Definition 8.
"An instrument of punishment, esp. a whip or scourge, used in the practice of self-mortification or as an instrument of chastisement in certain RELIGIOUS communities"
Is YOUR religious community one of them? Does it sanction/advocate/support physical punishment as part of "Discipline"? Why?
Love it, without it we'd be................................ Criminals? lol.
I find it exceedingly odd that people claim biblical authority for stupid things they do even though they don't believe the bible about any other topic. And of course if you disprove their stupid belief then they insist that is what they do and they are not going to change. So the bible is a lame claim in this topic. The bible does not say that, and few people understand what it does say.
Proverbs 13:24 - He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
Ok, now we see what the bible actually says, but what does it mean? What is a rod? To answer that we look up the first usage of the word:
Exodus 21:20 And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.
This defines a rod as a weapon, one that might cause death. That definition applies until the word is redefined in the 23rd psalm:
Psalms 23:4 - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
The reason for this is that the bible speaks to us in our own language, and we sometimes change the meanings of words. So the bible does too, but the bible always gives us a signal to the change in meaning, except when humans changed the meaning. In this case a rod had changed from a weapon to a shepherd's crook, a flimsy stick used only to guide his sheep. The weapon was then called a staff. The staff was used to kill wild animals, never to strike the sheep. The new meaning is further clarified in:
Proverbs 22:15 - Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
This is the meaning that applies to Proverbs 13:24. When it speaks of sparing his rod, it means withholding his guidance. Consider one more verse:
Proverbs 10:13 - In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
I like to quote that verse to people who claim the bible says to beat kids with a rod. Do they also beat people who are void of understanding? They don't want to talk to me any more after that question.
Discipline is teaching. Sometimes it includes deprivation and sometimes corporal punishment. This is not a hard concept.
