Dennis Leap is back once more advocating corporal punishment for the children of PCG. He follows in a long tradition in Armstrongism of being an advocate for corporal punishment. Note this is not just one little quick swat on the rear end. It is numerous swats, and in many cases 20 swats is the recommended number to administer. Herbert Armstrong, Garner Ted Armstrong and Rod Meredith were the ones that pushed the 20 swat rule.
Leap starts off with the COG favorite, blanket training. This meant that your child was forced to lay and play on a blanket incomplete silence for two hours at a time, both in your home and at church. Leap is none to happy that some current PCG members are NOT blanket training their kiddies:
Today, some in God’s Church do not blanket train, which makes the teaching of self-discipline more difficult as children mature.
Blanket training is really simple. You should start blanket training as early as when your child can sit up by himself, but definitely by the time he can crawl. (This assumes that you have already been teaching your child not to make noise during services.)
Practice, each day, by spreading a blanket on the floor and have your child sit on it quietly for about an hour. My wife always did her Bible study at the same time. Be sure to sit on a chair next to the child. When your child attempts to move off the blanket or make noise, tell him no once. Move the child back onto the blanket, or give him a hand signal (forefinger against the lips) to be quiet. When your child moves off the blanket or makes noise a second time, you must discipline him. Continue the process until your child accepts the fact that he must remain on the blanket and be quiet. This is self-control in action.
Leap expects your child to learn to submit at an a early age so that when they are adults they will be submissive lemmings in the PCG. If they submit early in life they will submit in adulthood.
My wife and I generally waited until our children were about 18 months before we began “come here” training. We set aside an evening to do this. We called them “Come Here Nights.” I’ll be honest—this is a tough one.
Once children are up and running on their own, they do not appreciate being interrupted from what they are doing. To command them to come to you requires them to give up what they want to do and do what you want them to do. Children want to be their own authority. To submit to your authority requires self-discipline.
This is another vital lesson that must be learned at an early age. Your children will find it difficult to submit to God’s authority if they do not learn to submit to yours. Their physical and spiritual safety depends on obedience to direct commands.
On “come here nights” I told my child to come here—once. I allowed her a brief amount of time to hear, think and respond. If there was no action, I disciplined her. I repeated the process until I received an immediate response.
After you are through beating your child, or kicking them out on the street as Dennis Leap has told members to do to their daughters, your child should NOT have a bad attitude. If they do not smile and have a good attitude when you disciplining them they continue doing it till they do respond positively.
Given the horrendous track record that PCG has in parents abusing their children by severely punishing them, kicking them out of their homes and shunning them, it is even more appalling that parents stay in PCG and think this kind of abuse is normal.When you discipline your child, make sure he responds with a good attitude and right behavior. Make it your goal to not finish a correction session unless your child demonstrates a good attitude and right behavior. This requires love, patience, strong teaching and time—a lot of time—on your part. It will be worth all your effort. As Paul says, there will be great rewards when you meet this goal. Your child will be more happy and on the road to real success. Remember, positive response to correction will help your child forever.
16 comments:
The Armstrongite leaders should be beat across the face with the same paddles that they want parents to beat their children with. As a recipient of abuse as a child in the WCG I will volunteer to be the first in line!!!!
I have just a few questions...
"When your child moves off the blanket or makes noise a second time, you must discipline him. Continue the process until your child accepts the fact that he must remain on the blanket and be quiet. This is self-control in action."
"To submit to your authority requires self-discipline."
"On 'come here nights' I told my child to come here—once. I allowed her a brief amount of time to hear, think and respond. If there was no action, I disciplined her. I repeated the process until I received an immediate response."
"Your child will be more happy and on the road to real success."
∙How can one construe the adult's discipline for the child's "self-discipline"?
∙How can one construe compliance gained by duress "self-control," and not "remote control"?
∙Given that the child is, in fact, "responding" regardless of whether or not it is the response the adult wants, what sort of thought processes are being imagined to occur prior to various responses?
∙What are the parameters of the concepts of "happiness" and "success" being employed here?
This kind of doublethink is pure totalitarian propaganda.
Why not just recommend the administration of lobotomies for all PCG children? Dennis Leap is advocating that the frontal cortex of these children be shut down, but is merely suggesting that it be done through conditioning rather than by surgical means. Such "training," if effective, can surely only lead to large people who are unable to function independently. These recommendations are intended to benefit solely those doing the recommending, and their effects upon the children don't even seem to be on their radar.
Successful "behavior modification" is done through relationships, learning, and the expansion of the child's thought process, rather than the curtailing of it, and results in cooperation through the sharing of goals, not the breaking of the child's will through violently enforced capitulation.
PCG is evil and must be stopped.
Oh, Yes!
