The Lowe Show

The title of the article is “Spare the Rod”, which is a direct and obvious disregard for Proverbs 13:24: “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” The main point of the article is that parents should not spank their children because scientific research says so. Just like in my previous post about worldview clashes in the movie theater, yet again we have a worldview clash in this article. “Science” (with a whole host of naturalist presuppositions) says one thing, while the Bible and those who believe it (with a whole other host of presuppositions) says another thing. While I am not anti-science, most scientific research is so fickle that one would never know what to believe. But, this discussion is about the scientific finding that spanking your child may cause cancer, and to that point, we now turn.

The article states that high levels of corporal punishment “are associated” with diminished ability to control one’s impulses. First, the term “associated” is such a vague term that it could mean just about anything. For example, light is associated with darkness, but it’s only because they are complete opposites. Good is associated with evil, but for the same reasons. I am associated with Michael Jordan because I’m a human being and I like to play basketball, but the similarities end there. The observation that corporal punishment is associated with a diminished ability to control one’s impulses doesn’t tell me anything. The article says nothing of any type of direct, causative relationship, because one does not exist.

There is, however, something that does cause a person to have a diminished ability to control one’s impulses. The Bible calls this sin. “Impulses” is simply another word for “desires”. And a fulfillment of one’s desires, when contrary to the will of God, is sin. James 1:14-15 says, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” And without the Spirit of God living in a person, they have no choice but to give into their desires and sin. 2 Corinithans 4:3-4 says, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Timothy 2:26 says that unbelievers have “been captured by the devil to do his will.” So, a diminished ability to control one’s impulses is not caused by corporal punishment, but by sin. In fact, we were born as sinners so there was never a time that we had an ability to control our impulses, let alone a diminished ability. But, for the Christian, one of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. (Gal 5:23). Jesus Christ is the only way to have the ability to control our desires!

Similarly, the article says that corporal punishment is “associated” with poor physical outcomes such as cancer, heart disease, etc. Of course it is! But, flying a kite is also associated with poor physical outcomes like cancer and heart disease. So is petting a puppy, or reading a book, or riding a rollercoaster, or writing a blog post! Why? Because according to WebMD (or any other medical website), 3 of the top 4 causes of death worldwide are heart disease, cancer, and lower respiratory infections, which are the exact three “poor physical outcomes” that the article cites are associated with corporal punishment. That observation can hardly be considered as a cause/effect relationship. The ultimate cause of these “poor physical outcomes” is, once again, sin. The Bible says that “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)

If the Lord delays in his return, something is going to take us all out of this world, and there’s a good chance that it will be heart disease, cancer, or respiratory disease, regardless of whether or not you were spanked as a child. So, if you love your children, heed the words of Proverbs 13:24 and do not spare the rod.

UPDATE:  Dr. Albert Mohler has now blogged on the same article.  You can read his take on it by clicking here.