He that spareth his rod loves his son
by A Person | Published on March 15th, 2008, 11:43 am | Religion
He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. -- Proverbs 13:24 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. -- Proverbs 22:15
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. -- Proverbs 23:13-14
Despite this parenting advice from God it's difficult to read the account of Kent Hovind 'lovingly' beating the snot from his son without thinking there is something very very wrong
Kent Hovind wrote:I said, "Son, listen carefully. You know that I love you."
He said, "I know daddy."
I said, "Now son, I told you to sit still. You did not sit still. What happens when you disobey daddy?"
He said, "Sniff, sniff... I get a spanking?"
I said, "Correct, bend over." Boy, did I give him a spanking, and it was a doozy. A few minutes later, smoke was rising off his hind end, tears were coming out of his eyes, and pearls were coming out of his nostrils -- the whole thing.
I said, "Okay son, listen carefully. We are going to go back into the dentist office, and you are going to sit in that chair. If you wiggle one time, I'm not going to yell at you and I'm not going to scream at you. I'm going to calmly take you back out here to the van, and I'm going to give you two spankings just like the one you just received. Then, we are going to go back into the dentist office, and you are going to sit in the chair. If you wiggle, we are going to come back out to the van, and you are going to get three spankings just like the one you just got. Son, we are going to go back and forth all day long until I get tired, and I have played tennis for years. I have a wonderful forehand smash. I don't believe I'll get tired for a long time, son."
Recent studies have confirmed that spanking kids increases the likelihood of them having sexual problems later in life.
Straus analyzed the results of four studies and found that spanking and other corporal punishment by parents is associated with an increased probability of three sexual problems as a teen or adult:
o Verbally and physically coercing a dating partner to have sex.
o Risky sex such as premarital sex without a condom.
o Masochistic sex such as being aroused by being spanked when having sex.
“These results, together with the results of more than 100 other studies, suggest that spanking is one of the roots of relationship violence and mental health problems. Because there is 93 percent agreement between studies that investigated harmful side effects of spanking, and because over 90 percent of U.S. parents spank toddlers, the potential benefits for prevention of sexual and relationship violence is large,” Straus says.
“Furthermore, because other research shows spanking is not more effective than other discipline methods, there is no need to expose children to the harmful effects of spanking. We can help prevent mental health problems and relationship violence from happening by a national health policy recommending never spanking,” he says.
One study involved 14,000 university students in 32 different nations. Among those who were spanked as children, 29% of men and 21% of women "verbally coerced sex" from a partner — defined as insisting on sex when the other person doesn't want to. Among those who were not spanked, the numbers were 1.7% of men and 1.2% of women. That's a whopping difference and maybe explains why so many religious people, presumably beaten biblically as children, have problems as adults.
