Welcome message

Dear friends,

Welcome to my blog. I am honored to have you visit. I hope you'll find my articles a blessing. I welcome your input and especially comments and questions.

I write as a Christian from Jerusalem, Israel about Biblical subjects.

I am particularly interested in the subjects of children, families, women's issues, corporal punishment, science and nature as these subjects relate to the Holy Scriptures.

For more information, see my website: www.biblechild.com

With every good wish - Samuel Martin

Saturday, October 29, 2011

This is one of the most powerful posts I have read all year - This is Theology of Motherhood at its best

This is one post that I strongly urge you to read. I am really deeply moved by such powerful expressions of truth.

http://www.tina.thejobes.com/2010/03/to-train-up-a-child-book-review/

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Accurate information from the Bible and Academia can change minds on the issue of Spanking/Smacking Chiildren

http://northlightcounseling.com/wordpress/?p=364
Here is a post from a friend of mine, Faith Gallup, from Chicago. In this post, she mentions attending a seminar (in 2007 in Chicago at which I spoke) sponsored by Dr. Madeline Gomez, the President of Psychealth, Ltd.
PsycHealth, Ltd. (www.psychealthltd.com) is a multi-disciplinary team of behavioral health professionals dedicated to excellence in service delivery and program development. We support the human and individual rights of all persons regardless of ethnicity, sex, religious or sexual orientation or native language. We are committed to non-violent family interaction and child rearing and believe that compassion and consideration are of utmost importance.We recognize that as we help each person, we help our families, our friends, and ourselves.

The presentation I gave I still have today in MS Powerpoint and it has a paper that accompanies it. Anyone who would like to have that paper and the Powerpoint for presentations to groups that you might be aware of is welcomed to contact me. info@biblechild.com. 
You can see from Faith's testimony that attending that seminar (where I was one of three speakers) gave her the information she needed to completely change her mind on this issue.
Thanks Faith for letting me link to this. Bless you and a huge thanks to Dr. Mady Gomez for her leadership on this issue.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Patriarchial Longevity in the Antediluvian Age


Dear friends,

The book of Genesis is one which has interested me ever since I first got interested in writing about Scripture. I believe that the book of Genesis contains Biblical truth. 

Dr. E. W. Bullinger, the compiler of the Companion Bible, referred to Genesis saying (I agree with his assessment precisely): “Genesis is the seed-plot of the whole Bible. It is essential to the true understanding of its every part. It is the foundation on which Divine Revelation rests; and on which is it built up. It is not only the foundation of all Truth, but it enters into, and forms part of all subsequent inspiration; … Genesis is quoted or referred to sixty times in the New Testament; and Divine authority is set like a seal on its historical facts.”[1]


[1] E. W. Bullinger, The Companion Bible, Appendix II - See Matt. 19:4-6;24:37-28; Mark 7:4,10;10:3-8; Luke 11:43-51;17:26-29; Jn. 1:51;7:21;8:44-56

I am posting a new introduction a brand new small publication that I have been working on for over 15 years and it is my intention to publish the first edition of this new publication before year end. I will be updating you concerning the finalization of this new short publication (and how you can get a copy once it is published) very soon as the final version is almost complete. Here is a small excerpt from the introduction. Stay tuned for more information. Rest assured, this new publication will present a very thought provoking, Biblically conservative approach to this age old question.

Patriarchal Longevity in the Antediluvian Age by Samuel Martin

One of the most interesting aspects to the early history of human kind concerns the Biblical data showing that certain individuals are identified has having lived lives reaching up to almost 1,000 years of age. We today look at these Biblical texts and wonder if they are true or if they just represent ancient myths that primitive mankind believed in.

In this new publication, we are going to explore this question with a view to illuminating difficult passages of the Holy Scripture concerning this question. We believe that the LORD has given us all the information that we need within the Scriptures themselves to answer all the questions that we have on most subjects. 

Understanding how the Patriarchs in the Antediluvian Age lived to be so old is no exception. We pray that you find this publication valuable in your Bible study.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Book giveaways on samuelmartin.blogspot.com to continue

Thanks to everyone who has entered this drawing. It is not too late to enter still. See details below.

Rest assured, I will be having more drawings for great books that I love on my blog.

Stay tuned.

"Corporal Punishment in the Bible - A Redemptive Movement Hermeneutic for Troubling Texts" to be given away on SamuelMartin.blogspot.com - 
Give away ends November 1 2011

Dear friends,

I am delighted to continue endorsing strongly Professor William Webb's book. I can't recommend it enough.
Here is where you can get your copy - http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/toc/code=2761 

So, I am pleased to announce that I am giving a copy of this book away. This is the first book I've ever given away on my blog and I am pleased that it is this book.
To win this book, all you have to do send me an email (your email address will be kept confidential not to be shared with anyone) with your first and last name to [info@biblechild.com] answering the following three questions:
1.  I have read your book "Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Comfort Me: Christians and the Spanking Controversy - YES or NO
2. I have read Professor Webb's book - YES or NO
3. Pick one of the following: 
A. If I don't win the Webb book, I am planning to buy it.
B. I have already bought the Webb book and plan to give away the book if I win it.
C. I have not yet purchased the book by Prof. Webb.

So that is all there is to it. Except for one other thing.
The first name drawn will win the Webb book. Then, I will be drawing another name. The first name that I draw thereafter who answers the question "I have read your book "Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Comfort Me: Christians and the Spanking Controversy" with a "NO", will win a free autographed copy of my book.
I look forward to hear from you very soon. This drawing ends 23:59AM Jerusalem time on November 1.

