Deadly Child Abuse Case Linked To "Biblical Chastisement" (1 child dead, 2nd in critical condition)

http://www.khsltv.com/content/localnews/story/DA-Deadly-Child-Abuse-Case-Linked-To-Biblical/v9e-rmj-dk6t5b2Dx8U_gA.cspx

Authorities now believe that murder suspects Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz were followers of a extremist Christian group that advocates hitting children.

snip

After speaking with the Schatz' other children investigators were led to No Greater Joy Ministries, a Tennessee based faith group that espouses spanking as a necessary part of "training" one's child.

The Ministries' web site details how hard and on which part of the body a child should be hit. It also describes a 1/4 inch plumber's supply line as an ideal "spanking instrument".

The Schatz are accused of using that exact type of supply line to beat their two adopted children so severely that one died and the other remains in intensive care.

DA links fundamentalist "training" to Paradise girl's death http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_14388171

The Schatzes were arrested Saturday morning after their adopted daughter, Lydia, age 7, stopped breathing. She was subsequently pronounced dead.

Her 11-year-old sister, Zariah Schatz, remains in critical condition at a Sacramento children's hospital, though she is showing some signs of recovery. The two were adopted at the same time with an infant girl, now 3, from the same African orphanage about three years ago,

Prosecutors allege the two victims were subjected to "hours" of corporal punishment by their parents on successive days last Thursday and Friday with a quarter-inch-wide length of rubber or plastic tubing, which police reportedly recovered from the parents' bedroom.

Police allege that the younger girl was being disciplined for mis-pronouncing a word during a home-school reading lesson the day before she died.

The two young girls reportedly sustained deep bruising and multiple "whip-like" marks on their back, buttocks and legs, which authorities believe resulted in significant muscle tissue breakdown that impaired their kidneys and possibly other vital organs, said Ramsey.

Stop the Rod Reviews ' "To Train Up a Child" by Michael and Debi Pearl
http://www.stoptherod.net/ttuac.html

1) The Pearls recommend whipping infants only a few months old on their bare skin. They describe whipping their own 4 month old daughter (p.9). They recommend whipping the bare skin of "every child" (p.2) for "Christians and non-Christians" (p.5) and for "every transgression" (p.1). Parents who don't whip their babies into complete submission are portrayed as indifferent, lazy, careless and neglectful (p.19) and are "creating a Nazi" (p.45).

2) On p.60 they recommend whipping babies who cannot sleep and are crying, and to never allow them "to get up." On p.61 they recommend whipping a 12 month old girl for crying. On p.79 they recommend whipping a 7 month old for screaming.

3) On p.65 co-author Debi Pearl whips the bare leg of a 15 month old she is babysitting, 10 separate times, for not playing with something she tells him to play with. On p.56 Debi Pearl hits a 2 year old so hard "a karate chop like wheeze came from somewhere deep inside."

4) On p.44 they say not to let the child's crying while being hit to "cause you to lighten up on the intensity or duration of the spanking." On p.59 they recommend whipping a 3 year old until he is "totally broken."

Spanking away sin Christian Century, May 1, 2007
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_9_124/ai_n19328433/


Recently I heard a mom at a soccer game proudly describe how she responded to her infant crying in his bed by "punishing and punishing" him. When I asked how one punishes a five-month-old child, she said that he was spanked in his crib. Spanking is nothing less than a mark of orthodoxy for followers of the Pearls, who deem it a necessary means of dealing with sin. They insist that parents who are faithful to Jesus need to hit their children.

snip

The Pearls compare children to stubborn animals: both have the same predictable responses to unpleasant stimuli. The book advocates a consistent behaviorism that involves switching a child's bare skin until the child's will is broken. The result? A model child who is completely compliant; a model parent who is a conqueror.

Children are prepared for "future, instant, unquestioning obedience." The authors advocate tempting an infant by putting an appealing object within reach and compare the object to the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden. (Putting a forbidden object outside a child's reach is considered a parental "display of weakness.") When the child reaches for the object, the parents lash the child. The suggested switch for a four-month-old child is a branch 12 inches long and an eighth of an inch wide. Rulers, belts and tree branches are recommended for older children. In the Pearls' world, crystal bowls, other breakable treasures and even loaded guns can be left around the house because curious toddlers can be trained to "complete and joyous subjection."

