Det. Robert R. Surgenor Berea, Ohio Police Department
I am a Christian police officer in charge of our city’s Juvenile Crime Unit. For years, I have compiled statistics that indicate when parents eliminate corporal punishment from their discipline plan, the child grows up with an attitude of "no fear."
Even when the parent is diligent in other areas of discipline, such as taking away privileges and grounding, when that one element of discipline, spanking, is taken away, the parent usually experiences defiance problems throughout the teen years.
Since 1982 in my city, the incidents of Domestic Violence cases where children physically assault their parents has increased 700%. The national statistics show an overall increase of almost 400%. I am responsible for compiling all information on those offenses.
I conduct interviews with the parents and child, along with school officials and employers of the child. What I find startling, is that of all those kids arrested in my city for hitting their parents, only 1.9% received any type of corporal punishment as they were being raised. Less than 2% of these aggressive, angry children were spanked! The non-spanking "experts" contend that spanking a child makes them angry and aggressive. The exact opposite is true!
The non-spanking crowd are a close-knit group who are attempting to convince the public to stop spanking their children. Their attitude is one of arrogance. Their movement is humanistic. Their religion is atheistic.
There are prophesies that refer to children and the mindset of the younger generation in the last days. 2nd Timothy 3:1 states "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents......" Along with all of the other changes in attitude, is the predicted change in the attitude of children toward their parents.
I believe that the anti-spanking movement has, and will continue to have, a hand in the fulfillment of Biblical prophesy. Unbeknownst to the non-spanking advocate, they are helping to cause children to be "disobedient to parents," something that was predicted in 2nd Timothy in the year 66 AD. I believe that the elimination of corporal punishment is the major factor in the attitude of "no fear" that we are now experiencing in our youth.
Think about it. When you got grounded as a child, it was a real inconvenience, but you weren’t afraid of it. When you had the TV taken away it was real boring, but you weren’t afraid of it. What made you move fast was hearing the leather coming out of dad’s belt loops! That’s what really made you respect your dad’s authority!
I believe as Christians, we have a responsibility to educate parents as to their responsibility and authority. I have recently written a book called "No Fear," and hope to have it published in the near future. We are being inundated by numerous sources telling us we can’t spank our kids. Psychologists, the Department of Children’s Services and Public School Counselors are telling us we cannot discipline our children. Enough is enough!
The law protects a parent who wishes to spank their child, most parents just don’t know it! A parent must know the LIMIT of his or her power to avoid exceeding it, and the EXTENT of the power to exercise it fully. Once a parent knows to what extent they can go to control their child, they can move forward without fear of arrest or interference from the authorities. And once the child realizes that the parent is in total control, the will is broken, and compliance results.
The dedicated Christian, like those in Acts 17:11 "received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so," will see that God’s Word plainly advocates spanking in child rearing. In order for the Christian to effectively use the Bible as a reference to advocate corporal punishment, he must know exactly what the Bible says about spanking. That is why I believe your message is so important. I encourage you to keep up the good work.
Your message on the Internet was of great encouragement to me. May God bless you in your efforts. In His Name,
Note: Detective Surgenor retired from his police department in 2002.