Monday, October 17, 2011

And the waters assuaged (cooled down).” (Genesis 8:1)

“And the waters assuaged (cooled down).” (Genesis 8:1) 
by 
Samuel Martin (www.facebook.com/byblechyld)

Note: I want to shift gears a little bit and talk about some research I did about fifteen years ago. I hope you find it interesting and I am definitely looking for feedback (or feed forward) on this subject.

The book of Genesis is one of my favourite books in the whole Bible. When I first began to do serious research into the Bible, Genesis was the place I started and the things that I have learned about Genesis, particularly in the early sections, really amazed me (and continue to do so today). I hope someday in the near future to be able to bring out more of my own research on the early sections of Genesis even beyond the subject of the Mark of Cain (which was first published in 1996 in association with the ministry of my late father)  that I have already published (contact me for details of how you can get a copy if you are interested - info@biblechild.com). (Note: I am working now on publishing some new research on showing how it was the ancient Patriarchs lived in some cases to be almost one thousands years old. Stay tuned.)

One of the most interesting subjects in the Bible is that of the Flood of Noah. This event is really a mystery to many people about the details of how it happened. No doubt, people are really interested in this issue. If you do any research at all, you will find hundreds of opinions on the Flood and how it happened and these opinions will cover a whole range of different opinions. Numerous books, articles and websites are devoted to this important issue.

The title of this section is “And the waters assuaged.” (Genesis 8:1) So let’s talk about this seemingly unimportant passage because it is in this passage that much interesting information is contained. Honestly, when we study Genesis or other sections of the Bible where we have very little information, we have to take what we do have seriously and look very carefully and closely at the information provided and do our best to understand what it meant to the writer who wrote it, who in this case was Moses. We want to know the meaning that Moses wished to convey if we can.

We in the modern world have been influenced wrongly by epic films and artistic depictions about biblical subjects concerning many issues including the Flood

Now, what difference does it make? The point is, films (and by extension photographs, television and paintings) influence dramatically people’s opinions about all kinds of things and the Bible is no exception. Look at the Hollywood films about the Flood. They seemingly follow the Biblical narrative and you see people climbing up to the tops of mountains to escape the Flood; you see the ark floating on huge oceans of water and torrential downpours; you see rain for forty days and forty nights; you see the water covering the tops of the mountains and so on. However, are these really accurate descriptions? According to Hollywood, yes; but according to the Bible, no!

However, there is one verse which I am focusing on in this short paper which seems to indicate this idea pretty clearly. It is the following which are the last few words of the passage in question: “And the waters assuaged.” (Genesis 8:1)

When you read this passage, you get the feeling that the waters that were submerging the whole mountains were somehow miraculously removed from the earth by a divine agency. This is what you feel on the surface when you read the last section of Genesis 7 and the first verse of Genesis 8. It seems so clear that this is what it means. But is it?

When we look at the Hebrew word for “assuaged” which is ישכו - yascu, this word needs some defining. Yes, it can mean “assuaged” or “receded,” however in this context many ancient commentators point out something else.

Rabbi Raphael Hirschinson in his excellent commentary on Genesis says the following: “וישכו  –  vayascu (root שכך) The use of this expression indicates that the action of the water of the flood was not merely mechanically destructive but also chemically dissolving. According to one remark in Sanhedrin 108b (quoting here from the Babylonian Talmud – one of the ancient authoritative works on Jewish law and Bible interpretation – see http://www.come-and-hear.com/sanhedrin/sanhedrin_108.html), they were רותחין, seething. שכך is the reverse of boiling and bubbling up of a torrent.” (pg. 155). Continuing, Rabbi Hirschinson shows that to understand this verse it is essential to refer to a passage in the book of Esther chapter 7, verse 10, which says:

“Then the king’s wrath was pacified.”

The word for “pacified” in Esther 7:10 and the word for “assuaged” in Genesis 8:1 come from the same root. The point that arises out of these passages when we begin to dig deeper is that the Floodwaters themselves were boiling hot. Rabbi Hirschinson references a key passage in the Babylonian Talmud in this regard and it is good to show here what those ancient commentaries said about this verse. Note if here:

R. Hisda said: With hot passion they sinned (speaking about those in the pre-Flood period), and by hot water they were punished. [For] here it is written, And the water cooled; (Genesis 8:1) whilst elsewhere it is said, Then the king's wrath cooled down. (Esther 7:10) (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 108b)

You can see that this ancient commentator clearly understood that the waters of the Flood were hot water and he even translated the word as “cooled.” When we think about it, depending on our perspective, it could very easily mean that the waters indeed “cooled off” rather than “assuaged” or “run off” from a higher point to a lower point. What we find here is that those individuals who translated the word “assuaged” may have been influenced by their opinion of what took place in the Flood through means other than looking at the ancient sources (like religious art, paintings in churches, stained glass windows or icons) and comparing the information we find in the Biblical texts.

