Spanking, is it biblical?

[Pragmatist]

There are no scriptures for spanking and I'd like to know if anyone literally beats their child with a rod, because that's what the Bible says.

[Digging4Truth]

Originally Posted by Pragmatist

There are no scriptures for spanking and I'd like to know if anyone literally beats their child with a rod, because that's what the Bible says.

Could you list the scripture(s) you are speaking of?

[MissBrattified]

Originally Posted by Digging4Truth

Could you list the scripture(s) you are speaking of?

Truthseeker brought up these:

Proverbs 20:30 "The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly."

Proverbs 23:13-14 "Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die...Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell."

I don't have a problem with 23:13...I agree with the principle--discipline is a necessary component of good parenting. Without it, children do not know where the boundaries are, and they will become confused, among other things. However, I don't think that OT values are necessarily NT values, and recommendations in Proverbs need to be tempered with NT mercy.

It does bother me, however, that Proverbs 20:30 was even brought into the conversation. Really? The blueness of a wound? Stripes? We do not need to be beating children to the point of bruising or bloody "stripes." Ever. Under any circumstances. It's barbaric and unchristian. Just my never-humble opinion, of course.

Blueness - chabbûrâh ...properly bound (with stripes), that is, a weal (or black and blue mark itself): - blueness, bruise, hurt, stripe, wound.

Stripes - makkâh...a blow (in 2Ch_2:10, of the flail); by implication a wound; figuratively carnage, also pestilence: - beaten, blow, plague, slaughter, smote, X sore, stripe, stroke, wound ([-ed]).

These are pretty stringent terms, and have no place in reference to parenting a child.

[Pragmatist]

Originally Posted by Digging4Truth

Could you list the scripture(s) you are speaking of?

Proverbs 23:14
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell


Proverbs 23:13
Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die

These are the scriptures that people use that IMO are misinterpreted. First of all Proverbs are not commandments. Second, the word rod can mean symbol of authority and beat can be interpreted as "the sun beat down on him." So I would take the above scriptures to mean your authority should be a continual presence in the life of your child.

[Cindy]

Originally Posted by Pragmatist

There are no scriptures for spanking and I'd like to know if anyone literally beats their child with a rod, because that's what the Bible says.

I saw somewhere that the "rod" is actually what we would call a switch. And it does usually leave red marks, but does not bruise. BTW it was a Rabbi speaking.

[ILG]

Spanking is biblical, if it is done in love, and not in ager and if the child is really out of line of his own misbehavior.