CNN reported on Monday that parents spanked their 7-year-old adopted daughter to death. The parents are fundamentalist Christians who beat their nine children regularly because they believe God told them to.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but this is just another example of how extreme fundamentalist Christians are. This is the same extreme religious group that wants to legislate our personal lives, and wants to stone homosexuals to death. Americans must be repulsed by this violent group.
See the video below;
Spanking is light slapping on the bum
How do you kill someone with that?
CNN is obviously jumping the gun here without doing any research…again.
All religion should be banned, and this, and countless other incidents like it are the proof that all of you are mentally ill and unfit to raise children or have any say whatsoever in polite society. Get some help. There is no defense for the lunacy that is the teachings of organized religion.
In college, I fell into conversation with a fundamentalist Christian who assured me that I would go to Hell if I didn’t accept Jesus, and that once I accepted Jesus, I could do no wrong, because those who have accepted Jesus are saved and cannot sin. He said nothing he did could be a sin, because he was saved. That seemed a bit extreme to me, so I said “wouldn’t it be a sin if you murdered someone?” and he replied that first, he wouldn’t do that, and second, if he did, it would not be a sin because, since he couldn’t sin, the murder must be God’s will.
At that point I decided that he was more than a little psycho. I do not consider anyone with that attitude a Christian, no matter what they may call themselves. Which I suppose is tit-for-tat, since I have been told by fundamentalists that I am not ‘really’ a Christian, as I do not take the assemblage of writings we call the Bible literally.
All religious zealots are assholes. All of them. It doesn’t matter if you’re Christian, Muslim, or whatever. If you’re a religious zealot, you’re an asshole! Period!
This is why you don’t let fundamentalists adopt children. This is also why you don’t let massive families adopt more children. There are only so many children a couple can raise effectively.
As for the the beating, the report said that the now jailed parents beat the child for SEVEN HOURS with the occasional break for prayer.
Ignoring the obvious debate about the merits of beating a child, what on earth could a seven year old have done that would lead any sane person to believe that the only solution was a seven hour beating?
Sure, the Bible does clearly tell you to beat your child with a rod, and sure it does say that sometimes a child may need to be stoned to death, but I’ve never seen any reference to beating a child for seven hours, that’s insane, even by Biblical standards.
If these people want to stone the LGBTQ community to death, then I say this, and I quote: “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone”
What horrible monsters. It is hardly imaginable what the poor child must have gone through in these long hours. a poor, defenseless child.
I think that evil author should be in jail too for aiding and abetting.
But it’s true what some of the posters here said. Without religion, that little girl would still be alive and would probably have never been hit.
And people wonder why Atheism is on the rise.
These people want Christian theocracy but no Sharia Law which basically government ruled by religion.
Last time church and state ruled together, people were burned at the stake.
The only good news here is that, likely, the other children will be removed from this kind of environment, and that the publicity will (hopefully) wake up a few other people with latent sadistic tendencies they enshroud in their religion…..
So, the “author” of this travesty of a book says he would hit a 7 year old 15 times with a belt to teach the child that violence is wrong? And people listen to this idiot?
spare the rod, spoil the need for violence.
I am a survivor of beatings in the name of God. I am now an adult. I vowed many years ago that I would never cause this kind of pain to any child. The pain stays with you always. For me a vow is more than a promise. I have not made many vows in my lifetime. I have kept this one.
There are many ways to discipline children that have nothing to do with hitting. I watch and listen to my child. If I see inappropriate behavior or attitudes, I check my self first. Because children learn most by example. Chances are she saw it in me or another adult. She understands that no one is perfect. We all stumble sometimes. When this happens, recognize it and correct it. I have found that honest and open discussion achieves the best results.
I volunteer to beat each parent with a metal rod until they die. My conscience will totally clear. I don’t care if they said the kitchen faucet told them to…doesn’t matter. These two need to be immediately culled from the herd.
Have you not learned anything from this news item? You beat them with a PLASTIC pipe because it stings more and you get to spend seven hours killing them, instead of seven seconds. Seems more fitting to me. :P
These animals AND Farmer Santa Claus should all go to HELL! Adoptions should also be open so prospective parents who give up their kids can know if their little ones will be adopted by real people or demon turds! Funny how these two girls who were beaten to smithereens were black. Sure, all the kids got it but I wouldn’t be suprised if these two got the brunt in severity! All Fundies must DIE!!!! They are evil!!!! As much as I cherish free speech & freedom of religion for all…I must draw the line with Fundyism & Hate Groups! Fundyism is not Religion, it does not bring life! It only destroys! It is a cancer! Likewise, Hate Groups should also be exempt from the 1st Amendment! Pure evil! Treasonous! Dangerous! Criminal! Keep your Religious Conservatism moderate, sane & apolitical, please! Faith & Reason, my friends! Fundies & Bigots need not apply!!!