Hot water during the Flood? Yes. In fact, we have many ancient nations producing Flood type narratives and “a Finnish story of the Deluge (the Flood) is of hot water.” (Hastings: Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, vol. IV, p. 548)

What has to be understood is the whole conception of what took place in the Flood needs to be reexamined. Even the word for “flood” (מבול  mabul) does not always specifically mean “flood.” Note that in passages in the New Testament where the Flood is referenced, the Greek word used is kataklusmos (kataklusmos), from which we get the English word cataclysm or cataclysmic. The point is, while all floods to one degree or another can be cataclysmic in effect, not all cataclysmic events are necessarily floods. It is important to note that the Hebrew word  (מבול  mabul) only appears in the Hebrew Bible 12 times, 11 of which are in the first eleven chapters of Genesis. (the remaining time is in Psalm 29:10) We even find in the first passage where this word in referenced that the Lord says: “I do bring a flood (מבול mabul – “a cataclysmic event”) of waters …” (Genesis 6:17) It seems to indicate that to limit the description of this event to that of a “flood” is to miss the intent and power of this word. What took place in the early chapters of Genesis was a complete destruction of everything alive on earth and it looks like that while water was involved, that water was not only very hot, but that it also had corrosive qualities to it. [Much more to say on this later.]

What I hope to show through this short article is that there is much to learn in these early sections of Genesis. While the language is terse and brief, we have to remember that this is what the Lord has provided for us to know about the early earth. Let us take these passages, believe them and be willing to study them carefully asking the Lord to guide our path. There is still much teaching to be had from that good old Book.

Closing comment: As time permits, I hope to bring out more research on this interesting subject in the future as what I have given here is a summary of more research to be published later.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Book giveaway ends November 1

"Corporal Punishment in the Bible - A Redemptive Movement Hermeneutic for Troubling Texts" to be given away on SamuelMartin.blogspot.com - 
Give away ends November 1 2011

Dear friends,

I am delighted to continue endorsing strongly Professor William Webb's book. I can't recommend it enough.




So, I am pleased to announce that I am giving a copy of this book away. This is the first book I've ever given away on my blog and I am pleased that it is this book.
To win this book, all you have to do send me an email (your email address will be kept confidential not to be shared with anyone) with your first and last name to [info@biblechild.com] answering the following three questions:
1.  I have read your book "Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Comfort Me: Christians and the Spanking Controversy - YES or NO
2. I have read Professor Webb's book - YES or NO
3. Pick one of the following: 
A. If I don't win the Webb book, I am planning to buy it.
B. I have already bought the Webb book and plan to give away the book if I win it.
C. I have not yet purchased the book by Prof. Webb.

So that is all there is to it. Except for one other thing.
The first name drawn will win the Webb book. Then, I will be drawing another name. The first name that I draw thereafter who answers the question "I have read your book "Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Comfort Me: Christians and the Spanking Controversy" with a "NO", will win a free autographed copy of my book.
I look forward to hear from you very soon. This drawing ends 23:59AM Jerusalem time on November 1.

Note: My ebook can be downloaded here for free -

 http://parentingfreedom.com/samuelmartin.pdf

Thursday, October 13, 2011

A new message from Janet Heimlich, Author of the book "Breaking Their Wills: Shedding Light On Religious Maltreatment"



A new message from Janet Heimlich, Author of the book 
"Breaking Their Wills: Shedding Light On Religious Maltreatment"

At 7pm on October 16, I will speak in Seattle at the University Temple United Methodist Church about religious child maltreatment. As it happens, tragically, there has been a case close to home here. Last May, 13-year-old Hana Williams died after suffering months of physical and emotional abuse. According to a detective's affidavit, the cause of death was hypothermia, as the underweight and malnourished child was found outside in 40-degree weather.
Hana had been adopted from Ethiopia by Carri and Larry Williams a couple years before, along with a boy, now ten years old, who was not related to Hana. Normally, children who come from poverty-stricken areas of the world thrive after they are brought to this country. But Hana and her adopted brother entered a world that was likely more hellish than anything they would have endured back home.

According to police records, both children were physically punished constantly for the most minor of infractions. For example, Hana was expected to stand still within a space that was one-foot wide, and her brother, who was deaf, angered his parents when he did not respond them stamping their feet on a concrete floor.

Witnesses say that the children were frequently beaten and made to sleep on the hard floor. Hana was forced to spend hours outside outside in the bitter cold and sleep in a barn. She was also repeatedly denied food and locked in a dark closet for days, while her parents played Bible readings on-tape and Christian music. The Williams have been arrested on murder charges and child abuse charges in connection with the boy.

Even more devastating, we now know that the Williams were followers of Michael Pearl. They had a copy of his pro-corporal punishment book To Train Up a Child in their home, and witnesses say they used a number of Pearl's "training" techniques, including spanking the children with plastic plumbing pipe. Hana's body was covered with bruises and other signs of having sustained beatings.

We can sit and wonder, how could parents abuse children in this way? But we do know that, if what the witnesses say are true, Hana is the third child to die at the hands of those who follow Pearl's teachings. As I have pointed out to the media, Pearl is a minister who uses his authority and Bible verses to prove his message -- that children must unquestioningly obey their elders and that corporal punishment is a God-approved way to gain that obedience.

Pearl's book has sold in the hundreds of thousands. Surely, not everyone who buys it abuses their children. But we must ask, how many children whose parents follow Pearl are suffering on a daily basis? Why do bookstores, such as Amazon, continue to sell such a dangerous book? How many more children must die before Michael Pearl finally realizes that he, a man who has no training in child psychology, should adopt compassionate disciplinary techniques or get out of the childrearing consulting business? (Janet's comments end here)

It is my honor to have Janet on this blog. I urge all of my visitor to support her by buying her book and benefiting from it. In this regard, please see link below. Thank you. Samuel Martin.






Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Professor Curtis Hutt of the University of Nebraska shares his view concerning the ongoing debate about violence against children

Dear friends, 

Curtis Hutt
Great ready for a intellectual treat. Do yourself a favor and read and reread the following guest post from my close friend and teacher, mentor, a scholar and a keen observer of our times. Ladies, you'll particularly appreciate Professor Curtis Hutt's perspective here. 

Professor Hutt splits his time in Nebraska and Jerusalem teaching in both places. He brings a very unique perspective to his work with a solid background in Biblical studies. 
Curtis Hutt received a Ph.D. in Religion and Critical Thought from Brown University in 2007, where he wrote his dissertation on religion and the ethics of historical belief. 


Since graduating, Hutt has taught classes and mentored graduate students at a Christian research institution in Jerusalem in the anthropology of religion, the history of women in religions of the ancient Mediterranean, and comparative religious ethics.  


He also has graduate degrees in philosophy and history.

http://www.unomaha.edu/religion/CHutt.html

Any of you who are anywhere near the University of Nebraska, run do not walk to Prof. Hutt's classroom. I believe that online options are also available through www.uhl.ac, my home institution. 

I am deeply honored that he has graciously taken his time to speak out in favor of children. 

Thanks Curtis. Rest assured that this will not be the last time you hear from Prof. Curtis Hutt on this blog. In fact, anytime he has anything to say, the door is open, Curtis. Thanks so much. His comments start below.

"J.Z. Smith, the famous historian of religion at the University of Chicago/Divinity School, several years ago argued in his article “Religion, Religions, Religious” that IF all religions shared one thing in common (btw: he does not think this is the case) it would be the tendency of their followers to break the world up into “Us versus Them.”  Smith certainly, following others like Mary Douglas, thinks that many religions/cultures are xenophobic and often engage in acts of violence against "others" who are not part of their group.   While many Christians in the United States claim not to be “religious” but instead “spiritual,” recent and sometimes longstanding practices indicate that they do not escape this base inclination.  First, Christianity is clearly a religion like many others, and the need to deny this fits perfectly with Smith’s tentative definition outlined above.  Second, self-identified Christians like the members of other religious groups often embrace acts of brutality against “others” – something very different from what I think is promoted in the Christian Testament. 

Sam – I think your work on kids, though not overtly political, occupies a critical position on the frontlines in the fight against brutality in Christianity.  Kids don’t need to have their sinful nature beaten out of them.   If Jesus had kids, I can’t ever imagine him doing such.  Instead, Jesus identified his permissive attitude towards little children with the kingdom of God. (Mk. 10:14)   It does my heart good to read of your work.  It stands in such contrast to what is found in books like Leon Podles’ The Church Impotent – The Feminization of Christianity.  Podles in his ignorance doesn't understand that Christianity from its beginnings was "feminized" by the presence of disproportionately large numbers of women (like slaves) adopting the faith.  This is documented in numerous publications on early Christianity in recent years.  Extrapolating on the work of Rodney Stark, one might even argue that Christianity fits the mold of a women's religion in the Roman Empire rather than a religion of men. I do not believe like Paul and Sandra Coughlin that “Christian Nice Guys” need to be toughened up.  Enough of Chuck Norris’ hard-hitting Christianity and Stephen Sawyer’s  “boxer Jesus.”  By exorcising mercy and compassion from Christianity, Jesus and his message are betrayed. 

Comments from Curtis Hutt end here. 

PS. Prof. Hutt mentions Rodney Stark here. I am hoping very soon to have Prof. Stark join this discussion. We'll  have much more to say going forward on some of the tidbits here referenced about those disproportionate numbers of women in the early Christian Church. Please join me in reading the Gospel of Luke tonight and see women and mothers everywhere. We will not let Prof. Hutt get away with not coming back and telling us about those numerous publications talking about women in the ancient Church. We are waiting for that. 

"Corporal Punishment in the Bible - A Redemptive Movement Hermeneutic for Troubling Texts" to be given away on SamuelMartin.blogspot.com



"Corporal Punishment in the Bible - A Redemptive Movement Hermeneutic for Troubling Texts" to be given away on SamuelMartin.blogspot.com - 
Give away ends November 1 2011

Dear friends,

I am delighted to continue endorsing strongly Professor William Webb's book. I can't recommend it enough.
Here is where you can get your copy - http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/toc/code=2761 

So, I am pleased to announce that I am giving a copy of this book away. This is the first book I've ever given away on my blog and I am pleased that it is this book.
To win this book, all you have to do send me an email (your email address will be kept confidential not to be shared with anyone) with your first and last name to [info@biblechild.com] answering the following three questions:
1.  I have read your book "Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Comfort Me: Christians and the Spanking Controversy - YES or NO
2. I have read Professor Webb's book - YES or NO
3. Pick one of the following: 
A. If I don't win the Webb book, I am planning to buy it.
B. I have already bought the Webb book and plan to give away the book if I win it.
C. I have not yet purchased the book by Prof. Webb.

So that is all there is to it. Except for one other thing.
The first name drawn will win the Webb book. Then, I will be drawing another name. The first name that I draw thereafter who answers the question "I have read your book "Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Comfort Me: Christians and the Spanking Controversy" with a "NO", will win a free autographed copy of my book.
I look forward to hear from you very soon. This drawing ends 23:59AM Jerusalem time on November 1.

Note; My book can now be downloaded for free from this site.
http://parentingfreedom.com/samuelmartin.pdf






Saturday, October 08, 2011

Want Information on Jewish Scholars Against Corporal Punishment? Read these!

