"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely
exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It
would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral
busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity
may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good
will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their
own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same
time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with
intolerable insult. To be "cured" against one's will and cured
of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of
those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never
will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals."
–
C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock, 1948
"It
is Christ Himself, not the Bible, who is the true Word of God. The
Bible, read in the right spirit and with the guidance of good teachers,
will bring us to Him."
- C.
S. Lewis, Letter of C. S. Lewis, 1952
"When
I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned
like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways."
- 1
Corinthians 13:11
I don't really know what led me to the writings
of C. S. Lewis, but as I was contemplating a news article I read on
Yahoo from Good Morning America about children being spanked in school,
my thoughts turned to the thought of those who torment others with their
own moral opinions. In the article titled, "Should Your Child
Be Spanked at School?" by Yunji De Nies, I was shocked to find that
in 19 states in the U.S. schools have the authority to spank children.
Most of the states that allow corporal punishment in the schools are
located in the Midwest and South.
In Florida a spanking caused a 5 year old child to cry
for hours, triggering an asthma attack and a trip to the emergency room
of a hospital. The Principal of the school stated that, "I
disciplined out of love, not anger." And perhaps this is the
problem, an unintelligent response to discipline has been called
"love" and therefore it fits in the conscience of people who
fail to think further than the idea of
"traditions." But, it is not just the physical
effects of spanking that parents should be concerned about, but the
emotional and mental effects. When someone is allowed to spank a
child, the child can accept this in their mind as not just punishment,
but helplessness, and often being misunderstood. These feelings
and thoughts will register in the child's consciousness and may take
years for them to trust that they are worthy and deserving of love and
confidence.
Why the people in 19 states would allow the
State to take the responsibility to discipline their children baffles
me. The intelligent and loving discipline of children is one of
the most important aspects of character development and it is the
parent's responsibility, not the responsibility of those who may or may
not share the parent's approach to discipline. Along this same
line of thought, is the idea of "prayer in the schools" which
also baffles me. Prayer, like discipline, develops character, but
has the added elements of faith and belief. And, for the most part
when administered outside of the home, both prayer and discipline fall
prey to that which is considered "tradition" but too often
"tradition" can mean oppression and intolerance.
C. S. Lewis was raised in "traditional"
religion, became an atheist, and then later returned to the Christian
religion. Yet, his return to Christian religion was not one of
acceptance of traditions and oppressive moral authority. He wrote
of those who practice the "tyranny" of religion that, "they
may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make
a Hell of earth" and
in these few words he described much of what happens when we "give
up" our own capacity to take the responsibility that is ours to
seek and find that which is right for us and for our children in matters
of faith and discipline.
Following tradition, the radical Jesus would
never have discovered the "Christ" within him, and within you
and me. Traditions provide for us the knowledge of the past, of
history, not the awareness of the Spirit within us seeking our discovery
of It. It is not only laziness, but childish for us to depend on
tradition in regards to our faith and to the issues that are important
to us; our children, our health and our freedom. Those who have
defied tradition have given us so much evidence to prove that the
Spirit, the Christ within us, is always evolving through the
consciousness of those willing to open their minds to the Spirit, and
gain the loving awareness of G-d Intelligence in finding solutions to
that which concerns us.
"Corporal punishment doesn't get us the
results we want," said Deborah Sendek, program director of the
Center for Effective Discipline, a group that advocates against corporal
punishment. And further: "We're not allowed to hit a
prisoner. We do not hit in the military," Sendek said, "Why do
we give prisoners more protection than we give our
schoolchildren?" This is a very important question that every
parent needs to ask themselves.
We have learned that there are
more intelligent ways of disciplining prisoners and people in the
Military, and there is an intelligent solution to disciplining our
children. And we can begin to find this more intelligent way by
realizing and recognizing that the "Christ" within us, that is
this image and likeness of G-d, has always been within us. When we
speak to this "Christ" within our children they will respond
positively, for we will be speaking to Intelligence, Love and Truth; the
very image and likeness of G-d within them. So many of us do not
do this for we fail to recognize that our children are Spirit, the
Christ Itself, having a human experience ... not aware yet that they are
to be in the world, but not of the world. This is the truth that
is ours to teach them, intelligently and lovingly, and we can as we put
away childish things.
AND
SO IT IS!
Keep
the faith!
Rev.
Dr. Henry Lee Bates
Visit Rev. Bates BLOGS: Living
the Way to a Wonderful Life
Rev
Bates en Espanol
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