Sociopaths come in many forms that provide opportunities for them to act out their pathology. Fundamentalism is a perfect cover for a sociopath. I couldn’t tell from the story, did they adopt the black girls to act out their racism in the name of God?
The majority of our country are Christians. 20% of our children live in poverty. Even that statistic is low considering where they put the bar for poverty.
If most of these lovely Christians wanted to end poverty here they would have done so.
Jesus would have been a socialist. That is not convenient to the Christian right in their person vendetta against the poor and working classes(even thought most of these nimrods are in those classes).
I don’t think most Christians are as lovely as you think they are.
With Christian support we could end the wars and bring our troops home.
Gay people could marry the ones they love without real threats or real persecution by the Christian majority. How many teen suicides are caused by “Christian” love the sinner hate the sin bullying?
Christianity is no better than its book.
Just because a few Christians decide to think, are kind and cherry pick only the few nice verses from their bible. Doesn’t mean most are. Most are very immoral. Just not according to their bible.
Typical Christianity. We’ve seen this time and time again, with child rape, beating children to death, abortion clinic bombings and other atrocities.
The Abrahamic religions are the epitome of barbaric savagery and I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point it’s going to get people investigated for child abuse just by admitting that they believe in that stuff.
It SHOULD be investigated, as we see from this case.
Sure, there are lovely, lovely people that belong to the Abrahamic faiths, but I wouldn’t trust any of them with MY children. No religious day care, no Sunday school, no sleep-overs at religious friends homes without secular oversight.
While my children MIGHT be safe, I would never forgive myself for trusting a religious person to find out that my child(ren) was raped and murdered in the name of an imaginary friend.
this brings up a moral quandary to me. what the parents did was by any sane measure, after watching the news story, is torture and murder, plain and simple. however when growing up I was spanked. however it was never more than 3 swats, and only twice that I recall in 15 years was I ever even threatened with more than 3 swats. and it did teach me what was acceptable behavior and what wasn’t. pain is good for that sometimes. often the mere mention that if I(or my brother) didn’t stop doing something, I(or he) would get swats was enough to rectify bad behavior. also what the gentlemen who wrote the book described as being suitable for “swats”, no. I never received more than 3 swats(and my father usually decided 1 swat or very occasionally 2 swats was enough to teach me and/or my brother a lesson) and it wasn’t with an 1in wide by 15inch long piece of pipe, it was a wooden paddle about 6 in wide and maybe 10in long including the handle at the end (and only to the seat of my pants). anything using the methods that book would not be justifiable punishment. and the author advocates 10-15swats with a belt or piece of pipe? for just a child punching his sister? as far as I see it, thats nothing but torture and abuse.
punishment by spanking while possibly a useful tool for rectifying bad behavior, the line between useful, and outright abuse and/or torture is very very fine indeed. It must be treated as the absolute last resort punishment and be seen as such by parent and child; and must be part of a structured punishment doctrine that is consistently held to; and is agreed on by both parents as the proper punishment for bad behavior. i think this is the only way spanking can or should be used as a proper form of punishment.
“and it did teach me what was acceptable behavior and what wasn’t.”
Yep. “Behave or I’ll beat you.” I hope you grew up to realize that spanking wasn’t acceptable behavior by any standard.
But it’s really no different than “Behave or I’ll send you to Hell” to be honest.
You argue that spankings with a wooden paddle taught you ‘what was acceptable behavior’ but I would argue that you could have learned acceptable behavior another way. I was never beaten with a paddle, yet I know how to behave, have never been arrested, and live a good moral life.
So just because you did okay with your life, doesn’t mean that beating kids is the right thing to do. In fact furthermore one might even argue that the very fact that you still think there is a line between acceptable beating of a child and unacceptable tells us that your upbringing led you to accept violence against children, which is evidence for the method failing.
Hitting a child with a plank of wood is never the answer, even if it is only once, as opposed to 15 times.
Yes, many Christians are good and wonderful folks. However, fundamentalists of any religion are a major hazard. Their utter certainty keeps them from seeing when they’ve gone off the rails or incorporating correct information when they’re exposed to it. And many people’s personal propensity for abusive evil as individuals finds a great home in fundamentalism. See above.