The Pearls portray parent and child as embroiled in a "competition of interest." Children are understood to be devious and self-centered. Normal childhood frustrations are understood as manipulative and self-indulgent assertions of a child's sinful nature. To Train Up a Child and similar (though less severe) books by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo, James Dobson and Ted Tripp are a publicity nightmare for those who would rather not have Christians associated with the beating of kids. They also point to a theological mess.

http://krcrtv.com/node/5456

The 11-year-old girl found badly beaten inside her Paradise home Saturday February 6th, is expected to leave the hospital within the week.

snip

We took a closer look at what the website calls “God's Child Training Program.” Nogreaterjoy.org is a Christian-based website that encourages parents to spank their children to promote obedience.

Instead of a parent's hand, it recommends using a flexible tube known as a plumber's supply line to train your child. In the case of the Paradise girls, authorities believe Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz used such an item.

The text says to stay away from using the hand for fear of hurting the child. The website also draws a fine line between what it calls training and abuse.

According to the site, abuse is when the training starts to hurt the child. In that case, the text recommends immediate counseling for the parent or parents.

The text also recognizes, however, that the child may become more disobedient following training. It says some children may even be driven towards “evil” and that their soul yearns for “justice to be done to the self.”

It goes on to say that, if this is the case, parents should love their children enough to “satisfy his need to experience payback.” For those who reject these methods, the text claims you are unfit to be a parent.

http://www.sgvtribune.com/california/ci_14364274

The 3-, 7-, and 11-year-olds were adopted from the Republic of Liberia in Africa three years ago, Ramsey said. He said authorities are investigating how the adoptions were made and through what agency.

The remaining youths were taken into protective custody and released to Butte County Children's Services.

Ramsey said the remaining children have indicated that they suffered similar discipline with similar instruments.

Ramsey said the children were being home schooled through a Christian home-school organization. He did not know the name of the organization at press time.

Paradise couple face murder, torture charges in death of daughter
http://www.chicoer.com/news/oroville/ci_14371693

County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Tuesday both children suffered extensive bruising and "whip-like" marks on their bodies consistent with a length of rubber or plastic tubing, which other family members said was used to discipline the children.

The Schatzes were also charged with a misdemeanor count of cruelty to a child, involving less extensive injuries to their 10-year-old biological son.

snip

Ramsey said after being taken into protective custody, one or more of the Shatzes' six biological children indicated their parents had frequently used the tubing to discipline them, and that the two older adopted girls received "more harsh discipline" than the other family members.

The other children reportedly told investigators the parents blamed the 11-year-old for "being a bad influence" on her younger siblings.

snip

Ramsey said preliminary hospital tests indicated elevated levels of potassium in both victims' blood likely caused by the breakdown of muscle tissue from "recent discipline sessions."

snip

More than two-dozen supporters showed up for the hearing, including the parents of one or both of the defendants. All declined comment.

When Parenting Kills – What Can We Do?
http://katiekind.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/when-parenting-kills-what-can-we-do/

As a Christian and former homeschooler myself, this story hits me very hard. I feel like I could know this family, could have rubbed shoulders with them at the Christian homeschooling conferences I attended when I lived in California.

snip

However, people with a steady, normal, functional frame of reference regarding family life would say the Pearls’ approach to “training” — their word for studiously nonchalant flickings, whackings and whippings designed to condition young children to obey — is already well past the normal limits. Normal parents, for example, don’t drape plumbing supply line around their necks – they just don’t. Parents who are attracted to their methods in spite of the cruel or bizarre examples and recommendations that pepper their more conventional positions might lack a normal frame of reference by which to evaluate what is over the line.

And frankly, the Pearls’ advocacy of a take-no-prisoners approach to attaining complete control seems to make this type of tragedy inevitable.

I am sure the Pearls do not want people killing their children. Their website’s defense of their methods even asks rhetorically, “When is it Abuse?” and the answer attempts to help followers identify whether they may have crossed the line. I can appreciate the thought, but – again – what a red flag that is! Normal discipline recommendations don’t bring parents anywhere near “the line.” As my husband said sadly, “if you’re wondering when it’s abuse, it’s probably abuse.”



And in a follow-up message she said:

http://mustfollow.blogspot.com/2010/02/devil-who-made-them-do-it.html?showComment=1265946411061#c2345610827377945224

February 11, 2010 7:46 PM
tehBeautifulAngie said...

The Schatzs did follow the Pearl's teachings. I knew this family personally, though I have not had any contact with them in several years. They also homeschooled through ATI (Advanced Training Institute, i.i. Bill Gothard) which I personally believe to be a cult. This tragedy has struck close to home, as you don't ever imagine people you know, people you went to church with, babysat for, etc, to do something like this. This is a case of religious fanaticism and isolation gone too far.