Colossians 3:21 Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.
Proverbs 12:18 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.
Proverbs 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.
Luke 6:31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Then my favorites:
Mark 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
Matthew 18:1-6 1. At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Luke 17:2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
I think Jesus is clear on His opinion on harming children and a child's role in His Kingdom. The Bible can and is twisted by abusers. However, when I read it myself, I felt reassured that Jesus did not appreciate the way I was treated. Also challenged me to consider how I treat my children.
Huge challenge to follow Jesus Christ.
1 comment:
I think that the bible has many contradictory passages and has often been used by abusive parents to legitimize their abuse of their own or adopted children. I personally don't think that is because of religion or belief as such, I think it is because abusive people are drawn to seek cover and plausible deniability in any way they can. Unfortunately, there are many, many fundamentalist Christians, who take "spare the rod spoil the child" as their motto right from the Bible. This means that it is an easy place to seek cover for abusers and unfortunately, I think that people who are first drawn in to these churches for other reasons also often end up being abusive even while loving their children because they become convinced that this is necessary.
The problem with the many contradictions of the Bible is that you can pick and choose, just as you can in most established religions.Think of Islam as either a religion of peace and scholarship for hundreds of years or the Islamic fundamentalists and their acts of violence. Both are possible, both are supposedly based on the same religious texts and traditions.
I think often, the abused are right to decry a supposedly infallible text inspired by the almighty which lends itself so well to abuse apologetics. I know that dynamic too well from my family.
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