[email protected]

**People don't spank because they're conservative Christian; they spank

because they haven't learned to manage their anger and frustration in

a healthy manner. **

That's a nice way of saying that it's an individual choice and each person is
responsible for themselves, but it ignores reality.

There are churches, not just a few but many, where parents who don't spank
their children will be subjected to extreme pressure from the leadership and
members.

There are books, not just a few but many, that instruct in the how and why
and when of spanking to save your child's soul.

There are talks at homeschooling conferences on Biblical discipline that
include admonishment that not spanking is disobeying the word of God. There
are chapters in homeschooling books that explain the same.

These books and speakers and churches are overwhelmingly conservative
Christian.

When people spank because their pastors and friends and paid speakers and
books all tell them it's their duty to their children and their God, that to
not spank their children is to withhold love from them, it's disingenious for
others to say that it's not because they're conservative Christian.

Deborah in IL

myfunny4 <[email protected]>

--- In [email protected], dacunefare@a... wrote:
it's disingenious for
> others to say that it's not because they're conservative Christian.
>
> Deborah in IL

It's disingenuous - and illogical - to say that conservative
Christians spank their children *because* they are conservative
Christians. And it is equally disingenuous to presume that
all "spankers" are conservative Christians.

Perhaps if you defined "conservative Christian" I might understand
your assertions.

Debbie

DanickeHouse

<<There are churches, not just a few but many, where parents who don't spank
their children will be subjected to extreme pressure from the leadership and
members.>>

Very true. I have been in more than one church where classes were offered
on how to discipline in a biblical manner, it was always about spanking and
"the rod".

<<There are books, not just a few but many, that instruct in the how and why
and when of spanking to save your child's soul.>>

After one incident, where my 3 yo was acting like a 3 yo, I was handed an
article instructing me how to spank the rebellious spirit out of him. I
read it and said "Why would I want to break his spirit, even if it is
rebellious at times? HE'S THREE!"

<<When people spank because their pastors and friends and paid speakers and
books all tell them it's their duty to their children and their God, that to
not spank their children is to withhold love from them, it's disingenious
for others to say that it's not because they're conservative Christian.>>

I learned after a while, to keep my copy of "The Discipline Book" by Dr.
Sears handy when I was around spankers. It was nice to have a book written
by a Christian pediatrician who advised against spanking. I wish there were
more (even more radically against spanking) like him.

Liz
saremca@...
Age doesn't always bring wisdom, sometimes age comes alone.

Shyrley

DanickeHouse wrote:

> <<There are churches, not just a few but many, where parents who don't spank
> their children will be subjected to extreme pressure from the leadership and
> members.>>
>
> Very true. I have been in more than one church where classes were offered
> on how to discipline in a biblical manner, it was always about spanking and
> "the rod".
>
> <<There are books, not just a few but many, that instruct in the how and why
> and when of spanking to save your child's soul.>>
>
> After one incident, where my 3 yo was acting like a 3 yo, I was handed an
> article instructing me how to spank the rebellious spirit out of him. I
> read it and said "Why would I want to break his spirit, even if it is
> rebellious at times? HE'S THREE!"
>
> <<When people spank because their pastors and friends and paid speakers and
> books all tell them it's their duty to their children and their God, that to
> not spank their children is to withhold love from them, it's disingenious
> for others to say that it's not because they're conservative Christian.>>
>
> I learned after a while, to keep my copy of "The Discipline Book" by Dr.
> Sears handy when I was around spankers. It was nice to have a book written
> by a Christian pediatrician who advised against spanking. I wish there were
> more (even more radically against spanking) like him.
>
> Liz

Amazing what you learn about a country when you live there rather than just being a tourist!
The UK is out-lawing spanking, hitting etc to bring us in line with other European countries.

Maybe if people pressurised their representatives to get the US to sign up to the Human Rights Act and The Rights of a Child then spanking would one day be outlawed here too?

