There's no excuse for locking your own child in a chicken coop and making her live for days on just bread and water. But neighbors in Butler, Georgia say mom Diana Franklin and husband Samuel Franklin allegedly has one hell of an excuse. Literally. Franklin supposedly said that the Bible made them abuse their adopted daughter.
It sounds like it could lead us down into a religious argument. But considering all the good parents I know who happen to be Christian and aren't abusing their kids, I'm going to skip that quagmire and go straight for confusion. Are there really people who think it's OK to live "by the Bible," even when the laws in America say it's wrong? Have they actually read the same book?
Franklin was allegedly referencing Proverbs 13:24, the portion of the King James Bible that reads, "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes." As a result, cops say her 15-year-old daughter was forced at times to wear a dog's shock collar, which Franklin would set off with a remote key fob. Other abuses described include living in a chicken coop for days on end and perform manual labor around their home in the oppressive heat.
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Not exactly what I've read in the Bible, but let's say it was. Let's say that the Bible really makes a case for abusing your child. The Bible isn't the Constitution. It's an incredibly old book that, although considered sacred by many people in this country, includes some very dated material and some outright atrocities. I was raised in a Roman Catholic household, and I've read enough of the Bible to know it's chock-a-block with things that would land your butt in jail.
Just take a look at these examples that get an A-OK in the Bible:
1. Killing Anyone Who Hits Their Parents. Forget an eye for an eye. If you read Exodus 21:15, the crime of hitting one's parents is punishable by death. So next time your toddler takes a smack at you, are you going to get out your gun? Didn't think so.
2. Burn an Entire Town to the Ground. The cops would call it arson, but Deuteronomy 13 gives you leave to set an entire town, and all its "plunder" on fire if the people who live there don't believe in the same God as you.
3. Kill the Kids of Criminals. The law might be satisfied with putting some evil guy on death row, but not Isaiah. Chapter 14 advises you kill his kids too, after all, they must be punished for the sins of the father.
4. Rape. In the prophecy of Babylon, Isaiah (once again) calls from the women to be ravished, and not with their consent.
I don't think I need to continue this list to prove the Bible defense is no defense at all, do I? Certainly not for abusing your child ...
What do you make of this "excuse" for child abuse?
Image via Sean MacEntee/Flickr
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Comments 98
The Bible should be considered an Historical document - and nothing more. It's a hodge-podge of some stories, some laws, some oddball poetry, riddles, etc. It's a minute fraction of a huge collection of documents written hundreds of years after certain events have taken place, and many of which are misconstrued and/or exaggerated. Besides, back then there was no regard for human life; no knowledge of science or medicine, etc. I personally think that the Bible being used for anything other than a Historical document is pure stupidity and should be illegal.
i wonder if those who claim the old testament isn't supposed to be followed anymore tithe.
Be careful not to take the words of the bible out of context. It's is not a book written in snippets.. it's a story intricately woven together by God himself. You don't have to believe it but to fully understand it you must study it in it's entirety. An electrictian wouldn't go to school to only learn how to change a light bulb.. Neither should we interpret the bible out of context. You wouldn't read only a few chapters of a great novel (well you might but you wouldn't get the whole story). I like to think about God's word like this.... If you are driving down a road exceeding the posted speed limit but you don't see the signs, are you still accountable for your actions if you are pulled over? The answer is obvious unless you can get lucky and talk your way out but Karma can bite you in the ... My point is.. the word of God is like the posted speed sign... you can ignore if you choose, just don't be surprised when your held accountable. These parents are no different than those who live void of God's teachings so hopefully we won't be too quick to criticize them before we check out our own lifestyle choices. These parents must be held accountable for their wrong and misguided actions and hopefully their daughter will get all the help she needs to recover from this horrific act.
This article isn't written very inteligently.
So lets see what the Old Testament law would do to these parents if they were caught abusing this child..
Exodus 21:22-25
“When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."
So, if we were living in Old Testament times, this tells me that upon discovery of child abuse, these abusive parents would be subjected to the same treatment. I think I could live with that. These "parents" are not Christian...they are monsters in disguise.
You hurt a child, you should be punished the same way. IMHO
I don't think anyone here is trying to be a Bible thumper. This article is putting some pretty serious claims out there that the Bible is promoting child abuse, when that is simply not true.
The ignorance in this article and with these parents is overwhelming.