honoring one’s mother and father was not the sole commandment concerning parent-child relations. three other commandments illustrate the relationship’s importance.
exodus 21: 15 and 17, provide that “[a]nd one who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death” and “[a]nd one who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.” deuteronomy 21:18-21, provides that “[i]f a man has a wayward and rebellious son, who does not obey his father or his mother, and they chasten him, and [he still] does not listen to them, his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, and to the gate of his place. and they shall say to the elders of his city, “this son of ours is wayward and rebellious; he does not obey us; [he is] a glutton and a guzzler.” and all the men of his city shall pelt him to death with stones, and he shall die. so shall you clear out the evil from among you, and all israel will listen and fear.”
in biblical times, parents were afforded special protections. children were subject to heightened punishment for acting upon their parents. a death sentence for striking a parent is far greater punishment than the provision of an “eye for an eye.” the punishment’s magnitude demonstrates the importance of parents and their role in society. beyond raising the children, deuteronomy 6:7, required them to instruct their children of the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances. further, the community was to support these parents in the role. thus, the community was obligated to dispose of an evil child.
presently, there is a paradigm shift. societal forces have successfully forged the notion that there is now a government-child relationship to the exclusion of the parent. children can allege charges of abuse and the government will take action against the parents. the government can help children secretly get abortions and transition their sexuality to the exclusion of the parents. the government has imposed itself to instruct children on ideology that not conforming with traditional beliefs. the government has made available pornography in school libraries. children are able to view this material without parental knowledge or consent.
sadly, parents seeking to maintain their role in the parent-child relationship are being labeled as criminals and domestic terrorists by the fbi. their offenses have consisted of speaking out at school board meetings. recently, one of them had their microphone cut off in a meeting when they were reading pornography that was made available in their public school.
in sum, the parent-child relationship is being attacked each and every day by certain segments of society. they make no bones about it when they make comments that they are “coming to get your children.” those who hold parent-child relationship sacred must begin to express that the raising of children is a religious act. thus, any government action against it should subject to first amendment scrutiny. parents, as noted in deuteronomy, have an obligation in educating their children. governments should not be allowed to interfere in this obligation.
be well!!
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The Ten Commandments Project 