Ye gawds

Shyrley

[email protected]

In a message dated 1/23/03 11:31:17 AM, Debbies4@... writes:

<< It's disingenuous - and illogical - to say that conservative
Christians spank their children *because* they are conservative
Christians. And it is equally disingenuous to presume that
all "spankers" are conservative Christians. >>

But to pretend spankers are evenly distributed among pagans, Buddhists, Jews,
and Moslems is an outright lie. There is no basis for it. It was a
statement made to attempt (very unsuccessfully) to pretend that there was no
religious basis for it and that a Buddhist would be as likely to be violent
with a child as an eight-generation Nazarene family where they still said
things like "cut me a switch, " and "my pappy would have taken the razor
strop to me for that."

<<Perhaps if you defined "conservative Christian" I might understand
your assertions.>>

If you don't know what that means as regards spankings, someone telling you
won't make a lot of difference.

Sandra

Sandra

myfunny4 <[email protected]>

--- In [email protected], SandraDodd@a... wrote:
>
> But to pretend spankers are evenly distributed among pagans,
Buddhists, Jews,
> and Moslems is an outright lie.

I never said they were; nor did I pose any pretense to assert they
were. I said that spankers can be found in all religions, social and
economic levels. I'm not arguing that there is NOT a preponderance
of spankers in some Christian followers. However, comments were made
that spankers were conservative Christians; I simply pointed out that
not all spankers are conservative Christians, nor are all
conservative Christians spankers. It's an illogical allegation.

There is no basis for it. It was a
> statement made to attempt (very unsuccessfully) to pretend that
there was no
> religious basis for it

Again, I never attempted any pretense. I said that parents spank
because of inability to manage anger or frustration, or because they
themselves had been spanked, and had made no attempt to break the
cycle of hitting. You are free to disagree with me, or to offer your
own reasons why people spank.

>
> If you don't know what that means as regards spankings, someone
telling you
> won't make a lot of difference.

Why do you say that? I'm not sure your definition of conservative
Christian aligns with mine. There are some fundamentalist Christians
whose theologies and practices I find disturbing, but I wouldn't call
them conservative Christians. I am "conservative" in the political
sense I that want as little governmental involvement in my life as
possible; and since I'm Catholic I am, technically, a Christian
(although there are some who would disagree <g>).

Perhaps your "conservative Christian" equates to my "fundamentalist
Christian"?

Debbie

kayb85 <[email protected]>

> Again, I never attempted any pretense. I said that parents spank
> because of inability to manage anger or frustration, or because
they
> themselves had been spanked, and had made no attempt to break the
> cycle of hitting. You are free to disagree with me, or to offer
your
> own reasons why people spank.

I don't necessarily agree with you. Most Christians who spank have
read James Dobson's books on child discipline. His books definitely
encourage people NOT to spank out of anger. He instructs parents to
calmly and lovingly sit down with their kids and explain what they
did that was disobedient, to spank them, and to tell the kids that
they love them. I know many parents who spank, who truly love their
kids and are dedicated to being the best possible parents they can
be. It's just that they think that spanking is one of the best
things they can do for their kids. As a matter of fact, most of them
hate to spank their kids, but do it because they think it's the right
thing to do.

Sheila

[email protected]

**Maybe if people pressurised their representatives to get the US to sign up
to the Human Rights Act and The Rights of a Child then spanking would one day
be outlawed here too?**

Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) fired up their phone trees and
email nets to make sure the U.S. would not sign on to the U.N. Declaration on
the Rights of the Child. Because spanking would be outlawed, among other
reasons.

[email protected]

**It's disingenuous - and illogical - to say that conservative

Christians spank their children *because* they are conservative

Christians.**

'Scuse me? I'm supposed to believe instead that even though the books and the
preachers and the speakers and the spankers themselves say that spanking is a
Christian duty, that being Christian has nothing to do with why they spank?

It's not MY idea. I'm not the one promoting it. If you're going to be upset
about it, you ought to be taking it up with those authors and preachers and
speakers and spankers, not with those of us calling your attention to what
they're doing.