In mentioning this book - Munk, Sparing the Rod: A Torah Perspective on Reward and Punishment in Education: Mishor Publishing, Bnei Brak, 1989 - available via Judaica Express I hope, 1-800-2-BOOKS-1 - I thought it appropriate not to miss an opportunity to mention and strongly endorse another excellent book which is quoted often in the above mentioned book - http://www.feldheim.com/planting-and-building-in-education.html - Do yourself a favor and buy this book.

I know that I have reread mine half a dozen times and will probably read it another half a dozen times because it is so full of powerful Biblical teachings.
Thanks to the book's translator, Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen (www.lawrencekelemen.com) - whose own book 'To Kindle a Soul' is an absolute must have. Rabbi Kelemen is a strong opponent of corporal punishemt I am happy to say and thankfully his book has been well received. If you don't know about it, I urge you to join the more than 30,000 others who did buy it and were blessed by it.

Friday, October 07, 2011

Prof. Dawn Devries, contributor to "The Child in Christian Thought" shares her view on discipline



Dear friends,

Please note my recent FACEBOOK thread where Prof. Dawn Devries, a New Testament Scholar and Systematic Theologian from Union Theological Seminary in Virgina comments on the Pearl's book.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000507392601


Many of you may know Prof. Devries from her contribution to the book "The Child in Christian Thought" where she points out concerning the German theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher, "known as the father of modern theology" that "Schleiermacher rejects external enticements as inconsistent with Christian faith. In particular, he denounces the use of corporal punishment with children. Discipline is not about punishment, but about promoting an orderly life."



I give this book my strongest possible endorsement.

Here is the conversation with Prof. Devries important comments.

Samuel S. Martin Dawn .. As a mother and a New Testamant scholar and a systematic theologian, we'd love to hear your view on Michael Pearl and his teachings if you'd grace us with your vast knowledge? I know it is a bit on the spot, but we'd love to hear anything you have to share especially in light of what you said about in the above referenced book.

 Dawn DeVries Samuel, I can't render a judgment unless I actually read the book, which I haven't done to this point. But I firmly believe that my Christian faith convicts me to treat little people as human beings created in the image of God who must be treated with dignity and respect. I do not believe that violence against another person ever teaches them anything except hate and the cycle of violence. So I firmly oppose anyone who suggests that God someone encourages us to "discipline" our children through violence and force. I do believe that Schleiermacher was a little ahead of his time in recognizing these truths--even in an age when corporal punishment was more the norm than it is in our world. And I am heartsick about the little girl who died because her parents claimed to be following Mr. Pearl's child-rearing advice. That's all I can say for now.

I will be making sure that Prof. Devries secures a copy of Mr. Pearl's book for further review and will hopefully be sharing some of her thoughts in the future in this regard. 












What do Wives, Children and Good Samaritans have in Common?

Thursday, October 06, 2011

Why I think the Pearl book should be removed from Amazon and any other internet bookstore or other distribution channel

Why I think the Pearl book should be removed from Amazon and any other internet bookstore or other distribution channel

What if the life of one innocent child, like Lydia Schatz who was seven years old when she died, were to be saved because that book is not on Amazon? Should the book be removed to save one life? I say "yes" resoundingly! I say you have to protect children whose parents could potentially get a hold of that book and take its teachings too far. We are now talking about matters of life and death here. Lydia Schatz and other children have had their life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the ability to love, stolen from them permanently. This is the ultimate human rights violation: the violation of the right to live! In my view, the book "To Train Up A Child" should be illegal and should not be sold in any way, shape or form, but today in many countries the political systems are influenced by people who continue to support the corporal punishment of children. That is their right and that is what the majority still wants. I personally think that in the absence of a law banning the information, people who care have to do what they can and try to take steps in the interim to protect the lives of the innocent people (in this case children) from those people who take things to extremes. One way to do that is to try to influence and stop distribution channels which make promulgation of the information easy to obtain. Also, these authors hide behind the law and say their arguments are covered by freedom of religion. So, we have to do what we can to try to stop them because they are currently protected by the law. Being a law abiding citizen, I believe one must work within the legal framework they have to try to right wrongs that exist.

People for centuries have been dealing with this issue of corporal punishment and religious scholars have always sided on the imperative to protect human life, especially innocent human life that cannot protect itself. Occasionally this means protecting innocent human life even from the people who brought that life into the world (or who are responsible for protecting that life like the adoptive parents of Lydia Schatz, whose actions contributed to her death and who plead guilty to the charges against them and are currently paying their debt to society for the wrongs they have done.)

Some 1,700 years ago, Rabbinical scholars grappled with a case which forced them to act to protect all children. I refer to this case on page 39 of my book “Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Comfort Me: Christians and the Spanking Controversy” saying: “In this regard, children should never be threatened with punishment at a later time because of a key legal case in which a parent threatened his child with a beating at a later time and the child went and committed suicide. This event in Jewish legal history has profoundly affected all interpretations surrounding corporal punishment of children since the time when this event took place over 1700 years ago.)” The effect was that because of this individual case, the Rabbis ruled that to avoid this ever happening again, parents could not threaten their children with a beating to be administered at a later time.

Today, in the absence of laws like the above referenced one which are designed to protect all children, even from their parents, in this environment, one has to work to do what they can to protect innocent children. That is why I say, ask the distribution channels for this material to cut it off.

I take this issue very personally as you can tell and look on it in a very familial way. Why? In Acts 17:28, St. Paul speaking to the men of Athens said: “'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' So, if we are ‘His offspring,’ which I believe is true, then we are all God’s children, but the Bible speaks of the third and fourth generations.

