Christians Have No Moral Rationale For Spanking Children Analysis
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I read the article "Christians Have No Moral Rationale for Spanking Their Children" by Jonathan Merritt. I found this reading enlightening and entertaining. As a child who grew up in a household where spanking was the swift response to disobedience, I have first-hand experience of its effects on children. I appreciate the author's multifaceted approach to the topic. He first examines the rationale commonly used by Christian parents, Proverbs 13:24, "Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them." Although touted as an endorsement of physical punishment, the word "rod" in the original Hebrew refers to a shepherd's staff, an instrument used to guide, not beat. In fact, the Bible explicitly denounces retroactive violence in Matthew 5:39, "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person.…show more content… Studies show that children who were hit by their parents misbehave again after 10 minutes. Additionally, spanking can promote aggression in children because they will expect violence to accompany their mistakes. But perhaps most startling is the effects that spanking can have on the brain. A lower development of gray matter can severely hamper a child's ability to think critically and evaluate rewards or punishments. This decrease in self-control can have devastating consequences later in life, such as drug addiction. Because there is no justification for spanking, neither religious nor scientific, Merritt concludes with a resounding exhortation to parents to stop this devastating