not all Christians are dicks
“Reading of the Bible must always be done through the lens of Christ’s teaching and life. It is inappropriate to take texts such as Proverbs 13:24 ["Spare the rod and spoil the child"] out of their ancient cultural context and out of the broader context of scripture, so as to justify modes of behaviour in a modern situation very different from that for which they were given.” - Anglican Archbishop David Moxon
It’s nice to see the mainstream churches politely giving the finger to ‘Bishop’ Brian Tamaki and his ilk.
Some church views:
Anglican bishops support repeal of Section 59
“We believe repeal of section 59 provides an expression of hope, and we wholeheartedly support it.”
Churches’ Agency on Social Issues (Methodist, Presbyterian, Churches of Christ and Quakers)
“CASI believes the repeal of Section 59 is a necessary as a first step towards encouraging parents to stop using physical punishment as a way of instilling discipline.”
Caritas supports amendment of Section 59
“In recognition of New Zealand’s unacceptably high child abuse statistics, Caritas recognises the need for change. But….[t]he position of Caritas and a number of other Catholic organisations working with children and families was that if the government does not intend prosecution of parents using minor or intermittent acts of physical punishment on their children, then the legislation should say so.”
NZ Catholic Church Bishops’ Statement
“We believe that the extremely polarised positions dominating the public debate, endorsing either violence against children in the name of discipline, or seeking the elimination of minor or intermittent acts of physical restraint of children by their parents, are unhelpful.”
Destiny
“…the bill compromises the position of many Christians because it contradicts their God-given responsibility to raise children accordingly to biblical principle”.
