parenting, sheds some light on this issue.
"Why don't we also keep slaves now? Stoning our daughters who may be gotten pregnant before marriage? All that is in the Bible [Old Testament] too," Crowell said.
Do you agree or disagree with Wallick's justification of spanking children by citing the Proverbs verse? Do you think that all of the rules and regulations laid out in the Old Testament still apply to us today?
Comments (1)
I think it is getting in dangerous territory to justify hitting someone with the bible, or violence of any sort for that matter.
I do, however, believe in a parent's right to raise his or her child as they see fit.
If we want to take the Bible at it's face value from the Old Testament, then what about slavery? What about all the people it calls for death for?