Generally speaking in life, we are normally aware of either three or perhaps four generations in our lives. Most of us knew our grand parents (the third generation) and occasionally great grandparents (fourth generation). Each person finds themselves in the generational level that they are in.

I am in the generation of being a parent (second generation) to two children (first generation). Since all men are brothers, as Paul said, the children of one Father, God, then other parents are, according to Scripture, my brothers and sisters. And logically this would mean that I am the ‘uncle’ of their children according to the way God looks at it.

As the ‘uncle’ of Lydia Schatz, Hana Williams, Sean Paddock and every other child on this earth, I will do what I believe is needed (and what I believe the Lord would have any one who cares about their family members to do) to protect those children when my misguided brothers and sisters (their parents) and the legal systems (in numerous countries) have failed them. Where parent and legal system fail, we need to do what we can to protect life and that is why I favor seeing that book removed from Amazon and any other forum where it can be bought and could potentially influence someone to do what was done to my nieces and nephews, Lydia, Sean and now Hana. This is now a matter of saving life.






Here is a quote from one of my earliest papers on the subject of corporal punishment from 1997 in fact - In reviewing, I will add this to the new edition of my book that will eventually come out -

"The Bible is a difficult book to understand. It requires great study and discipline to truly ascertain its intended teachings. Some of these teachings are very problematic to us in the modern world and no example of this is great than those verses that relate to corporal punishment. We who are troubled by some of these statements are not alone in feely deeply troubled by them. Others have also felt the same way. Heads have been scratched for centuries to understand the intended meanings of things just as we are doing today. In this regard, a great Rabbi who lived over 1,500 years ago named Simeon ben Lakish once said: 'There are many verses which, in all appearances, ought to be burned but are really essential elements of the Torah.' (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Hullin 60b.)"

We need to look underneath the surface to find the deeper meaning, not just to look at face value just at what is written always.

This is where books like those done by scholars like William Webb (http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/review/code=2761), Marcia Bunge and a host of others (http://www.eerdmans.com/shop/product.asp?p_key=9780802848352) are so important to help us understand what the Bible means for us today.

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Professor William Webb - A religious scholar speaking out against the teachings of Michael and Debi Pearl


October 2011 Newsletter
The Newsletter of the “New Foundation for Biblical Research.”

A project of the Century One Foundation, Inc. (www.centuryone.org)
© Samuel Martin

Samuel Martin – Project Director – www.biblechild.com

October 2011

Religious scholars speaking out against the teachings of Michael and Debi Pearl

Many of you may have by now heard about Hana-Grace Rose Williams, who died in May at the tender age of 13. See the details of her story here and how Michael and Debi Pearl’s book “To Train Up A Child” is yet again being implicated in this horrifying case. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016361753_hana30m.html

When I saw this, I postponed what I had planned to publish this month and I immediately started writing to a number of religious scholars that I know asking them to speak out on this outrageous, unacceptable and evil publication. Thankfully, my call has immediately been answered by Prof, William Webb of Tyndale Seminary, Toronto, Canada. I know that I will be hearing from other religious scholars very soon and I will be sharing more testimonies and comments from them as I receive them. We need to hear these voices now.
Prof. William Webb


Many of you know that I have strongly endorsed Prof. Webb’s book in this newsletter (July 2011 Newsletter). Today, I am herein once again not only endorsing this book, but I am asking you to support this book to ensure that it obtains the widest possible reading, attention and exposure. Rather than telling you what Prof. Webb told me, I am herein including a written communication from him that I received just this morning. The following is a direct quote from Prof. Webb and is used with his permission.

THE PEARL’S BEATINGS ARE NOT REALLY BIBLICAL

“Although they will tell you it is from the Bible, the Pearl’s version of child discipline is not really biblical.  Not in the truest sense.  Not in the deepest sense of what should shape biblical authority.  Not in a way that honors the Bible’s underlying redemptive spirit.  It is utterly heart breaking to watch “Christian materials” written by Michael and Debi Pearl become part of the murder investigations in three separate cases where so-called Christian parents allegedly abused their children in life-threatening and life-ending ways.  I am stunned and appalled by what I have seen on CNN, King5 News, etc.
 
Unfortunately, Christians often get stuck in their ability to apply the Bible in today’s world.  It is my hope that my recent book (Corporal Punishment in the Bible: A Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutic for Troubling Texts) will inspire hope and positive dialogue that helps the Christian community move towards something better for our children.  The book outlines how Marilyn (my wife) and I changed our minds about spanking.  Like the Pearls we were severely deluded in thinking that the rod was God’s way.  But over time we learned how to read and understand the Bible differently.  We also learned a truck-load of non-corporal methods of discipline which were far more weighty and effective than the Dobson version (2 smacks max) and certainly better than the abusive Pearl prescription (many beatings with the rod).  Like the slavery texts of Scripture, the answer is not simply in moving towards a better form of slavery.  That only captures part of Scripture’s redemptive spirit.  The Dobson approach is to be commended because they move away from the Pearl-type literalism.  But, that is not where biblical application should stop.  Like the slavery issue of past days, we need to move beyond a gentler, kinder form of slavery/corporal punishment.  Two smacks max is good but it does not reflect an ultimate ethical application of the Bible.  As with slavery, only abolitionism (of the rod) will permit Christians to fully embrace effective non-corporal methods and do the courageous, William Wilberforce action in this hour of time.  I pray that contemporary followers of Jesus might be known as those who want to live out the very highest ethical application of Scripture.  What the Pearls offer is nothing other than “gutter theology”; it is not really the Bible at all . . . well, not if we want to live out Scripture’s redemptive heartbeat.” Dr. William J. Webb is Adjunct Professor of New Testament at Tyndale Seminary, Toronto, Canada. (Quotation from Prof. Webb ends here.)