Nothing like a belated abortion.
Some of you commenting are a little TOO sensitive that people are saying negative things about Fundamentalist “Christians”. (Put in quotes because killing your own children is not Christian.)
Well you know what? I have some fundie Southern relatives and THEY act like beating up kids is okay as well. So you know what? Your religion IS a problem. It promotes abuse and torture.
By the way, I AM a Christian as well. I just happen to be the THINKING non-violent variety. Oh, and I live in a Blue State and not in the South. Sorry to offend, but based on the current political (tea) climate it’s evident at least half this country is stupid.
Killing your own children is EXACTLY Christian.
have you read that disgusting Bible they tout? It happens quite a bit there.
I’m interested. Please give me an example of Jesus killing or promoting the killing of a child.
Not the New Testament, The Old Testament. Children were stoned to death, a saint even summoned bears to rip children to shreds! Not to mention the incest and rape. The OT is a sociopathic testament.
There is nothing “Fundamentalist” about his actions. This was not a case of spanking as reinforcement of a moral issue but a maniac who beat with anger. A real fundamentalist would know the difference. Also you arnt even to drive your children to anger in punishment how much more are you not to kill them. “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4
The premise of fundamental Christianity is NO different than that of Islamic fundamentalism, and they are both equally dangerous. Anybody who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. Both are steeped in the ideals of exclusivity and spawn the sort of rigid and dogmatic thinking that lead people to blow up buildings and beat children to death. It’s one thing to do those things because of depraved thinking, but another type of evil altogether when driven by the righteous beliefs and conviction of zealots.
I truly believe the Fundamentalists in this country have made a mockery of the Christian religion as taught by Jesus. God help us all.
The Christian religion makes a mockery of itself.
your just defining it one way to suit your own purposes and your own world view as all “christians” do.
Deuteronomy 21:18-21
18 If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, 19 his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. 20 They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard.” 21 Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death.
Actually Nate, by definition what these parents did was fundamentalist.
The same book you just quoted also says:
If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. — Deuteronomy 21:18-21
He that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. — Exodus 21:15
He that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death. — Exodus 21:17
There’s plenty in there too about beating kids:
Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. Proverbs 23:13-14
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. Proverbs 22:15
Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. Proverbs 19:18
He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. Proverbs 13:24
In fact the Bible also says it is okay to beat slaves:
If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property. Exodus 21:20-21
In fact it is okay to beat them so badly they are unable to walk for a day or two!
The Bible is full of shit like this, so it is little wonder fundamentalists use it as an excuse to torture children.
Every truth seeking and freedom loving American needs to help put a stopper in the plans of fundamentalists in turning this country into another theocracy like Iran or Saudi Arabia…
Sounds like Sharia Law to me.
What an ignorant statement that is. A murder committed by Christians in the name of Christ and you take it as an opportunity to bash a completely different religion. Is there no end to your stupidity?
Joe – I believe that “sharia” law statement was made as a snide remark as to how so many are “Worried” about Sharia law in our country – and yet it’s the fundies that are doing the outrageous crap.
You obviously missed the point of his comment. If you are incapable of satire, you should probably not be commenting….
*SOME* fundamentalist Christians are extreme. Let’s stay away from blanket hyperbole. The vast majority of Christians are regular folks, even some fundies. We don’t like it when we are labelled socialist/facist/heathens etc, so we should be more courteous.
ALL fundamentalists, of whatever religion, are extreme. It’s the nature of the beast. For an enlightening antecedent to the current atrocity, just check how the Spanish Inquisition burned heretics at the stake in the name of “loving” them by “saving their souls”. All the monotheistic religions have intolerance at their cores,and a certainty that they are doing “God’s will”. We should be horrified but not shocked at what happened to that little girl.
I appreciated your comment. I have grown uncomfortable over the years with fundamentalist or even evangelical Christianity. But many of the comments here are not allowing for the fact that there are some fundamentalist Christians who are lovely, lovely people. We should not judge all fundamentalist Christians by this outrageous incident.
The ‘lovely’ people are part of the problem. They do not speak up and fight the outrageous ideas promoted by the people who suggest that beating your child is what God wants, etc etc. If you are silent you are also at fault.
This applies to Christians as much as it does to Muslims. Stand up to the hardliners or we will NEVER see your religion as a religion of peace and love, because it functionally is not.
You’re all extreme. You believe in fairy tales and teach your children that it is history.
You should all have your tubes tied.