Spare the Rod, Save the Child

http://hermitnextdoor.blogspot.com/2014/08/suffer-little-children.html

I know many ex-Catholics who were similarly terrorized into obedience as children, and who wanted no part of the faith as adults as a result.

But that is NOT the message Jesus preached, nor is it the message of loving churches.
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One teacher told me that no matter how bad I had ever been, I could always take my punishment, try to make amends, and the next day was my chance to be good.

I probably count as an ex-Catholic. I lost the Church when I was 14, and haven’t found my way back. Attending a Catholic high school was no help.

The terror and rebellion of childhood seems to animate much of the conversation on religion. Some hatreds last a lifetime. But if we look at what Sunday School was supposed to be teaching, that hate is always one-sided.