On September 12, 2012, Delaware governor
Jack Markell signed into law a bill that effectively outlawed corporal
punishment in his state. This
legislation (Senate Bill 234) is an amendment to the existing Delaware code relating
to offenses against children. The new
law redefines the term "physical injury" for the state of Delaware to include "any
impairment of physical condition or pain."
It also defines the term "abuse" to include physical injury (pain)
caused to a child by any means other than accident. According to this new law, anyone who
deliberately or negligently causes pain to a child under age eighteen will be
guilty of a class A misdemeanor and subject to one year in prison. Anyone who does so to a child who is age
three or younger will be guilty of a class G felony and subject to two years in
prison. Because corporal punishment is a
deliberate infliction of pain on a child, parents who spank their children will
be in violation of this new law and subject to its penalties.
Before considering this law's impact on
parental and religious rights and responsibilities, let it be acknowledged that
the spirit of this entire code is mostly good and sadly necessary. Children have rights just as adults have, and
they need to be respected and protected under the law. Violence against any innocent person is
condemned in the Bible (Ps. 11:5; Prov. 6:16-17), but violence against children
is especially heinous because they are defenseless. Jesus acknowledged the inherent evil of doing
any harm to a child when He said, "[W]hoever causes one of these little ones
who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy
millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea"
(Matt. 18:6). The Lord was not speaking
specifically of child abuse in this verse, but we can infer from His words that
child abusers should be severely punished.
In our culture today, the abuse done to children is unthinkable. The new Delaware law spells out acts of abuse
that are so vile even the words are sickening.
Even so, these crimes are being committed, and it is the responsibility
of the civil government to severely punish such evil and protect the innocent
(Rom. 13:3-4; 1Pet. 2:14).
The problem with this new Delaware law
is that it has mistakenly defined responsible, God-fearing parents who spank
their children as child abusers. It
places the Biblical practice of corporal punishment in a category with injurious
physical abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological abuse. Whether this was done so intentionally is
irrelevant, for the effect is the same. It
is also irrelevant whether parents who spank their children will be prosecuted
under this law, for they are still in violation of it, and their right to
discipline their children by corporal punishment has been infringed. With the passage of this law, any
administration in Delaware who wishes to stop corporal punishment will now have
power to do so with severe penalties.
Moreover, any person who wishes to persecute Christian parents may use this
new law to bring charges against them.
Let
us be clear in our understanding of the Bible's teaching concerning corporal
punishment. Most of the Scriptures'
instructions about spanking are found in the Proverbs, and these passages do
not condone abuse of children in any way.
In fact, they speak against the abuse of children by parents who neglect
their responsibilities to practice the necessary discipline. Notice a few of these verses:
Proverbs 13:24 -- He who withholds
his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
Proverbs 19:18 -- Discipline your
son while there is hope, and do not desire his death.
Proverbs 22:15 -- Foolishness is
bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline will remove it far
from him.
Proverbs 23:13-14 -- Do not hold
back discipline from the child, although you strike him with the rod, he
will not die. You shall strike him
with the rod and rescue his soul from Sheol.
Proverbs 29:15 -- The rod and
reproof give wisdom, but a child who gets his own way brings shame to his
mother.
By these instructions from the word of
God, we see that loving parents will carefully discipline their children by
various means. In this way, their love
is manifested for the benefit of their children, just as God's love is
manifested for the benefit of His children (Heb. 12:5-11).
Lawmakers and executives in every level
of civil government need to realize that the practice of Christianity should be
encouraged rather than discouraged.
Faithful Christians and their well-behaved, disciplined children are
good for the nation and the culture. The
Biblical discipline of children will actually help to solve the problems of our
nation, for it will produce responsible, respectful, self-disciplined
adults. Such Christians make good
citizens, and the practice of their beliefs should never be defined as criminal
acts. Certainly, child abuse must be
prevented and punished, but the criminalization of spanking is an unnecessary
overreaction and a gross overreach of authority by civil government.
