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, January 18, 2014

"Spanking never felt right." - Samuel Martin's Baby Sitter In Real Life Gives Her Testimony

Download Samuel Martin's E-book "Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Comfort Me: Christians and the Spanking Controversy" Here -   http://whynottrainachild.com/2013/06/22/download-martins-book/

"Spanking never felt right." -

I post a fair number of testimonies of my FB page from people who have written me letters. I don't normally put names or places, but in this case, I am going to modify my normal procedure because the person whose testimony I am going to post is not only a former member of the World Wide Church Of God (the denomination that I grew up in until age 9), but Margaret Halford is my former baby sitter in real life when I was growing up in England, where I was born and where Margaret still lives.

Margaret has known me almost from birth so I guess you can say we go way back.

Margaret has a unique story to tell - The reason for that is because she is one of at least three people that I know that has during her lifetime administered a spanking to yours truly.

I would like to thank Margaret Halford for her courage to share her viewpoint with others in the hope that they might be strengthened to rethink their view on spanking just like she has.

I am pleased to note like I have heard over and over again from so many how Margaret starts this story - "Spanking never felt right."

Here is Margaret's Testimony:

"Spanking never felt right. It felt like bullying and I think it was. I know for my own part that when I spanked a child it was because I was at the end of my rope and wanted to exert my power!!!

Gosh that sound horrible doesn’t it … but I think it is true. I have taken care of children for about 12 years now professionally and I would never spank someone else’s child and I have seen how much more results I can get by being firm and by following through on consequences for actions.

As babysitters in the WCG [this is the abbreviation for the World Wide Church of God] we were empowered to use the paddle if necessary because we were helping to instill character into little kids. Horse Feathers!!! We were bullies. I remember reading once that hurt people hurt people and if you hit a child what is to stop them from thinking that hitting is not a way to get a desired result. It worked on them didn’t it? . Just look at the emotional state of so many ex WCG kids now grown. At Imperial [the Church School] in England we were subjected to what amounted to daily paddling for some. It made me very nervous to go to school. My parents didn’t actually believe much in spanking and my very first experience with it was at Imperial a Math teacher decided I needed to be punished me for erasing something on my page. I was 17. I was so embarrassed and after that, quite honestly afraid to express myself for fear of further punishment. My point is…I didn’t “learn a lesson” I just shut down so I wouldn’t be hurt again."