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."
