As one who considers myself libertarian in principle I have found myself wondering how parents spanking would fit in with the Non Aggression Principle, (which states that the initiation of physical force is always immoral) and lately whether or not I agree with spanking based on this principle. So if I were to defend spanking from a libertarian perspective my argument would go like this:
I would hold that physical punishments by the judicial system would be appropriate and effective for violent crimes. Parents might be considered low ranking judges with minor judicial powers over their own children and thus it would remain consistent with the NAP (Non Aggression Principle) to allow parents to apply moderate physical punishments upon their own children for violent acts. If the threshold that is considered abuse is met then a higher court would step in to prosecute the guilty parent. This argument would then be consistent with the interpretation of Solomon's advice in Proverbs 23:13-14 to not withhold the rod from the child.
My argument against spanking would be that it is not the parent’s jurisdiction to make the judicial decision to enact any degree of physical violence against a child. And I would take a different approach to interpreting Solomon's words. Physical punishments were also a part of the judicial law under the old Mosaic covenant. And a child according to the scriptural definition can be considered as old as 17 (see Genesis 37:2 and 37:30KJV). (Also if one is concerned with the underlying Hebrew the same word for child “na‛ar” H5288 in Strongs Concordance in Proverbs 23:13 is used elsewhere in scripture for “young man”, See Genesis 34:19. A teenager between the ages upwards of say 15 may be considered a young man.) So Solomon might have been saying that judgments in a judicial sense regarding crimes worthy of physical punishment should not be withheld on account of a person’s youth. And if one regards the physical punishments of the old covenant too extreme for today Solomon’s words could be confined to the context of the old covenant and be considered no longer applicable for today.
My purpose for posting this is so that I could get some feedback from other Christians who are both pro spanking and anti spanking.
I would hold that physical punishments by the judicial system would be appropriate and effective for violent crimes. Parents might be considered low ranking judges with minor judicial powers over their own children and thus it would remain consistent with the NAP (Non Aggression Principle) to allow parents to apply moderate physical punishments upon their own children for violent acts. If the threshold that is considered abuse is met then a higher court would step in to prosecute the guilty parent. This argument would then be consistent with the interpretation of Solomon's advice in Proverbs 23:13-14 to not withhold the rod from the child.
My argument against spanking would be that it is not the parent’s jurisdiction to make the judicial decision to enact any degree of physical violence against a child. And I would take a different approach to interpreting Solomon's words. Physical punishments were also a part of the judicial law under the old Mosaic covenant. And a child according to the scriptural definition can be considered as old as 17 (see Genesis 37:2 and 37:30KJV). (Also if one is concerned with the underlying Hebrew the same word for child “na‛ar” H5288 in Strongs Concordance in Proverbs 23:13 is used elsewhere in scripture for “young man”, See Genesis 34:19. A teenager between the ages upwards of say 15 may be considered a young man.) So Solomon might have been saying that judgments in a judicial sense regarding crimes worthy of physical punishment should not be withheld on account of a person’s youth. And if one regards the physical punishments of the old covenant too extreme for today Solomon’s words could be confined to the context of the old covenant and be considered no longer applicable for today.
My purpose for posting this is so that I could get some feedback from other Christians who are both pro spanking and anti spanking.