** And it is equally disingenuous to presume that all "spankers" are
conservative Christians.**

Nobody said that. Well, I suppose I might have missed someone saying it, but
I didn't presume that.

However, every person who's ever informed me that they spank their children
because they love them identified themselves to me as a conservative
Christian. Every person who's ever written in this forum and other
homeschooling forums that they spank as a religious duty has self identified
as a conservative Christian.

I take people at their word.

I'll repeat what I wrote before, that you quoted only a portion of:

There are churches, not just a few but many, where parents who don't spank

their children will be subjected to extreme pressure from the leadership and

members.


There are books, not just a few but many, that instruct in the how and why

and when of spanking to save your child's soul.


There are talks at homeschooling conferences on Biblical discipline that

include admonishment that not spanking is disobeying the word of God. There

are chapters in homeschooling books that explain the same.


These books and speakers and churches are overwhelmingly conservative

Christian.


When people spank because their pastors and friends and paid speakers and

books all tell them it's their duty to their children and their God, that to

not spank their children is to withhold love from them, it's disingenious for

others to say that it's not because they're conservative Christian.

Deborah in IL

myfunny4 <[email protected]>

--- In [email protected], dacunefare@a... wrote:
> 'Scuse me? I'm supposed to believe instead that even though the
books and the
> preachers and the speakers and the spankers themselves say that
spanking is a
> Christian duty, that being Christian has nothing to do with why
they spank?
>

I'm not asking you to believe anything; I'm simply stating that being
a conservative Christian does not, in itself, make anyone a spanker.
The spanker must personally accept the philosophy and the purported
need for spanking. Since this thread began, I have asked many
friends who consider themselves conservative Christians about
spanking, and they are disgusted by the thought of deliberately
inflicting harm upon a child, particularly in the name of God. It
has NOTHING to do with Christianity; it has to do with a person's
sense of power and control. This applies both to the alleged
Christian leaders who encourage spanking, and to the parents
themselves who abdicate their responsibility to their child and spank
because someone told them to.

We will agree to disagree; I know many conservative Christians, and
they are not spankers, nor do their ministers tell them to spank.


> It's not MY idea. I'm not the one promoting it. If you're going to
be upset
> about it, you ought to be taking it up with those authors and
preachers and
> speakers and spankers, not with those of us calling your attention
to what
> they're doing.
>

Those "authors, preachers, speakers and spankers" are espousing a
personal conviction on spanking, and their followers are choosing to
believe them, and to embrace their beliefs.

Every person who's ever written in this forum and other
> homeschooling forums that they spank as a religious duty has self
identified
> as a conservative Christian.
>
> I take people at their word.

There is no reason why you shouldn't; however, surely it must have
occurred to you that spankers who hit their children because they're
filled with anger and frustration, because they're bigger and
stronger than a child, or because (this sickens me) they LIKE to
spank, are unlikely to TELL you so.

> I'll repeat what I wrote before, that you quoted only a portion of:
>
> There are churches, not just a few but many, where parents who
don't spank
>

These are churches. You are making allegations against an entire
population because there are churches that encourage their
congregation to spank. I'm sorry, but I cannot believe that any
parent who is philosophically opposed to spanking their child, can be
unwillingly coerced into spanking. They can find another church;
there are plenty out there.

> There are books, not just a few but many, that instruct in the how
and why
> and when of spanking to save your child's soul.

Again, these are choices that a parent makes. A book itself cannot
force an unwilling parent to spank their child; nor can any speaker
force an unwilling parent to spank. Parents who are feeling coerced
and are opposed to spanking can walk away from a book, a speaker, a
church. They do not HAVE to spank; they are making a choice, a
decision, to spank; and if they claim coercion, it is because they
allowed themselves to be coerced. They oughta grow a spine and
say, "No."

Deborah in PA

Fetteroll

on 1/24/03 7:03 AM, myfunny4 <Debbies4@...> at Debbies4@...
wrote:

> Parents who are feeling coerced
> and are opposed to spanking can walk away from a book, a speaker, a
> church. They do not HAVE to spank; they are making a choice, a
> decision, to spank; and if they claim coercion, it is because they
> allowed themselves to be coerced. They oughta grow a spine and
> say, "No."

