05-08-2014, 10:57 AM
Child rearing is something our Church rarely talks about. Most of our members are elderly and there are few children that attend our Sunday School. So I was surprised the topic came up while we were studying the Book of Joshua at Bible Study. Someone asked how "beating" children or any other human being for that matter could ever be in any way spiritual or helpful. Our Minister to his credit redirected the conversation to spanking. The consensus was "beating" and "spanking" were two different things. All of the members of the class admitted at some time they had been spanked as children and spanked there own children. Spankings were always done on the bottom and never intended to injure the child. Also they were not meant to be humiliating or cause emotional harm. All of the members felt spanking was acceptable discipline and a necessary part of child rearing and in no way what was being suggested in the Book of Joshua. Unfortunately some people do not seem to understand the difference between the two and if you interpret the Bible literally it may indeed be confusing!
Tutor/Mentor