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.
More from The Stir: Mom Accused of Abusing Infant & Texting Video of the Whole Thing to Dad
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
Ashley Is a Widow Who Stays Strong...
This Hot Dad Wants to Vacuum Your Rug
This Hot Dad Wants to Do Your Ironing
KStew Refuses to Shower
Comments 98
Oh look! Here we are right smack dab in the middle of that quagmire that you claimed it your intention to skip! Yeah. Never saw THAT coming...
Isaiah was a book of prophecy, not a book of law, just FYI. There's just a teensy bit of difference between a prediction and a prescription. Just MAYBE it might be good to understand context before commenting on the scriptures of a religion that you clearly do not subscribe to.
Perhaps it would've been enough to simply point out that the "mother" in the story was not acting in accordance with any of the familiar conventions of Christian thought or belief, and leave it at that. Your quagmire avoidance system needs recalibration.
do yourselves a favor---burn them damn bibles---new-old - doesn't matter - burn'em all - you poor humans and your brainwashing - get a life - quit living in fear - living in sin (thats just life) your NOT burning in hell and your NOT going to some special place in the sky - your life is here and now -so live it - do you really want anything to do with anything coming out of the mid-east - I don't !
wow, some of the comments here are ridiculous...how can you believe in God but not believe His word? Those laws as described are from the Old Testament...none of us could have lived up to those laws...Jesus died on the cross for us and those laws no longer apply...He loves us even if a good majority don't give a crap about Him.....very sad!! Great saying..."Get right..or get left" Better hope for yourselves that many of you are correct in your assumption that He doesn't exist...although I think you're in for a rude awakening...now bring on the haters.....
The spare the rod statement is meant to tell you to properly discipline your child, not to abuse them. The Bible tells you to love everyone, including your children obviously, and to treat them with that love. It never condones rape of any kind, nor murder. It states that they will or have happened, but does not tell you to do so. Please actually read it and understand it before making statements that indicate it tells people to do those things, it does not. It does however tell you to follow all the laws of the land in which you are living.
Idiots is all I can say. I can't believe peope are that literal. I am a literal person and my common sense still kicks in.
There are so many stories like this. A couple a years ago there was that preacher in a some small church that said you should spank your kids daily and not just with your hand but with sticks and things. There are so many ways the bible is interpreted that's why there are so many religions based off the bible. Some believe it's ok to have multiple wives, Some thinks the bible makes it ok for a husband to abuse and neglect his wife and she thinks to be a good wife she has to stay there and take it, I've been told you can't be christian if you drink alcohol or dance because of the way a certain religion believes. I follow the golden rule, do onto others as you would have them do unto you. I do not follow any specific religion because of the ignorance, closed mindedness, and sometimes hatred that comes from SOME members (not all) of certain religions and the ridiculous interpretations of the bible in some instances. Again, this isn't a blanket statement but there are some that give their beliefs a bad name, like this nut in the article for instance.