ONE METHOD FITS ALL and make sure you work on getting EVERY child around here to act EXACTLY the same way because this is not a place for individual PERSONALITIES to be tolerated, or even considered as something that exists in human beings. INDIVIDUALITY needs to be SQUASHED -- and early!
Hey, Dennis! You didn't say anything about how great your offspring came out, years later, using these methods. Bet you a dollar they're not with you in Flurryland. Bet you 50 cents they hate your guts for the upbringing you inflicted on them.
Wan't to make note, lastly, of a phrase you used, that really sticks out: "I'll be honest . . . ." Oops!
Hey, Dennis! Stuff it!!!!!
Possibly the best way to train children is to get them a kitten or a puppy and have them take care of the little young domestic companion. Teach the child(ren) to respect the domestic companion as not a toy but a real person to "love" who needs help and support -- a REAL person, not a leader of the Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia, which is a dangerous predator and not the same thing as a person at all.
My advice to the prisoners in PCG is this:
When Dennis Leap declares one of his hair-brained ideas, tell him no once. If he repeats it, you must discipline him.
Withhold your tithes. For that matter, stay home from services. Continue the process until he accepts the fact that you're actually in control of your life, not him.
After a period of time, you should begin "go away" training. I'll be honest -- this is a tough one.
Once these presumptuous preachers are off and running at the mouth, they do not appreciate being interrupted at what they're doing. Nonetheless, if they persist with shooting their fool mouths off, tell them to go away -- once. Give them a brief amount of time to hear, think and respond. If there is no action, discipline them. THROW THEIR ASSES OUT. Don't wait any longer. THROW THEIR ASSES OUT.
Make it your goal not to finish a correction session unless these knuckleheads demonstrate right behavior and leave you alone, once and for all. It will be worth all your effort. Remember, positive response by the PCG elite to your correction will help you and your loved ones forever.
Why doesn't PCG just take the short cut and issue electric cattle prods, handcuffs and mace for its parents to use for child rearing discipline?
Like slavery and suppression of women of earlier generations, biblically-based (?) intentional authoritarian infliction of pain upon the bodies of helpless small children continues to the present day to be urged in the name of God.
Starting with Sweden as the courageous first in 1979, now in 2014 there are 34 nations and growing which have criminalized--made illegal--corporal punishment of children, including Germany, Spain, Israel, and New Zealand, reminiscent of the struggles of the abolitionist movement to end slavery and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The landmark Swedish law of 1979 states: “Children are entitled to care, security, and a good upbringing. Children are to be treated with respect for their person and individuality and may not be subjected to corporal punishment or any other humiliating punishment.”
Sometimes it takes godless laws of man to stop horrific abuses justified by ancient sacred texts.
To any child reading this: you do not deserve to be intentionally struck by any adult, at any time, for any reason.
Samuel Martin has written some good things on this issue. Martin has shown, among other things, that nothing in the Bible AT ALL recommends or justifies bodily striking of small children--that the "stripes" and "scourging" that fathers and teachers are urged to give sons and errant learners was inflicted on teenagers and young adult men as an ancient pedagogical device which was believed to assist in learning, i.e. a biblical theory of education (if they get the answer wrong, beat the crap out of them, and that will encourage them to get the answer right next time). But it has nothing to do with small children or toddlers.
GregD
Normally, humans have an innate sense of fairness, and along with this comes the good sense as to when and how to rebel against tyranny. It is not only part of the American tradition, it is also something used internationally to support human rights and proper standards of justice.
The problem is that the teachings of these so-called churches of God reprogram normally good people to become the worst and most abusive sorts of bullies with their children. If we encourage the children to rebel and to stand up for their human rights, it will only cause the parents to respond with greater violence. They have been taught that this is something that God wants them to do, and about 95% of them take it very seriously.
Therefore, it requires the intervention of persons or entities more powerful than the churches or parents themselves. Any child growing up in an ACOG should know that if their teachers or principals in most states even suspect that their students are being abused, they are required to pass this information along to the proper authorities. I would suggest that the kids make any injuries they suffer at the hands of their parents obvious to school officials. Gym class is certainly a good time and place in which to do this. If asked about the injuries, tell the truth. Tell them that you are growing up in a toxic cult, and that the Satanic mofos from that cult regularly beat your ass in, as is taught in church services. Cell phones and ipads are an excellent way to video record the violence as evidence.
There is a silver lining to the cloud. The child rearing principles advocated by Armstrongism are responsible for the greater number of offspring getting some common sense, and leaving the church when they come of age. But, unfortunately, in a certain smaller percentage of cases, the victims become predators themselves, taking and passing this bad cycle along to the next generation.
