Mount Calvary MBC

* The family has love and respect, qualities unequaled by government, business, corporation and even street gangs. Whenever there is trouble, you can always count on the family to come together like no other and face the problems as they present themselves.

** Our Churches is made up of the families. It is safe to say that the individual family is the backbone of the larger church family.

*** In recent times we, as citizens have failed to protect the rights of the family, to be a family. Instead, we have allowed the system to come into our homes and run our families. Certainly there are a few who people abuse their parental rights and well as their children. But there is an ever increasing number of parents who just want to raise their children without interference from the government.

**** We as parents are often told by the government agencies that physical discipline is never necessary and teaches violence. There has been many published documents stating the woes of physical discipline. The Bible tell us that the "Rod of Correction" is necessary (Proverbs 13:24; 22:15; 29:15,17). This has been proven for thousand of years, as compared to recent acticles.

* Sociality dictates that their must be a solution to the growing problem of child abuse. I have no disagreement with it. What I do disagree with is that fact the hunt for the abuser has turned into a witch hunt, even surpassing the days of Salem not so many years ago. Is everyone a possible child abuser? If a family uses physical discipline, is that family a child abuser? Who determines who is or possibly will be a child abuser? I find it interesting that a man can find wrongs in anything, if he looks hard enough and manipulates the findings to support his interpretation. Iowa law (232.2(6)(b)) states that the use physical discipline is an acceptable form of discipline. The Iowa Department of Human Services goes on to specify that if any "bruises" are present as a result, they can not last more than 24 hours before abuse can be established. This was not meant to be a license to intentionally leave any "marks" on your child.

** Yes, there is a problem with a few parents, but is being a extremist about it really necessary? I think not. Must the innocent be punish with the guilty, so that the problem is solved? This type of "inquisition" bears similarities to that of the Spanish Inquisition of 1478. There are parts of the system that interprets the law to support their findings. I thought the law governs them, not the reverse.

*** Children are becoming more and more disrespectful to their parents. This is almost to epidemic proportions. If a child is disrespectful at home, said child will be disrespectful outside of the home. It is clearly evident that there is a break down in structure in the home. But who is really the blame for it? A child is told at school that if your parent spanks you, you are to tell your teacher about it or call 911. A child is told that their parent does not have to right to enforce rules with "inappropriate consequences" such as spanking. Another thing I find interesting is the fact that the powers that be, who have little if any understanding about the different cultures, can tell our children what to do in a given situation, only to blame the parents when the child exercises their new found freedom. We would not have as many problems with our youth of today, if as a society we insist that our children obey their parents. We as a society needs to stress the value of the family, not teach our children to rebel against it.

**** Parents have rights too! We have the right to raise our children. The right to guide them in the ways of life. The right to protect them from harm and danger. We have the right to scold them when necessary, always ready to uphold them. To chastise them when they do wrong and advise them in the hard decisions. Yes, parents have the right to spank their children. The use of physical discipline teaches a child that there are consequences to their negative behavior. It is not the only form of discipline but it is used in many societies and cultures.

* Don't let the government run your house and your family. Parents, you have the right to stand and be heard. If we stand together, we can and will win back our rights to be parents and maintain our families without government interference. I am calling on parents to stand up for our rights. Don't wait for it to happen to you before you take action. Take action now!