Modern Minds Speak

The biblical evidence seems clear.  Spankings are not just a legitimate option in parenting but they're necessary.  Yet today many Christians protest to spanking children, saying it's nothing more than abuse.  In the minds of some, a spanking was never hinted at in the New Testament:

The New Testament, Christ modified the traditional eye-for-an-eye system of justice with His turn-the-other-cheek approach. Christ preached gentleness, love, and understanding, and seemed against any harsh use of the rod, as stated by Paul in 1 Cor. 4:21: "Shall I come to you with the whip (rod), or in love and with a gentle spirit?" Paul went on to teach fathers about the importance of not provoking anger in their children (which is what spanking usually does): "Fathers, do not exasperate your children" (Eph. 6:4), and "Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will be discouraged" (Col. 3:21).  In our opinion, nowhere in the Bible does it say you must spank your child to be a godly parent.

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In fairness, though, nowhere does the Bible say you can be a godly parent and avoid spanking.  The author uses Ephesians 6:4 to support his view.  The complete verse in the ESV says, "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."  The passage clearly teaches that children need discipline.  But if spanking is off limits, what method of discipline does Scripture give if not spanking?  Time out?  Long lectures about right and wrong?  Should parents ask their children what sort of discipline they prefer so as not to exasperate them or provoke them to anger?  Sometimes parents have to exasperate their children, like when trying to doctor a wound or taking them to the dentist. 

Since the New Testament can't be understood without an Old Testament background, it's hard to think that Paul's readers would have thought about any thing other than using the rods on their children, especially when the Old Testament called for something far harsher than spanking for the really rebellious--stoning (Deuteronomy 21:19-21; Mark 7:9-13).  The passages in Ephesians and Colossians must then be warning against a habit of provoking them unnecessarily to anger or being overly harsh in discipline.

As far as 1 Cor 4:21, Paul had a gentle side and we should not downplay it.  It's hard to see, however, how such would negate spanking.  He was talking to adults, people who weren't in need of spanking.  Could he simply undue all the Old Testament laid down about discipline with this rhetorical question to the Corinthians ("Shall I come to you with the whip (rod), or in love and with a gentle spirit?")?  Besides, Paul also did some things that we'd consider far too mean today, such as naming those who'd done him wrong and calling for some rebellious church members to be turned over to Satan (Gal 2:11, 13; Phil 4:2; 1 Tim 1:20; 2 Tim 1:15; 2 Tim 2:24-26; 2 Tim 4:10, 14-15).  And, the Christ who, according to the author's quote above, "…modified the traditional eye-for-an-eye system of justice with His turn-the-other-cheek approach" doesn't mention the whip-welding Jesus who cleansed the temple (John 2:15).  Jesus didn't strike anyone as far as we know, but he still used a whip to get his point across.  Today he'd be stripped of his ordination papers, ridiculed in the blogosphere as rude, and possibly sued by those startled by his actions.

Blessedly, despite the modern American mindset working against the biblical method of discipline, many Christians still believe in doling out spankings.  See Thoughts on the Proverbs (Nazarene Friends), Would Jesus Spank a Child? (John Piper), Shepherding a Child's Heart (Tedd Tripp), Does Spanking Work for All Kids? (James Dobson), and Parenting in an Anti-Spanking Culture (John MacArthur).

Part 1 Intro

Part 2 Scripture Speaks

Part 4 Depravity Reeks