Not if they believe it would be going against God if they didn't.

It's unlikely that a person who strongly believes in attachment parenting
and no spanking and so on would be drawn to a fundamentalist Church.

But a certain personality -- a need to have all the answers laid out nicely
and neatly for them? -- that makes fundamentalist seem attractive, is what
would persuaded them that they need to let go of their humanist thinking and
spanking is what they must do.

I'm not saying all fundamentalists are like that. Only that those with that
type of personality will be drawn to fundamentalism. And those who are drawn
because they need to feel a part of a community that holds the "right"
answers will easily be persuaded to spank their children.

Joyce

Shyrley

dacunefare@... wrote:

> **Maybe if people pressurised their representatives to get the US to sign up
> to the Human Rights Act and The Rights of a Child then spanking would one day
> be outlawed here too?**
>
> Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) fired up their phone trees and
> email nets to make sure the U.S. would not sign on to the U.N. Declaration on
> the Rights of the Child. Because spanking would be outlawed, among other
> reasons.
>

Dontcha just love 'em.

Shyrley

[email protected]

In a message dated 1/24/03 5:04:33 AM, Debbies4@... writes:

<< Since this thread began, I have asked many
friends who consider themselves conservative Christians about
spanking, >>

Were you asking Catholic republicans?
Because the term "conservative Christians" is just about copyrighted (I'm
joking, yet there's a truth) by the fundamentalists who make SO much social
and political noise.

<<It
has NOTHING to do with Christianity; it has to do with a person's
sense of power and control. This applies both to the alleged
Christian leaders who encourage spanking, and to the parents
themselves who abdicate their responsibility to their child and spank
because someone told them to.>>

In their minds it has to do with their Christianity, and there are more of
them than there are of you.

<<These are churches. You are making allegations against an entire
population because there are churches that encourage their
congregation to spank. I'm sorry, but I cannot believe that any
parent who is philosophically opposed to spanking their child, can be
unwillingly coerced into spanking. They can find another church;
there are plenty out there.>>

You haven't been around many fundamentalists if you think finding another
church is an easy option. And there are some parts of the country and some
social circles where one could go a long way and only find other churches
with the same basic beliefs, practices, and even church schedules. 7:00
Wednesday night is prayer meeting. There's a mini rush-hour because SO many
people are going to prayer meeting.

<<Again, these are choices that a parent makes. A book itself cannot
force an unwilling parent to spank their child; nor can any speaker
force an unwilling parent to spank. Parents who are feeling coerced
and are opposed to spanking can walk away from a book, a speaker, a
church. They do not HAVE to spank; they are making a choice, a
decision, to spank; and if they claim coercion, it is because they
allowed themselves to be coerced. They oughta grow a spine and
say, "No.">>

And when they make that choice to spank and not to walk away, they do it out
of religious conviction, because of Bible verses which fence them in.

Nobody is making this up or being mean or unfair.
This stuff is real and huge.

It's the reason that that the U.S. won't go along with the United Nations
Rights of the Child. THAT is international politics. Much of their
argument is available on the web. You should go and read it. Or if you're
unwilling to read it, you shouldn't argue that it's not real and powerful.

Sandra

myfunny4 <[email protected]>

--- In [email protected], SandraDodd@a... wrote:
>
> Were you asking Catholic republicans?
> Because the term "conservative Christians" is just about
copyrighted (I'm
> joking, yet there's a truth) by the fundamentalists who make SO
much social
> and political noise.
>

I agree that the fundamentalist agenda is alarming, and they do make
a lot of "noise". However, I did ask two Lutheran, one Protestant,
and one non-denominational Christian friends about this topic; ie.,
conservative Christian spank their children. BTW, all of them
consider themselves conservative Christians. None of them knew what
I was talking about, and one suspected I was setting her up for a
punchline. <g> When I couched the question using the
term "fundamentalist" churches, my non-denominational and one of my
Lutheran friends said they had some knowledge that fundamentalist
churches believe that spanking is part of the "discipline"
and "training" of a child.

>
> And when they make that choice to spank and not to walk away, they
do it out > of religious conviction, because of Bible verses which
fence them in.
>

Even if it's done from a religious conviction, it is still a
conscious choice, based upon bible verses which were deliberately
chosen and literally interpreted to specifically support that
decision. It is STILL a parent's decision to spank his child.

> Nobody is making this up or being mean or unfair.

I don't take it personally. <g> It's a worthwhile topic to discuss.
However, I cannot justify the vilification of an entire Christian
population because of a fundamentalist movement. Ha! A Catholic
defending other Christian denominations...who'd've thought?


Debbie

[email protected]

In a message dated 1/24/03 11:19:50 AM, Debbies4@... writes:

<< A Catholic
defending other Christian denominations...who'd've thought?
>>

I don't think you should do it. The people we're talking about certainly
will not and have never defended Catholicism.


Sandra

kayb85 <[email protected]>

The thing about the U.N. Declaration of rights of the child is that
it would be an international law, not a U.S. law. That means that a
gov't agency outside our own country--and a court outside our own
country--would have the right to prosecute parents. As an American,
I'm unwilling to see our country give up our independent
sovereignty.

And I'm concerned that it could lead to other things--like having the
U.N. decide that it's in all children's best interests to go to
school, or to be vaccinated, or whatever. I value my right as a
parent to decide what is best for my children. No one else will
stick up for my children's rights like me.

Awhile ago, people on this list were upset because people were
talking politics. I think this qualifies as a political discussion.
Not everyone is going to agree, and it could end up being a hotly
debated topic.

Sheila

--- In [email protected], Shyrley
<shyrley.williams@v...> wrote:
>
>
> dacunefare@a... wrote:
>
> > **Maybe if people pressurised their representatives to get the US
to sign up
> > to the Human Rights Act and The Rights of a Child then spanking
would one day
> > be outlawed here too?**
> >
> > Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) fired up their
phone trees and
> > email nets to make sure the U.S. would not sign on to the U.N.
Declaration on
> > the Rights of the Child. Because spanking would be outlawed,
among other
> > reasons.
> >
>
> Dontcha just love 'em.
>
> Shyrley

kayb85 <[email protected]>

> I agree that the fundamentalist agenda is alarming, and they do
make
> a lot of "noise". However, I did ask two Lutheran, one Protestant,
> and one non-denominational Christian friends about this topic; ie.,
> conservative Christian spank their children. BTW, all of them
> consider themselves conservative Christians. None of them knew
what
> I was talking about, and one suspected I was setting her up for a
> punchline. <g> When I couched the question using the
> term "fundamentalist" churches, my non-denominational and one of my
> Lutheran friends said they had some knowledge that fundamentalist
> churches believe that spanking is part of the "discipline"
> and "training" of a child.

I grew up in conservative churches, and we considered Lutherans to be
liberal.

We're talking about groups like this:
http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/ProdTTUAC.htm

The book, "To Train Up a Child" is for sale there. You can read the
first chapter right on that site. It is very troubling. This is the
stuff that some Christian parents are taking seriously. It is, in my
opinion, the kind of stuff that gives Christians a very bad name. It
is not supposed to be what Christianity is about. :(

They actually suggest setting a child up, so that you can "train" him
(with a switch) not to touch things that he shouldn't. That way your
children will obey you in public, and people will marvel at your well
behaved children:

"Try it yourself. Place an appealing object where they can reach it,
maybe in a "No-no" corner or on an apple juice table (That's where
the coffee table once sat). When they spy it and make a dive for it,
in a calm voice say, "No, don't touch it." They will already be
familiar with the "No," so they will pause, look at you in wonder and
then turn around and grab it. Switch their hand once and
simultaneously say, "No." Remember, you are not disciplining, you are
training. One spat with a little switch is enough. They will again
pull back their hand and consider the relationship between the
object, their desire, the command and the little reinforcing pain. It
may take several times, but if you are consistent, they will learn to
consistently obey, even in your absence."

