response to ‘gone too far’

Originally posted on September 21, 2009 – by Andre Piet

From a visitor of goedbericht.nl I received the following response to an earlier weblog.

Hi André,

I read your blog about “gone too far.”
I would like to make a small remark.
I fully agree with you that the Bible is very clear about the fact that a corrective smack, in other words what pedagogy calls it, can be very useful in upbringing, and as you yourself phrase it, perhaps even more gracious than other forms of punishment.
But as this minister describes it and as it is presented in the newspapers, I do agree with the complainant that he goes quite too far.

Quote from Algemeen Dagblad:

….The controversial Amersfoort preacher Gertjan Goldschmeding not only advocates a corrective smack, but even calls on his church members to keep on striking. Even when children cry in pain.
“With that you may continue until the will of the child is broken,” he says in a sermon from 2007, of which this newspaper has recordings. He also says: “God has determined that that smack on the backside causes the foolishness to be beaten out in chunks.”
That goes considerably further than the ‘educational smack’ with which Goldschmeding came into the news last week….

When I hear Christians say such things, it does hurt me.
Because of my own experiences I may react more strongly to this than others, but please be careful with what you say, okay?!
From the perspective of the many children who have been hit too hard, I do understand what the government has decided.
The point must be that in disciplining we especially give love and grace. If it is about breaking the will of the child, then in my opinion you lose sight of the goal. Enforcing behavior as you write may be possible, but keep the goal in mind: the behavior is good for the child, not because the parent simply prefers that behavior.

I hope you understand. I do not blame you for what you write (on the contrary), but I still wanted to make this addition.

Kind regards,
x

I want to boldly underline what this letter writer brings forward. A very valuable addition. The prohibition of ‘the corrective smack’ is absurd, but what the preacher in question brought forward about striking (“until the will is broken”) is shocking. When I read such things, I no longer know which I should have more understanding for: the government ban or the unhealthy advice of this glossy preacher.

Delen: