Christian parenting post ban of corporal punishment by the law in South Africa.

On or about 18 August 2019, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa delivered a judgement confirming that it is unconstitutional to use corporal punishment to admonish children and found that spanking children violated their rights.

The judgement has left a lot of Christian organisations very disappointed. On the other hand, a lot of prominent women and children rights activists are swimming in tears of joy because of the judgement.

Undoubtedly, children have a right to dignity, a right to freedom from all forms of violence and a right to be not discriminated because of their age, and parents have a right to freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief and opinion. Therefore, the crux of the matter herein is not a legal one but one of religion, specifically whether it is mandatory for Christian parents to discipline their children using corporal punishment.

“Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them” (Proverbs 13:24 | NIV). Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Punish them with the rod and save them from death. (Proverbs 23:13-14 | NIV). A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom, but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother. (Proverbs 29:15 | NIV).

It seems every Christian parent when applying physical discipline to their children, the aforementioned Bible verses will be resonating in their minds. However, what puzzles me is why no one has ever paused and wonder why the word ‘rod’ was used here. Is it possible that the writer thereof meant for these three admonitions to merely provide guidance as opposed to detecting a requirement?

There is a very small distinction between the word rod and staff in the Hebrew context. There is the rod of Moses (Numbers 20 | NIV) and there is a rod of punishment used for correction (1 Corinthians 4:21 | NIV), but depending on the bible version, both are either referred to as either a staff or rod.

If the rod referred to in the book of Proverbs is the same as the one used by shepherds (Genesis 30:37 | NIV) or that of Moses, then it is safe to assume that the writer of Proverbs merely meant to provide guidance and emphasis that punishment is not a comfortable process.

God is a peaceful being who would not advocate the use of a staff as a corrective instrument for children’s behaviour. The rod referred to in the book of Corinthians is merely metaphorical as it used by God who is a spiritual being.

The Bible has no actual examples of children being disciplined by corporal punishment. In the origin of sin story, Adam and Eve were not physically punished but evicted from the garden of Eden. Moses disobeyed a direct order from God and he was not physically punished. Ham, son of Noah was punished by being made to work for Shem, the good son, after he laughed at his naked drunk father. The prodigal son did not receive the rod but love from his father.

Martin Luther King Jr. said “violence begets violence”. In a world full of children and women abuse, disciplining by means of violence may not be the best way to raise our children. “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6 | NIV) In America, "evidence obtained from a longitudinal cohort study suggested that corporal punishment of toddlers was associated with subsequent aggressive behavior."

The Christian faith calls for obedience and warns that “...whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves” (Romans 13:1-2 | NIV). The authorities in the Republic of South Africa have banned corporal punishment, hence one would advise and encourage all christian believers in the Republic to refrain from the use of corporal punishment. Could it be God talking to Christians through the authorities? Should Christians risk disobeying God? Food for thought.

The law has not banned disciplining children but the use of physical punishment to discipline them. This law is passed in an attempt to protect children as vulnerable members of the society from abuse done in the name of disciplinary action. "Recent findings from the Birth to Twenty Plus study — which followed more than 2000 children in Soweto from birth to 22 years old — shows that 50% of younger children have experienced violence in the home most often through physical punishment by parents. In adolescence, the proportion of children who have experienced violence in the home increases to 83%." Christians, why not support your authorities in this noble cause ?

In a nutshell, discipline is not found in violence, there are a lot of ways to discipline a child and as a Christian parent, why not pick one or two methods that are not contrary to the law? We already know that "effective and positive discipline is about teaching and guiding children, not just forcing them to obey."