Advocating Biblical chastisement blurs the lines between discipline and beating. No Greater Joy Minister, Michael Pearl suggests using a 1/4 inch plumber’s supply line 10 times, per chastisement, increasing that amount if the child resists the discipline.
http://blogs.alternet.org/vyckie/2010/02/19/disciplining-to-death-no-greater-joy-ministries-and-child-abuse/or
http://nolongerquivering.com/2010/02/19/disciplining-to-death-no-greater-joy-ministries-and-child-abuse/Friday, February 5, Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz, were charged with beating their 7 year old daughter to death for mispronouncing a word, and torturing her 11 year old sister, who was brought to Sacramento Children’s Hospital in critical condition from kidney failure and other injuries.{1}
In addition to the two girls, who were adopted, the Schatz’s have 6 biological children and another adopted child—all of whom were rarely seen out of doors or playing with other children, report neighbors{2}. Recently, the Butte county DA has reported that the Schatz’s followed the teachings of Michael Pearl, founder of No Greater Joy Ministries.{3}
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Pearl encourages parents to “chastise” (not punish—as if there is some enormous difference!) using a “rod.” He suggests using 1/4 inch plumber’s supply line, to administer the chastisement—which, Pearl maintains, is not a beating. This is exactly what the Schatz’s are being accused of using in beating and torturing their children.
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This tragic story needs to be discussed and brought to light. It is not simply a story of parents who “went too far.” It’s a story about how warped teachings about parent-child relationships, discipline, and authority hurt children and destroy their lives. These teachings must be examined and exposed for what they are: normalized child abuse. I escaped—but will others be so lucky?
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1
http://www.examiner.com/x-8947-LA-Atheism-Examiner~y2010m2d18-Fundamentalists-charged-in-daughters-torture-death2
http://www.chicoer.com/publicsafety/ci_143642743
http://cbs13.com/local/Parents.Accused.Of.2.1504691.html4
http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/articles/general-view/archive/2001/may/01/in-defense-of-biblical-chastisement-part-1/5
http://www.khsltv.com/content/localnews/story/DA-Deadly-Child-Abuse-Case-Linked-To-Biblical/v9e-rmj-dk6t5b2Dx8U_gA.cspxThe Pearl's website:
http://www.nogreaterjoy.orgMore on this case:
Deadly Child Abuse Case Linked To "Biblical Chastisement" (1 child dead, 2nd in critical condition)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7730369&mesg_id=77303692006 Salon article:
Spare the quarter-inch plumbing supply line, spoil the childSaying no to "timeouts," some fundamentalist Christians "train up" their children by carefully hitting them with switches, PVC pipes and other "chastening instruments."
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2006/05/25/the_pearls/index.html"If you want a child who will integrate into the New World Order and wait his turn in line for condoms, a government funded abortion, sexually transmitted disease treatment, psychological evaluation and a mark on the forehead," writes Pearl in "To Train Up a Child," "then follow the popular guidelines in education, entertainment and discipline, but if you want a son or daughter of God, you will have to do it God's way."
Michael Pearl's rural church is tiny, and his home base so remote that, with no broadband access, Internet connections require a satellite hookup, says their business manager, Mel Cohen. Still, the Pearls' 18-employee nonprofit company, No Greater Joy ministries, is big business. According to Cohen, much of the ministries' $1.5 million annual earnings go right back out the door via product donations as well as financial support for missionaries in nine countries. The Pearls have sold or donated -- to churches, military families and community groups -- more than 1,000,000 copies of their books, CDs, DVDs and other materials related to the Christian family. Their bimonthly newsletter has 74,000 subscribers, a number that's growing each month. "To Train Up a Child," in particular, is frequently sold or passed around via church groups and home-schooling conferences.
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"Select your instrument according to the child's size," writes Pearl. "For the under one year old, a little, ten to twelve-inch long, willowy branch (stripped of any knots that might break the skin) about one-eighth inch diameter is sufficient. Sometimes alternatives have to be sought. A one-foot ruler, or its equivalent in a paddle, is a sufficient alternative. For the larger child, a belt or larger tree branch is effective." Additional advice from their Web site: Switching with a length of quarter-inch plumbing supply line is a "real attention-getter."
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Yet again, in a sense, so is the switch.
"The parent holds in his hand (in the form of a little switch) the power to absolve the child of guilt, cleanse his soul, instruct his spirit, strengthen his resolve, and give him a fresh start through a confidence that all indebtedness is paid..." writes Pearl. "After a short explanation about bad attitudes and the need to love, patiently and calmly apply the rod to his back-side. Somehow, after eight or ten licks, the poison is transformed into gushing love and contentment. The world becomes a beautiful place. A brand new child emerges. It makes an adult stare at the rod in wonder, trying to see what magic is contained therein." snip
Does Anast {{daughter of Michael & Debi Pearl}} "train" her own three kids? Yes, though "98 percent of the time" she and her husband rely on the more "creative" penalties she remembers from her childhood. If they do spank, they use a "tiny little switch the size of a chopstick," she says. "It's a little swat on the back of the hand that says, 'Don't touch that,' or
a swat on the back of the calf that says, 'Stop crying, buck up, be a happy girl.' It never breaks the skin or leaves a mark. It's not like 'going out to the barn for a beating.'"
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