and to make a wiggly toddler sit still on your lap:

"For the next weary forty-five minutes, fifteen times the child would
make his legs move, and the daddy would turn him around and spank his
legs. The father was as calm as a lazy porch swing on a Sunday
afternoon. There was no hastiness or anger. He did not take the
disobedience personally. He had trained many a horse or mule and knew
the value of patient perseverance. In the end, the twelve-month-old
submitted his will to his father, sat as he was placed, and became
content—even cheerful."

Sheila

DanickeHouse

<<The book, "To Train Up a Child" is for sale there. You can read the first
chapter right on that site. It is very troubling.>>

Hey, that's where the article I was talking about in my previous post came
from! The one that instructed me to spank the rebellious spirit out of my
3yo. Scary stuff there.

Liz
saremca@...
Age doesn't always bring wisdom, sometimes age comes alone.

Liza Sabater

On Thursday, Jan 23, 2003, at 15:06 America/New_York, Shyrley wrote:
> Maybe if people pressurised their representatives to get the US to
> sign up to the Human Rights Act and The Rights of a Child then
> spanking would one day be outlawed here too?

Not in this country. It is as much as a sacred right to Americans as
the right to pack a Smith & Wesson.

Liza


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Liza Sabater

On Thursday, Jan 23, 2003, at 12:46 America/New_York,
dacunefare@... wrote:

> When people spank because their pastors and friends and paid speakers
> and
> books all tell them it's their duty to their children and their God,
> that to
> not spank their children is to withhold love from them, it's
> disingenuous for
> others to say that it's not because they're conservative Christian.

I've seen seemingly Hassidic Jews & Muslims smack their kids. I know
they are hassidim and muslims because of the way they were dressed
--this is NYC after all. To say that only protestants foster spanking
is disingenuous. I mean, come on, look at the catholic church. I
understand the point people are trying to make but really, the bible
belt is not the center of the universe. Much to Americans chagrin, NYC
is the center of the universe ;-) If it happens here, it happens
anywhere. Violence knows all genders, races and creeds.

Liza


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Shyrley

Liza Sabater wrote:

> On Thursday, Jan 23, 2003, at 15:06 America/New_York, Shyrley wrote:
> > Maybe if people pressurised their representatives to get the US to
> > sign up to the Human Rights Act and The Rights of a Child then
> > spanking would one day be outlawed here too?
>
> Not in this country. It is as much as a sacred right to Americans as
> the right to pack a Smith & Wesson.
>
> Liza
>

Bizarre isn't it. In a country where the rights of the individual are paramount. But only if the individual is over 18. Before that they are property.
Virginia is currently considering a law that will force clinics and doctors to inform parents if a young person comes to them about STD's or pregnancy. Which will of course, lead to young people not
going to the doctors. This could have devastating effects on a young woman's fertility is chlamydia isn't diagnosed in time. If she's frightened that her parents will find outshe's sexually active then
she wont go to a clinic.
I think Virginia is going backwards in time.....

Shyrley

[email protected]

In a message dated 1/25/03 2:35:31 PM, liza@... writes:

<< I've seen seemingly Hassidic Jews & Muslims smack their kids. . . . .I
mean, come on, look at the catholic church. >>

I'll trade you websites then. Show me authors or websites or instructions
from and for those groups that talk about spanking, and I'll show you as many
from protestant Christians.

Oh heck, I'll show you TEN times as many.

Sandra

Fetteroll

on 1/25/03 4:38 PM, Liza Sabater at liza@... wrote:

> I've seen seemingly Hassidic Jews & Muslims smack their kids. I know
> they are hassidim and muslims because of the way they were dressed
> --this is NYC after all. To say that only protestants foster spanking
> is disingenuous. I mean, come on, look at the catholic church.