Brethren, now is the time for all of us to take action to work to stop what is happening today to children at the hands of dear misguided parents/others who think they are doing God’s will. 

First, I am asking you to take this newsletter and the exact comments of Prof. Webb and post them to your blogs, pass them to your networks, put them on your FACEBOOK pages and disseminate his above referenced quotation as far and as wide as you can. For more links, reviews and other information about Professor Webb and his book see: http://redemptivechristianity.com &                                http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/review/code=2761. Please include these in your posts.

Second, I am asking you to please buy his book. 




Third, I am asking you to write positive reviews of this book in any forum that you come across including but not limited to Amazon, news sites and other book related sites and blogs.

Fourth, I am also you to join me in applauding and supporting InterVarsity Press (www.ivpress.com) for publishing such courageous and careful scholarship. They need to know that we are watching and supporting Christian publishers who stand up for what is right. Please join me in doing this by writing/emailing them or leaving comments on their site.

I would like to thank Prof. Webb for standing up and letting his voice be heard through this newsletter at this difficult time. His message is an important one. His work is really an inspiration for those of us who are looking for truth. I am reminded of a quotation from a giant of Biblical scholarship who was a friend of my late father, Dr. Ernest. L. Martin, and I think it is appropriate to reference it here. "...we must bear in mind that the cause of learning has often been promoted by scholars who are prepared to take a risk and expose their brain-waves to the pitiless criticisms of others" (F.F.Bruce, "Modern Studies on the Judean Scrolls," CT, I (11):5).

Prof. Webb, thank you for your courage, risk taking, intellectual honesty and standing up and speaking out for the truths of the Holy Scripture. I look forward to supporting you and your work for many years to come.

Saturday, October 01, 2011

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant – A symbolic teaching for parents

I am posting this in dedication to my own two children, Jessica and Christine.
It is an excerpt from a book I am currently working on. In light of the very sad story about Hana-Grace Rose Williams which is out today, I have decided to post this chapter from my upcoming book in full. I pray it is a blessing for you. Samuel Martin

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant – 
A symbolic teaching for parents

This may seem an odd title for a chapter, but it is specifically titled as such to introduce a subject that needs discussion and clarification in this context. It may also seem somewhat of a complex subject only to be discussed by religious university professors at the graduate students level. However, this is not true at all. 
All Christian parents desire their actions to please God. This is especially the case when it comes to matters of children and how we are to raise them, care for them and guide them into adulthood. Jesus Christ did not give us any specific teachings about parents punishing their children. We just don’t have any really specific statements we can point to and find clear teachings on this issue. 
Yes, we do have biblical information, but it is terse and general and can be interpreted differently depending on who is doing the interpreting. Of course, I have endeavored to address this issue in a more comprehensive way in my own book “Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Comfort Me: Christians and the Spanking Controversy.” (see http://whynottrainachild.com/2013/06/22/download-martins-book/ to download it for free ) However, since I published that book several years ago, I have even learned some new things about this issue, an aspect of which is the subject of this present article.
It is interesting that we who are earthly fathers and mothers to children, who we call our own, but in fact, we along with them are all the children of one God and Father of all. This is the precise teaching of St. Paul, who very eloquently quoted a Greek poet, Aratus saying: “For we are His offspring… (Acts 17:28). Therefore, if we are all His children, we who are parents, in a sense, to borrow the phrase of a close friend’s wife who said: “We are just babysitting our children for the Lord.” This in some ways is very much the truth. God has entrusted us with the monumental task of being a part of raising His children.
            So, we have a specific dynamic in place involving three parties which looks something like this. It involves Almighty God, the Father of all creation and the One who sustains everything as the first party.

Then, as the second party, we have those of us who are earthly parents.
 Finally, to conclude this relationship we are here talking about, our children (who are also God’s children) are the third group.

When we look at the relationship between God the Father, an earthly parent and an earthly child, some interesting ideas come to mind.
First, we must understand and appreciate that we have a dynamic in place involving two parties who are somehow on the same level spiritually with God. That is a fact! Both parent and child, while on earth occupy very different places in the social order, but from a heavenly perspective, they are looked on by God very much in the same
way. After all, both pray the Lord’s prayer to the same Lord (if they are Christians, of course) saying: “Our Father…” So, we have a relationship in place that while on earth, some inequality exists between parents and children, however, from a heavenly point of view, both are really very much in the same boat theologically speaking.
There are many Scriptures which clearly demonstrate this, but let me refer only to one here. It is from Romans 3:23 saying: 
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, …”
Therefore, we have on the one hand, humanity, who have sinned and fall short of God's glory and then on the other hand, we have God who is without sin. So, we have this ongoing dynamic that while we who are
parents are older, supposedly more experienced in life, wiser (supposedly once again), more mature, etc. for all of this, we still are in that same theological boat with our children though we might be above 75 years and have children who are just babes in arms. All are the children of Adam, who, of course, was the son of God Himself. (Luke 3:38)
Now, since we see this paradigm universally in place, what can we learn about it that might help us better understand our positions as earthly parents and our obligations and responsibilities in that role vis a vis, on the one hand, to Almighty God, the Father of all and on the other hand, to the children that God has entrusted to our care during our and their time on earth? What does Scripture say about this? Do we have any information in this regard that we can latch on to to help us become at the same time better people and better care givers to our/His
children?
            On the surface, one might say that we do not have any specific information that covers this issue or addresses these questions openly in Scripture. Yes, we do have the general admonitions about parent/child relations in Ephesians (6:1) and Colossians (3:20), but if a person is willing to look below the surface and to also be willing to look in the not so obvious of places, one might be very surprised at the information one could learn and this, I believe, could very well have great bearing on the role of the parent in the life of children and in their collective relationship with God.
In this regard, I want to refer here to one of the Parables given by Jesus, which I have referenced in the title to this section: The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. We have all read it many times, but I am going to reference it here for your consideration.  

