Child corporal punishment: spanking

Quotations showing diverse opinions

Sponsored link.

Quotations:

"In the 19th century, Christians gradually realized that human slavery was  profoundly immoral, even though it was recognized, permitted, condoned, regulated and accepted in dozens of biblical passages. This was a great shock to people who had assumed that the Bible was 'the Good Book.' They were forced to realize that the Bible promoted an immoral institution, and that 19^th century morality was superior to that of the Bible. We are now in the 21^st century and Christians are going through the same process with regard to the whipping of children."

"Spanking is an act of violence, so ethically, it could be justified only if there was absolutely no other way to improve the way kids act."  ₁

"I disapprove of flogging, although it is the regular custom... because in the first place it is a disgraceful form of punishment and fit only for slaves, and is in any case an insult, as you will realize if you imagine its infliction at a later age. Secondly if a boy is so insensible to instruction that reproof is useless, he will, like the worst type of slave, merely become hardened to blows... And though you may compel a child with blows, what are you to do with him when he is a young man no longer amenable to such threats and confronted with tasks of far greater difficulty? Moreover when children are beaten, pain or fear frequently have results of which it is not pleasant to speak and which are likely subsequently to be a source of shame, a shame which unnerves and depresses the mind and leads the child to shun and loathe the light....I will not linger on this subject; it is more than enough if I have made my meaning clear. I will content myself with saying that children are helpless and easily victimized, and that therefore no one should be given unlimited power over them."

"As long as the child will be trained not by love, but by fear, so long will humanity live not by justice, but by force. As long as the child will be ruled by the educator’s threat and by the father’s rod, so long will mankind be dominated by the policeman’s club, by fear of jail, and by panic of invasion by armies and navies.”

"...optimal disciplinary responses begin with less severe tactics, such as reasoning, but proceed to firmer disciplinary tactics when the initial tactic achieves neither compliance nor an acceptable compromise."

"Even minimal amounts of spanking can lead to an increased likelihood in antisocial behavior by children."

"Researchers have also found that children who are spanked show higher rates of aggression and delinquency in childhood than those who were not spanked. As adults, they are more prone to depression, feelings of alienation, use of violence toward a spouse, and lower economic and professional achievement. None of this is what we want for our children."

An entry on You Tube opposed to Christian Spanking:

If you know of any You Tube or similar video that promotes corporal punishment, and is available for us to publish, please tell us. We strive to provide a balance in our treatment of controversial topics.

Reference used:

1. Ken Gallinger, "The Bible is simply wrong on spanking," Toronto Star, 2007-DEC-15.

2. From the essay "Spanking Strikes Out," (1999), at: http://nospank.net/

Copyright © 1995 to 2008 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2008-MAY-23
Author: B.A. Robinson