The Origins Of Abuse Has Many Of Its Roots In The Errors Of The Church, The Bible Itself Does Not Promote Abuse

The Origins Of Abuse Has Many Of Its Roots In The Errors Of The Church, The Bible Itself Does Not Promote Abuse



I would like to talk about the errors of the church. These errors have been going on from 300 A.D. until the beginning of the 20th century. I will expose at least one of these areas as we look at Hebrews.

Heb 9:22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
NKJV

It has been said that there is no remission for sin except for the shedding of blood, and the church has went on further to say that if you do not shed blood on your children for their sins, that they will burn in hell. Kids were beaten bloody for many hundreds of years because of this teaching. Many Catholic and Parochial schools have given excessive beatings to kids in class, including spanking with yard sticks, or hickory sticks with many blows at a time; hitting hands with yard sticks, rulers, and pointers; ear pulling; hair pulling; whippings; etc.

Hyman notes, ‘No restraint was considered prudent in the vigorous application of the yardstick on open hands, across knuckles, and to derrieres in an effort to save the souls of errant youth’” (Heimlich, 2011, p. 89).

Most Christian parents, Catholics included, spank their children for the remissions of sins, meaning that the spanking is to cleanse the child from the sin that they have committed by disobeying their parents. After a child is spanked, the child is supposedly free from the guilt of his/her sin since he/she has paid the penalty for his/her sin and can be forgiven by his/her parents and God. In an article written by Crystal Lutton, author of the book, Biblical Parenting, she suggests that one of the origins of the practice of spanking may be with the Catholics.


When the above statement is applied with Heb 9:22, we see that in many cases, kids were spanked until they bled. The first child abuse law was passed in 1938 to curb that.

Let us look at Hebrews 10:10
Heb 10:10 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
NKJV

When we look at the Scriptures, we see that Jesus died for our sin and made remission for sin once for all. When we look at Heb 10:18 we see this:

Heb 10:18
18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
NKJV

We see that there is no longer an offering for sin. We cannot make any remission for our children's sin by beating them, and there is nothing we can do to make remission for their sins, nor can we make remission for our sins. Christ has done it for once for all.

No where in the Bible is beating your children bloody or even causing harm to them promoted. No where in the Bible does it ever tell you to shed blood on children. If you read Hebrews 9 and 10 in its whole context together, it will tell you that the blood that must be shed is the blood of Jesus Christ who died for once and for all and He paid for all sins. It will even say in that chapter that there are no more sacrifices needed to make remission for sin. Jesus did it all. Anyone who does a close Greek and Hebrew root word study of the Bible will see that under no condition should any form of severe or harmful beating should ever be done to a child. The Bible does promote discipline, in which even an open hand spanking can cause more damage than what the Bible promotes. Discipline promotes teaching a child with careful instruction and love. The Bible does not promote anger. Yet for generations, anger, wrath, and severe punishment has fallen on our children. The Bible promotes discipline that gives a little sting, but does no damage – that sting produces repentance, but it does not harm the child. When ever you discipline a child, always instruct the child of what he did wrong and how he could correct that, and always encourage the child that you love them. Anger should never fall when disciplining the child.

One of the instruments that many churches has promoted was a whip, and where the churches may have promoted whips may have come from Sirach 30:1

Sirach 30:1
30 He who loves his son will whip him often, in order that he may rejoice at the way he turns out.
RSV

In this case, they promote using whips on children. This book is not part of the Bible, it was added later on after Revelation was written when God declared His Word complete. These books that were added were called the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha has many contradictions to the actual Bible, and the Church has practiced and followed these books for many years. Let us look at the Scriptures dealing with discipline.

Prov 23:13-14
13 Do not withhold correction from a child,For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. 14 You shall beat him with a rod,And deliver his soul from hell. NKJV

In Sirach, they promote using whips. Whips do great damage to a child. The Bible says in Eph 6:4 not to provoke your children to wrath.  Causing harm is provoking your children to wrath

Sirach 30:12 states, “Bow down his neck while he is young, and beat his sides while he is a child, lest he grow stubborn, and regard thee not, and so be a sorrow of heart to thee” (DRA 1899 American Version). The next verse in Sirach seems to indicate that a child should not play but be put to work in order to control his behavior. “Instruct thy son, and labour about him, lest his lewd behaviour be an offence to thee” (DRA 1899 American Version).

