I am soon to be a proud new papa. Truth is, I'm pretty proud now, and I'm trying to learn all I can to be the best dad I can be. So where else do I turn for advice but the internet? In the course of my surfing, I came across this article about spanking that demonstrates why I am not going to take any of these people seriously. Michele Borba, EdD, is a former classroom teacher and an internationally-renowned consultant and educator who has presented workshops to more than half a million participants. She is the recipient of the National Educator Award and is the author of 18 books. However, she does not seem to have read the ONE book that has spoken to, and helped, more than all the half-millions Borba could reach in her lifetime. Her strategies and reasons are the same get-along-without-God claptrap that makes Christians so suspicious of psychologists (or EdD's who pose as psychologists).
She is not alone in making the fundamental mistake of assuming that our humanism renders God obsolete, that we can go it alone if we just have enough data, comparisons, and "scientific" research. Any time we remove God, we limit our ability to understand the real issues, psychological or physical, that confront mankind - especially when we are dealing with raising children.
By titling her article, "Spare the Rod" she begs for the biblical comparison. Proverbs 22:15, 23:13, 23:14, and 29:15 are all quite clear regarding the benefits of physical discipline. Some Bible readers will go off the deep end at this point and beat their kids senseless. They should be locked up with the other criminals and deviants. If we really believe that all truth is God's truth, then we, as Christians, will be informed by what research demonstrates to be true (which is not necessarily the same as the conclusions drawn by secular do-gooders). We will remember the sage advice of Ephesians 6:4. "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Wise men will temper their discipline to be developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant. This does not mean that we will chuck God for all of Dr. Borba's secular-utopia theories. But we will hold fast to the unchanging word of God and allow His wisdom to guide and shape our lives and (parenting) choices. To do any differently is to pass our insecurities along to future generations who must deal with the fallout of our unwillingness to take a stand and do what is right.