There is a church in the CREC, where the men are issued a little leather strap. This strap is used to spank the sin nature out of the children. This little strap is created to provide as much pain as possible without leaving any marks that might be difficult to explain to the secular authorities.
Is this really who you believe God is? Is that how He deals with us? Is your life a series of ‘Jesus spankings’ that you never grow out of? Did Jesus die for your sins in order to give you a life full of painful, humiliating discipline? If you don’t believe that, then why would you try to inflict as much pain as possible without leaving marks? Are you afraid of God because He hurts you?
CREC Memes 
If you know this claim to be true you have a responsibility to contact the local child protection agency or Health and Welfare where this behavior is taking place. They will follow up on your report and should honor your anonymity. Hitting a child with a leather strap is child abuse. Please, for the sake of these little ones speak up and expose this horrendous behavior. And, warn the authorities that the perpetrators will undoubtedly lie to avoid admitting their monstrous behavior. If the wife/mother tolerates this abuse she is a guilty as the bully she married.
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Did you know that lots and lots of well-adjusted, happy adults who look back at their childhood and say, “man, I’m grateful I had parents who loved me enough to discipline me!”
And that there are tons of other messed-up lost souls finding themselves by back-packing across Europe and doing drugs who wished they had been given discipline?
Sure – over simplifying. But just to point out that most of the worlds successful people were spanked as kids. 🙂
And Rose, it’s perfecty legal to use corporal discipline (spanking) in the USA. Calling authorities on false charges sounds like harassment to me… Wouldn’t recommend it.
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Moscowan, you can’t see any possible difference between maybe swatting your kid and switching them with a leather strap? Showing people how to inflict maximum pain on their kids without leaving a mark is horrific. Maybe some people can do that without abusing their kids, but even if we say that, there will definitely be parents who take license to really harm their kids.
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Sarah, I think the leather strap has been favored for hundreds of years because it does provide sting, with no damage. If there is no sting, what’s the point. If there is sting and damage, the parent isn’t doing it right.
That said, wooden spoons are popular in our house. Good little swat.
Sin –> swat –> pray –> hug –> return of fellowship and joy in the home.
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I think that’s the plot of 50 Shades of Grey, except with some praying added.
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If you do it to your wife (*retch*), then yeah – that’s about right. “Who” and “how” is also the difference between loving marital sex and rape.
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So the thing I’m wondering is whether you deny that there is serious abuse in our circles or whether you just don’t care?
Yes, you can say that you don’t approve of excessive force or whatever, but don’t tell me that the constant rhetoric about discipline doesn’t contribute to or help to excuse any of it.
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Moscowan writes:
“Sure – over simplifying. But just to point out that most of the worlds successful people were spanked as kids. ”
Where is any kind of legitimate research that supports this statement?
Do you have any idea of the tons of research supporting the use of instructive, non-traumatic, carefully administered without malice or anger as the most effective method of disciplining children?
Or the research that shows that those children disciplined by harsh corporeal methods often become spousal and animal abusers?
You really need to Google to find the current legal reasoning of when harsh punishment of children becomes a criminal offense. You can start with the Adrian Peterson case.
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..or the research showing a link between corporal punishment in childhood and later issues w bdsm!?
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Christians don’t talk about dirty things like that, they just beat their children till they think about dirty things like that.
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“Do you have any idea of the tons of research supporting the use of instructive, non-traumatic, carefully administered without malice or anger as the most effective method of disciplining children?”
Right – you mean like spanking?
I’m not advocating “harsh corporeal methods” but rather “loving, carefully applied corporeal methods.” If the child is cowering from your discipline, you’re doing it wrong. If he’s giving you a hug, and going out of the “the room” with a smile and bounce in his step, you’re doing it right! Sheesh….this isn’t hard to understand.
Obviously I’m against “beating your kids.” as I said, sheesh…this is common sense stuff.
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Moscowan just wants to justify hitting his kids. In spite of his protestations otherwise, is he sick? You betcha. Is that surprising? No. Should we expect anything different from a bully like him? Nope. Patriarchy at it’s finest. Is it an inadequate, ineffective, and impotent parent who has no better way to teach than to be physically violent to his children? Sure is. Do even good people sometimes make parenting mistakes. Absolutely . . . but only bad ones justify those mistakes rather than apologize, repent, and change.