I think what you and Debbie are refering to when you suggest that other
religions spank is a cultural practice. It's passed on by families. It's
community "wisdom".

Spanking is a cultural practice in America too.

But fundamentalists spank because it's a mandate from God. It overrides
family and community and personal practices because it's what God
(supposedly) wants them to do.

I tried Sandra's suggestion and typed in "spanking children" and then
jewish, muslim and christian. It isn't obvious from the descriptions that
Jewish or Muslim hits are religious in nature. You have to actually visit
the pages to find religious writings quoted. And the Jewish one also looks
to secular information to come to a conclusion.

But there's no question about the Christian sites. You don't even have to
visit the pages to see references to the Bible. The first screenful of hits
is down below the Jewish and Muslim sites. (If you dig into any of them
you'll see some mighty disturbing stuff. Not just because it's spanking, but
because of the need to control and make children behave as they are supposed
to.)

Here's the Jewish and Muslim pages that reference religous writings that I
found on the first screenful:

http://pub110.ezboard.com/fgeoparentfrm226.showMessage?topicID=20.topic
Spare the Rod?
> Does Judaism advise spanking a disobedient
> child?
> The Bible says yes. The "rebellious son" is to
> be put to death by stoning (Deut. 21:18-21), and
> Proverbs (13:24) teaches: "He who spares the rod
> hates his son."
> But by the talmudic period, these harsh doc-
> trines of parental discipline were replaced with an
> emphasis on kindness and compassion. The Tal-
> mud defines the "rebellious son" out of existence
> (San. 71a), rules that a teacher could punish a
> student at most with a leather shoelace (
> Bava Batra
> 21a), outlaws hitting grown children (
> Mo'ed Katan
> 17a), and declares: "With a child, push away with
> the left hand, and draw near with the right"(
> Sotah
> 47a)-the right hand normally being the stron-
> ger. As a result of these rabbinic teachings, tradi-
> tional Jewish homes were noted for treating their
> children with love and warmth. Still, corporal pun-
> ishment was not eliminated in the traditional re-
> ligious school for boys-the
> cheder-
> in Eastern
> Europe, where teachers often hit their students
> for even minor infractions.
> Modern social science is still divided on the
> question "to spank or not to spank." In 1996, Dr.
> Murray A. Straus, a professor at the University of
> New Hampshire, and Dr. Robert Larzelere of Boys
> Town began a continuing debate in the journal
> Pediatrics
> on the effectiveness of spanking. Dr.
> Straus argued that many studies, including his
> own, show that spanked children become more
> antisocial and do worse in school. Dr. Larzelere
> challenged Straus's conclusion, claiming that the
> damaging effects of spanking are true only in cases
> of frequent spanking and of corporal punishment
> of older children. For two- to six-year-olds, he
> wrote, occasional non-abusive spanking ("two
> open-handed swats to the buttocks leaving no
> bruise") is beneficial as a back-up to time-outs and
> reasoning; when the children turn seven, time-
> outs and reasoning alone-with spanking in re-
> serve-have become so effective that spanking is
> no longer necessary.
> Both sides of the debate agree that spanking
> school-age children is undesirable. As for toddlers,
> nearly half of American parents oppose spanking,
> but, according to Straus, nearly all resort to cor-
> poral punishment on occasion. With the debate
> on disciplining toddlers still unsettled, A good
> Reform Jewish approach would be to err on the
> side of compassion and follow Straus's advice never
> to spank.
> - William Berkson