At many of the Catholic schools, children have been hit with rulers. Their hands, heads, and bottoms are some of the locations in which children have been hit with rulers as a form of “discipline” at school. “Not willing to wait for God or the devil to get us, the Church had its own brand of punishment. Humiliation tactics were a specialty of the Church. Corporal punishment was quite common. Anyone who ever went to a Catholic grammar school can vouch for that. Guilt and anxiety were always favorites of the Nuns. As if the fear of God they laid on you was not enough, the Nuns took matters into their own hands. More than a few children were hoping the devil got to them before the Nuns and their Rosary’s did”

We see here where Sirach has told us to beat a child on their sides - using whips on a child's sides can kill him, especially if organs are damaged. Whips are very damaging and have a lot of impact on the sides of a child. We also see that kids were hit in the head, which can cause brain damage, and all forms of brain damage is irreversible - brain cells cannot be reproduced. We also see that kids were hit on the hands, which there are many ligaments and tendons which can form scar tissue that can cause premature arthritis, along with breaking the bones, which can cause permanent disability in the hands. We will look at Proverbs in regard to where a child should be hit and with what instrument.

More brutal and risky punishments can produce repentance, but it also produces a lot of resentment, and a lot of discouragement, and can cause a child to be intimidated.

Eccl 3:1-8 To everything there is a season,A time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time to be born,And a time to die;A time to plant,And a time to pluck what is planted; 3 A time to kill,And a time to heal;A time to break down,And a time to build up; 4 A time to weep,And a time to laugh;A time to mourn,And a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones,And a time to gather stones;A time to embrace,And a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to gain,And a time to lose;A time to keep,And a time to throw away; 7 A time to tear,And a time to sew;A time to keep silence,And a time to speak; 8 A time to love,And a time to hate;A time of war,And a time of peace.
NKJV

When Sirach tells us to give our children no freedom, and put them under constant labor and to never laugh with them, we see in Ecclesiastes, that there is a time to laugh, there is a time to brace, and also a time to labor. Children need to be taught responsibilities and have chores, but also children need a time to laugh, and play. Us adults have a time to play and laugh, so our children should also. No where in the Bible does it say to keep our children under constant labor, and not laugh with them.

Col 3:21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
NKJV

Eph 6:4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
NKJV

We also see in these scriptures that a child should be disciplined out of love and instruction, not out of anger. Anger will cause your child to be discouraged, but using instruction - telling your child what he/she did and how he or she could do better next time would be more effective.

You are accountable for how you treat your children, and God shows you that what you do to others is what you do to Him.

Matt 25:40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
NKJV

We can see through all this, that the Apocrypha is not part of the Bible, and it contradicts the Bible. The Apocrypha is a false teaching. We should only trust the Bible. When we look at 2 Tim 3:16-17, we see this:

2 Tim 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
NKJV

The Bible is all we need, we do not need any other resources for guidance.

The lesson learned is to not trust everything the church teaches, but always check the Bible yourself to see if what is being taught is correct. Every person is responsible to do exactly that, and they will be held accountable to that. Every person will be held accountable as to how they treated children, and any thing done to a child that causes harm to them, you have done that unto God. We have seen that when we read Matt 25:40.

Only trust the Bible, and not the values of society and never fully trust the church. If you see that your church is not following the Bible, you may want to address that to the church or find a different church that will teach the Bible.

Jesus has made remission for our sins by dying on a cross for once and for all, we cannot make any remission for sins. The purpose for discipline is to teach and instruct a child, not to make remission, and not to take our anger out on them, and punish should never be administered out of anger, but out of love and instruction. The discipline can have unpleasant consequences, but it never causes any type of harm, and the child should be instructed, and then reassured that they are loved. Because Jesus made remission for our sins, all of our sins have been forgiven and they are wiped clean. We have no more sin because Jesus paid it all.

Teach our children about Jesus.

Rodney Calmes