September 15, 2006

  • My husband blogged a little bit about our family's P.E. program, which is basically just making the kids run two miles almost every day. You might notice that my times are not mentioned at all in his blog. That's because my feet hurt too much for me to really run two miles. I do jog/walk a mile almost every day with Áine.

    But his blogging about running made me think about spanking. You see, I asked the kids a few weeks ago which was more painful, spanking or running. All agreed that running was far more painful. Running, they pointed out, lasts for fifteen to twenty minutes, while a spanking lasts only a few seconds. Obviously, nobody is going to turn us in to Child Protective Services for making our children run, yet the freedom to spank your children is threatened, especially in Europe. Why is it acceptable to cause pain in the name of physical discipline, but not moral discipline? Especially when spanking is really the most effective training tool there is.

    Of course, the non-spankers like to set up a straw man and define spanking in a very narrow way. They refer to it as something that a person would only do in anger. Now, it might be true that some people will wait until they get so frustrated that they hit their kids. But that is irrelevant to the debate over whether or not spanking is morally ok. A person might get angry and verbally abuse their child as well, leaving far more lasting wounds than the parent who spanked. The fact that a parent can sin while they spank their child does not mean that they can't not sin while they are spanking. It is, of course, possible to be perfectly calm and loving while spanking your children. (That is not to say that it is necessary to be perfectly calm and loving, although some Christians make the case for that. It does seem to me that their might be a time for righteous anger.)

    Since we know that it's ok for parents to cause pain to their children in other cases, such as physical discipline, why is it unacceptable to cause pain in the name of moral discipline? I suspect it's that moral discipline is such an anathema to these folks that they can't stand it being effectively enforced. That's the only logical conclusion I can draw.

Comments (11)

  • Yes, I think that at the root of their opposition to spanking is rebellion against God. Even compare spanking to the popular punishment of denying kids favorite toys or games for a week, or grounding kids, or sending them to their room. Mom used to ask us which WE would prefer as kids, and we much preferred spanking, because as you said it's over so quick. Plus then there is the immediate reconciliation, whereas with longer punishments the child often sits and seethes or feels rejected, alienated and alone. Terrible! God in His wisdom has designed proper punishment well. AS you said, it is up to us to discipline in love. Tim & I would agree with you that there is a place for righteous anger, but it must be controlled (and we must be sure it's righteous!!), and then there must be immediate reconcilation after the discipline is over.

    Thanks for another stimulating post! God bless you all this weekend. (Wow! Two miles! We're not up to that standard yet...;)

  • Well, hold off & buy one of mine then.
    (special price 4 U)
    I'll have more time to read your new post a little later today.

  • Have a great weekend!

  • I didn't write about your running because I am inside the house reclining when you finish :) ! I owe you a trip to the Podiatrist so you can run with us.

    There is a strong anarchistic streak within our society that hate any order - especially moral order. It would be a good subject for a blog. As you know the only film where the hero is a Myers Briggs "J" is "Cold Comfort Farm". In every other film the hero is a "P" who breaks the unjust world of the "J"s.

  • What makes your feet hurt? I have nerve problams in my hips that make them jurt with walking and running. But I have walked everyday this week anyway. The pain is worst at night...

  • Hi Danielle,
    I think the real issue here distills to a power struggle over "who owns the children." Who gets to decide how we raise our children? Seems like just about any excuse will do to tell parents how to raise kids with their statist authority instead. No?
    Also, worst-case-scenario is altogether the wrong means for creating good legislation.

    RYQ ~ It just so happens that yesterday I brought up the topic in our small group service and offered one of my new flyers (the one scanned in part on my blog) to anyone who wanted to read more about it. Even the pastor wasn't aware of it, but that doesn't surprise me. I think very few people know these facts & the pharmaceutical companies are pulling a fast one. Anyway, I was a little bit disappointed that only 3 (including the pastor) persons out of, say, 30 asked for more info.
    ...I try not to let things like that bug me.

  • Hey! we just started reading "Cold Comfort Farm!"
    Is it a good one?
    And there is a film to go with???

  • i've been spanking my kids for now 18 years.   i still have at least another 13 yrs to at least show some kind of discipline.   i believe that with a spanking, talking to them is very important of why and how to behave better.

  • Thanks for your comment, Danielle!

    I think Bibby has called herself a "bad guy" too! I don't think she quite knows what it means, or she's joking... but it's so funny, anyway!! She's into superheroes and Power Rangers just like the boys, it's so funny... yet she also likes My Little Ponies, pink, butterflies, and flowers. It's a cute combination!

    Hope you're having a great week!

  • Danielle,
    Flyers from here:
    http://www.cogforlife.org/
    click on "Order our free brochures" in the sidebar.
    They're always updating them.

  • Hello,  have you read the UN's convention on child rights?  Pretty much what the UN is after is permanent revolution and anarchy and one way to do that is to destroy the family and 'liberate' the children so mob rule and pack mentality is the norm -- makes it very easy to manipulate the pack.  strong family structures ruin the UN's plans for your children.   The Lord disciplines those He loves, and the first command with a promise is to children to obey their parents.  the UN is an anti-christ system and it is very easy to see it in the area of their 'child rights' campaign.  You the parent aren't supposed to censor information or friends of your child according to their convention.

    It took me about 4 months before I would even taste kefir without doctoring it with xyletol, stevia, or honey and fruit in a smoothie.  Now, I love it plain, your taste buds change according to what is good.  I also used to regularly pray "Lord, let no unwholesome food proceed through my lips, lest it be for the edification of my body."  (my modification of ephesians 4:29)  and this helped me avoid the foods I knew were harmful to me:  sugar, corn syrup, most grains, processed foods, pork, etc...

    When the kefir grains multiply, instead of giving the extras away, Dom is saying to eat them.  Most people just throw the extra grains into a smoothie, so the texture isn't noticeable.  I don't mind eating the grains plain, they are a bit like a chewy sweet-tart without the sweet <G>.

    Blessings,

    Carrie

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