Wesleyan doctrine grounded corporal punishment in the belief that self-will damns a child’s soul
Evidence
As self-will is the root of all sin and misery, so whatever cherishes this in children, ensures their after-wretchedness and irreligion; whatever checks and mortifies it, promotes their future happiness and piety. This is still more evident, if we further consider that religion is nothing else than the doing the will of God, and not our own; that the one grand impediment to our temporal and eternal happiness being this self-will, no indulgences of it can be trivial, no denial of it unprofitable. Heaven or hell depends on this alone. So that the parent who studies to subdue it in his child, works together with God in the renewing and saving a soul; the parent who indulges it does the devil’s work, makes religion impracticable, salvation unattainable, and does all that in him lies to damn his child, soul and body, for ever. — , The Rod and the Child, 3195
Categorization
- DEFINE: This is the core articulation of the Wesleyan will-breaking doctrine — the theological justification that anchored child corporal punishment in the evangelical tradition.
- XREF: Connects to Episode 36’s Pauline ‘do not provoke’ material and Episode 41’s Reformed-Puritan framework that the later chapters explicitly reference. — connects to: A tradition’s view of the child’s moral nature determines its stance on corporal punishment — , The Rod and the Child: A Global History…, 4202; Doctrinal texts are post-hoc justifications for structural causes of corporal punishment, not causes themselves — , The Rod and the Child: A Global History…, 4203; Corporal punishment is contraindicated for moral learning — , The Rod and the Child: A Global History…, 6150 (+5 more)
Related
- Religious traditions framed child corporal punishment as love, not violence (similarity 0.84)
- Corporal punishment is contraindicated for moral learning (similarity 0.83)
- John Wesley urged breaking a child’s will before the child could speak or walk (similarity 0.82)
- A tradition’s view of the child’s moral nature determines its stance on corporal punishment (similarity 0.82)
- Methodist Sunday schools softened but preserved the Wesleyan corporal framework (similarity 0.80)
Broader Connections
- John Wesley urged breaking a child’s will before the child could speak or walk
#expands(0.85) — , The Rod and the Child, 3204 - Methodist Sunday schools softened but preserved the Wesleyan corporal framework
#expands(0.80) — , The Rod and the Child, 3212 - A tradition’s view of the child’s moral nature determines its stance on corporal punishment
#exemplifies(0.75) — , The Rod and the Child, 4202 - Doctrinal texts are post-hoc justifications for structural causes of corporal punishment, not causes themselves
#contradicts(0.60) — , The Rod and the Child, 4203 - Religious traditions framed child corporal punishment as love, not violence
#contradicts(0.60) — , The Rod and the Child, 8173 - Corporal punishment is contraindicated for moral learning
#contradicts(0.50) — , The Rod and the Child, 6150 - Spanking undermines internalized moral development while producing surface obedience.
#contradicts(0.45) — , The Rod and the Child, 6332