http://www.geocities.com/islam_ap/article.html
> It is this attitude of mercy and gentleness which I and many other Muslim
> parents believe forms a major part of Islam¹s compatibility with Attachment
> Parenting. For example, spanking of young children is explicitly prohibited
> according to Islamic law. Use of bad language and intimidation are also alien
> to the Islamic tradition, as the Qur¹an says not to use bad language unless
> one has been ³gravely wronged² and the Prophet never cursed, used bad language
> or insults, and never hit any person, animal, or inanimate object. One of his
> Companions said ³I have never seen anyone more kind to his family than the
> Messenger of Allah.² Practices such as allowing a baby to ³cry it out² in
> order to train it to sleep or eat on a schedule are considered vicious by this
> standard. The Prophet was known to be very sensitive to the cry of babies,
> even shortening the congregational prayer when he heard the babies in the
> mosque crying. He would also lengthen his solitary prayer as his grandson
> played on his back, as he did not want to disturb the child¹s play. These
> small deeds are actually very profound statements of the status of children in
> Islam, as it is prohibited to lengthen or alter the prayer in any way in order
> to accommodate other people such as somebody who may have joined the
> congregational prayer late, yet the Prophet made exceptions for children.

http://sisters.islamway.com/viewtopic.php?topic=4418&forum=2
> The father¹s duty is to bring his children up well and to take care of them,
> and hitting may be used as a means of discipline when the situation requires
> that. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded us to
> smack children for not praying when they reach the age of ten, but this should
> be the last resort, when all others have failed, and there should be no
> harshness in the hitting, and we must not hit the face. The father should not
> hit his child at the time of extreme anger, or with a sharp instrument that
> may injure him, or with anything that may break bones, and he should not hit
> him in a place where a blow may be fatal. Brandishing the stick may be more
> effective than actually hitting. The point is that when disciplining his
> child, a father should follow the principle of using the gentlest means then
> the next gentlest; he should not resort to the harshest and most difficult
> means if he can achieve his aim with something that is easier and gentler.

And here's just the hits from the Christian search:

> CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN (SPANKING)
> ... How King Solomon, in the Bible, strongly recommends corporal punishment of
> children.
> Recommendations by Evangelical Christian leaders in favor of spanking. ...
> www.religioustolerance.org/spanking.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages
>
> CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN (SPANKING): The pro-spanking ...
> ... A leading Fundamentalist Christian leader, James Dobson of Focus on the
> Family, recommends spanking children from the age of 18 months. ...
> www.religioustolerance.org/spankin3.htm - 35k - Cached - Similar pages
>
> Children 101: A Christian Police Officer Writes About Spanking ...
> ... I am a Christian police officer in charge of ... that one element of
> discipline, spanking,
> is taken ... of Domestic Violence cases where children physically assault ...
> www.christian-parents.net/children/ C101_Police_Officer.htm - 19k
>
> Christian Parents Network - Home: Bible Based Resources For a ...
> ... yet we still believe spanking is a necessary tool in the parent's
> "Toolbox." You'll
> find helpful articles on the subject of spanking in the Children's section.
> ...
> www.christian-parents.net/Default.htm - 17k - Cached - Similar pages
>
(This one's a parody I think)
> A Christian Family Hour With PostFun
> ... Spanking News from the San Francisco Examiner... On beating children in
> the good
> old days, "'We had tremendous results,' said Simonds, who now runs a Christian
> www.postfun.com/pfp/family.html - 9k - Cached - Similar pages
>
> Children's Book Catalog - Christian Identity, White Race, ...
> ... The classic phonetic readers with strong Christian and moral ... Our Speak
> Softly Spanking
> Stick may not be hickory ... the same purpose in teaching children good old
> www.kingidentity.com/children.htm - 16k - Cached - Similar pages
>
> In Defense of Spanking - Christian Appalachian Project
> ... BECOME A VOLUNTEER WITH THE CHRISTIAN APPALACHIAN PROJECT? ... Larimore on
> the age-old
> question of spanking. ... How To Discipline Your Children Effectively;
> Successful ...
> www.christianity.com/partner/Article_Display_Page/
> 0,,PTID5560%7CCHID10%7CCIID1456764,00.html - 37k - Cached - Similar pages
>
> Scoop: Scoop Feedback: Spanking, ACC, Bali & Much More
> ... Spanking is the loving way to correct and discipline children. Spanking is
> also
> an expression of my Christian faith, guaranteed by section 15 of the Bill of
> www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0210/S00100.htm - 25k - Cached - Similar pages