“21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:23-35 ESV)

Now, this is a very interesting parable given by Jesus and the subject clearly is forgiveness. Jesus is using this parable as a comparison to teach forgiveness.  However, let us look deeper into this passage in light of the picture I have painted earlier in this article. We can see some similarities to the dynamic relationship that I referenced earlier and to that found here in this parable. In fact, it is all here and I believe that if a person looks really carefully at this passage, we who are parents might find in this passage some important instruction relative to how we treat our children and what God expects of us concerning His children who He has placed in our care.
First, note the overall example in this passage. Here you have a king, who obviously is in a position of almost absolute power and under him he has a servant who is in a great debt to him. This servant obviously has been placed over great responsibility of the king to have become so indebted. Then, we are introduced to another servant underneath the first servant who owes a very small debt to the servant who owes the major debt.
Here we are reminded of Christ’s famous teaching from the Sermon on the Mount: “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (Matthew 6:12) What we as Christians understand as the primary teaching of the Gospel message is that by accepting Christ, we acknowledge His death and He has died for our sins. So, we are no longer spiritually in debt, but have been freed from sin by Christ’s atoning death. However, in this life, death still reigns and we still have sin in our members to deal with and one day we will receive the wages of sin in this life, which is death (Romans 6:23), but we know that spiritually our eternal life is assured through our identification with Christ and His death.
To the Christian believer, this is clear and plainly taught in Scripture, however, when we look at the human experience, we understand that without question, those who are older and have more experience in life and know the difference between good and evil have a greater debt to God as they understand more maturely the Gospel. They are very much like that servant who owed 10,000 talents. Likewise, these people who owe a great debt also have their debtors who also owe them: their children!
When we look at the text once again, we start to see how the comparison starts to make sense. Look, all debts owed are owed to God ultimately but God allows us who are parents to participate in His redemptive plan, by bringing children into the world. In looking at the comparison here though, note that this description of the relationship between the servants resembles very much that which parents and their children find themselves in their individual and collective relationships to God.
For sure, grown adults who have lived longer and committed more sins are in a greater debt to God for His mercy and forgiveness (they owe the Lord a lot for His forgiveness of their sins – they are like the one owing 10,000 talents) and likewise children also have a debt to the Lord, but because they are much younger and have had less life experience, their level of debt is so much less than their parents, but it still is there, (because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God - Romans 3:23) hence the example of the servant who owes a much much lesser amount.
Look at some other aspects of the passage which are interesting in this light. Note that Peter asks Christ about “my brother” and how many times should he forgive one who sins against him? Of course Christ gives the answer. But isn’t it interesting, the term “my brother” could extend theologically speaking to one’s child because as I have already shown, we are all God’s children and as such are all a part of the family of God!
We can also mention here the issue of the whole doctrine of “Love your neighbour as yourself.” A dear brother in the Lord (R.S.) very wisely pointed out to me a number of years ago that in looking at this pronouncement of Christ, he always first referred it not to the individuals who lived outside his door across the street in the traditional sense of neighbour – not at all – in fact, R.S. commented that this passage refers in a Christian home to the primary relationship between first the husband and the wife and (I think R.S. would agree here) secondarily their children! This is in my view an exceedingly important observation full of Christian truth because once again if we refer to the teaching of St. Paul, in fact, all neighbours are in fact our brothers and sisters in the Lord because we are all His offspring. Jesus also mentioned in Matthew 12:48-50 (and Mark 3:33-35) about anyone is His mother and brethren.  His point being, all people are equal in Father God's and His eyes, it is just a matter of time and development, not relationship. (much thanks R.S.) Jesus follows up this thought by reiterating the phrase “your brother” in the last verse and He clearly links the story to God the Father also in the last verse saying “so also …” (v.35)
It is also interesting that when you look at the passage you can see that the person who clearly is the one that should be showing the mercy to the lesser debtor (the earthly child) is the one with the greater debt (the earthly parent). In any case, though, note that both owe debts to God. This is a very interesting example which all of us who are parents can really relate to. Our children are constantly in our debt due to the mistakes they make and the sins they commit against us and those sins are also committed against God ultimately.  
The point to this whole discussion of Christ is this: forgiveness. This is the teaching that He is giving. Before you start delivering your children to the jailers and punishing them (like the unforgiving servant did), remember that you have a greater debt to God and a greater requirement to forgive.
Since Jesus has used this method to teach forgiveness, should we who are studying the issue of forgiveness not seek to use this information to help us develop a better understanding of this issue and what to do when it comes to forgive someone or not to forgive them? I think we should definitely pay attention to this story and “compare” it to situations in our lives where we can use the information to be a person who does not forgive a sinner “seven times” but rather “seventy times seven times.” What better place to start in modeling this teaching than with the children of God that He has placed in our care?