This series has made me realize just how much parenting style can affect children for the rest of their lives. In Proverbs, the Bible says whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them. I don't think spanking a child with the rod is a very loving way to discipline them. What do you think?
I've heard many people use the story of Jesus cleansing the temple to say that Jesus approves of violence. It seems that violence isn't part of the Prince of Peace's character, but some translations like the King James Version make it seem as if Jesus strikes humans with the whip. How should I read these verses?
At Woodland Hills, we really do believe God is love—the kind of self-sacrificial love that Jesus demonstrated by giving his life for us on Calvary. No fine print. No exception clauses. How, then, can we understand the scriptures about God’s wrath and judgment?
When we read that Jesus tells his disciples to buy a sword, it can seem that he is encouraging violence. Yet when Peter does use a sword in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus rebukes Peter and heals the man’s ear. So, whatever Jesus was up to in telling his followers to buy swords, he clearly didn’t intend for them to use them!