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Moscowan — Neither you nor anybody in your cult understands the word “loving” — that’s just powdered sugar you sprinkle on “corporeal” to make it sound less abusive. And since you don’t understand this comment either, I think I’ll beat the shit out of you the next time I see you — in a loving way of course.
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Moscowan, I’m curious why you think spanking your wife is wrong. I mean she has to obey you, right? What do you do when she is disobedient?
One distinction I find interesting is that if you hit your wife with a leather strap, she could go to the police. Whereas, if you hit a three year old with that same leather strap, they have no such recourse. Maybe I’m just curious why you prefer helpless victims.
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One more thing, if your kids are hugging you and skipping out the door when they leave you holding your leather strap, it might be more complicated than “they feel restored to fellowship” with you. Stockholm Syndrome is a psychological experience where victims feel bonded to their abusers. When the victims identify and agree with the aggressors, they feel safe and happy because the threat has gone away. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them skipping and happy when the spanking is done: You hitting them with a leather strap no longer poses a threat.
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Man, I wouldn’t enjoy spending time around your kids… 😉
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You only like kids who have had the shit beaten out of them, huh? Do you like your women like you like your children?
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You obviously don’t know the difference between “beating/punishment” and discipline. Discipline is for “disciples.” The distinction is there because our Savior “got the shit beat out of Him” in our stead. And I’m not being irreverent, because the cross was the ultimate irreverent way to die possible. So we discipline our children to make them disciples. Their sin is covered by the blood of Christ.
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I know your narrative wouldn’t allow for it, but my kids are smart, funny and well behaved. And we don’t need a leather strap.
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Moscowan writes:
“If the child is cowering from your discipline, you’re doing it wrong. If he’s giving you a hug, and going out of the “the room” with a smile and bounce in his step, you’re doing it right! ”
What a wonderful illustration! Allegedly loving, Christ-centered parents inducing love of their parents in their children using a variation of the Stockholm Syndrome.
And Christ Church wonders why it has so many local critics and bearers of ill-will toward them. And why Douglas Wilson is often called the Anti-Christ.
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And we’ve had it all wrong for centuries! I’m so glad you’ve come along to set us straight Hopper!
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That’s not the only thing you’ve had wrong for years!
Ancient texts (edited, changed, and blessed by Athanasius, 4th century AD) v. growing body of verified knowledge? One suspects a profit motive.
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Moscowan – I am so glad to see that you are so well researched on how to discipline a child! I guess I should watch Andy Griffith more frequently to make sure that I know how to keep my kids in line… 😉 Seriously though, there are many scholarly articles out there that link spankings to aggression, violence, and sexual problems later in life. Scholarly articles supporting spankings are difficult to find as far as for sure positive spanking outcomes. Also, in my opinion, always resorting to spanking for every child doesn’t take into consideration each child’s unique qualities. Our children are intelligent human beings with nerve endings, emotions, hearts, and souls. Finding alternative discipline methods has made me get to know each of my children better. What motivates them? Where do they value most? etc…. Have you ever tried NOT spanking your children as means of “discipline”? Trust me when I say that not spanking is by far the more challenging road for the parent because it forces the parent to THINK and connect with his/her children. I don’t feel like anyone can speak out against not spanking children either with a hand, spoon, or strap unless he or she has tried non-violent forms of discipline personally.
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Oregon Girl,
Actually yes! Personalities differ, and spanking is not always the “automatic” means of correction. Far from it. But my household would not be doing very well if spankings were excluded from those means of discipline.
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Oh, dear, my shit meter just pegged. Children are to obey their parents, parents are to love their children and not exasperate them, women are instructed to submit (NOT obey, and their is a difference). Husbands are instructed to LOVE their wives. It is not the man’s job to see to it that his wife submits or administer consequences . That instruction was given to the women NOT the men. If he is loving her and his children as Christ loved the church it would be much easier for women and children to fulfill their respective roles. The man is supposed to lead, not push, shove, and beat with his “God given authority”.
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