[markomalley]

The pastor was not himself convicted for abusing any child.

True.

He was convicted of conspiracy to commit child abuse:

From a related news article:

A Black Earth pastor was found guilty Wednesday of eight counts of conspiracy to commit child abuse for advocating the use of wooden rods to spank children as young as two months.

A Dane County jury took only about two hours to find Philip Caminiti, 54, pastor of the Aleitheia Bible Church, guilty of having instructed members of his flock to punish children as young as infants and toddlers by striking them on the bare buttocks with wood dowels in order to teach them to behave correctly, fitting the church's literal interpretation of the Bible

From the original news article (before the conviction):

"During interviews with detectives, Phil expressed his belief that the Bible dictates the use of a rod over a hand to punish children. He stated that children only a few months old are 'worthy' of the rod and that by 'one and a half months,' a child is old enough to be spanked," according to the sheriff's office release.

"Throughout the investigation, the church members were open with detectives about their 'Spare the rod, spoil the child' philosophy. They described using wooden dowels and wooden spoons on the bare skin of children, starting as young as 2 months old," the sheriff's office said.

You said:

There is always the possibility of some people who hear us teach the Scriptures not using Biblical reason and going beyond what is proper with their own children.

And that is the point.

I, too, believe that a little corporal punishment, applied in a dispassionate manner, at the appropriate young age, is a very effective means of helping a youngster develop self-discipline. That's why it's in the Scriptures.

But 1-1/2 months? 2 months? Are you kidding me??????

A 1-1/2 month old or 2 month old is not even old enough to crawl, much less show any kind of disobedience.

Look, the overall point is correct: the State would love nothing more than to take over the rearing of children. And the State would love nothing more than to eradicate all Christian values from childrearing. And the State would not want to see us raise disciplined children who are actually able to accomplish something. And the State would love to control what is preached inside a church. Sure, absolutely.

But Dr. Boys could have picked one heck of a better example to illustrate his overall point. This example is just plain wrong. Sorry if you can't see that.

[John Leland 1789]

You know, of course, that prosecutors and judges like this would take the same view of five or six year-old (and probably any age) children receiving corporeal discipline. You are aware that their legal and social education alike are informing them that "spanking," "use of the rod," or any expression one wishes to use, is entirely unacceptable.

I do not believe that the 2-1/2 to 2 month-old stuff is the issue, although prosecutors know that the younger . . . the more emotional response can be pulled to their real issue, which is, ALL "paddling" is verboten.