As was always said in the final paragraph of every Plain Truth article ever written, "There is no real solution to the problem until Jesus Christ returns." Church members will never take the word of any lesser authority that the child rearing principles advocated by their "apostle" are bogus, harmful, and not consistent with the Father's will! The tragedy is that the take away for these PCG kids is a horribly skewed concept of God, church, parents, and ultimately, life itself. If you are a PCG teenager, you might want to sit down with your parents, have a heart to heart conversation with them, and ask them to please just leave you at the mall.
BB
Let's get real here.
The real issue here is power, control and dominance -- the same issues as rape, incest and pedaphilia -- rooted in the original incestuous founder, Herbert Armstrong, who wanted to be on top, separate and superior.
Jail and prison terms are now available and waiting for proponents and accessories for such abominable perversion. If you know of any violations concerning children, call Child Protective Services immediately and let the justice system sort it out.
In the meantime, join with the voices at nomore.org so that we can together we can end domestic violence and sexual assault.
Of course, parents, as an alternative, may follow the advice given to a PCG member with a disabled child: Simply leave your child in a shopping mall and someone will be sure to find it and take care of it, so you can be freed from the responsibilities of parenthood so you can give more time and money to your cult leaders. The downside is that your child won't grow up to contribute to the Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia, but that's OK, because the chances are that he (or she) would leave anyway, so it's a non starter issue.
See how much harm is done by these selfish narcissistic sociopaths to gain power over others for their own aggrandizement, validation and money.
If not hell, then jail and prison await. May they all rot there.
It may not be a good idea to have a child raised in the ACOGs responsible for the nurture and care of a pet......I recall once hearing a commotion and walking in on my little sister who was yelling "No!" and then mercillessly and repetitively spanking her doll with a belt. She'd then tell the doll that that's what she gets if she disobeys.
This abominable crap perverts and ruins the minds of children at an early age, possibly even rendering them incapable of proper loving care of an animal companion.
Normally, having a pet teaches one some excellent life's lessons, but kids raised in an ACOG would most likely attempt to practice "God's" childrearing principles on their cat, dog, horse, or turtle, and it would not be a pretty picture.
BB
Teach the child(ren) to respect the domestic companion as not a toy but a real person to "love" who needs help and support -- a REAL person, not a leader of the Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia, which is a dangerous predator and not the same thing as a person at all.
But Black Ops Mikey,
What if the conservative members of the Supreme Court should decide that Herbert Armstrong was an actual person?
Byker Bob wrote: "It may not be a good idea to have a child raised in the ACOGs responsible for the nurture and care of a pet."
I agree. The pets will get the brunt of the punishment, taught by the parents!
What if the conservative members of the Supreme Court should decide that Herbert Armstrong was an actual person?
It's not going to happen.
It's unlikely that they would find Flurry, Pack, Meredith actual persons, especially after Weinland's conviction.
The Supreme Court would wisely refuse to hear the case that Herbert Armstrong was human, primarily because that at this point there is insufficient evidence to prove it.
Here's the optimal timing of the pet thingie. After the person who grew up being abused in PCG (or other splinter) goes through rehab from the drugs and alcohol he/she needed in order to deal with and come down from the pain and sorrow of it all, while looking for fresh approaches, and good workable answers, and perhaps as part of some sort of therapy in which he/she is learning for the first time about love, at that specific time, experiencing a pet's unconditional love and learning to return that love, will provide some of the incredible life lessons which ACOGs know nothing about.
Here's where I'm going to get myself in trouble..........
A good nurturing church, one not related to the savagery of Armstrongism, can be effective in providing much better parenting skills, and a healthy overview of what a loving family can be and how it should function both on a personal level and in the context of community. This is so important that if you can't stomach church after your Armstrong experience, you really should attempt to at least go with second best, and find out where some sort of secular family counseling center is in your town, and get help there. Hopefully, even that will be based on some sort of secular version of grace, and will introduce one to the concept of unconditional love.
Obviously neither version of the counselling is going to help you with your family members who are splinter members, and still believe that Armstrongism should be the focus of family relationships (It's better not to even attempt to pick that scab, because that is guaranteed to cause fresh wounds and more pain! Surrogates work better). By therapy and rehab, we are attempting to deal with what is actually possible. You can at least obtain some positive results with the people in your life who don't eat, sleep and breathe a bunch of bogus, destructive, negative stuff.
BB
If you run a religion that has to "break" kids to make them join you, it means you're the bad guys.
If I were a kid in PCG right now, I'd be faking mental illness so I could be mercifully left at the mall. It wouldn't even matter if I happened to get some of the symptoms wrong or mixed up, because the ACOGs are willfully stupid in the areas of "the world's" science of psychology, and would never consult on this with knowledgeable healthcare professionals.
BB
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