Why I left Evangelical Christianity
Evangelical and fundamentalist Protestant Christians consistently report the highest support for, and use of, corporal punishment compared with other religious groups. Surveys have found that around 80% of born-again Christians in the USA approve of corporal punishment. Evangelical and fundamentalist Christians commonly use the Bible, specifically verses such as Proverbs 23:13-14, to support the practice of corporal punishment. The belief that the Bible supports corporal punishment comes from Biblical literalism - the belief that the Bible should be taken as literally as possible.
Michael Pearl, a pastor from Tennessee, published a book called "To Train Up a Child," which has sold over 1.2 million copies. Pearl's book recommends spanking kids with belts, tree branches, and plumbing lines. It tells parents to begin spanking their children while they are still babies, beginning at 5-6 months old.
Tedd Tripp, a pastor from Pennsylvania, published a book called "Shepherding a Child's Heart," which has sold more than one million copies and has been a significant influence on evangelical Christian parenting. Tripp's book recommends spanking kids with paddles.
Both books teach that corporal punishment is commanded by God, and that parents who do not spank their children are disobeying God.
My parents, who are evangelical Christian missionaries, were very physically abusive towards me as a child. They carefully followed the "Biblical" parenting advice of Michael Pearl and Tedd Tripp. They believed that God commanded spanking in the Bible, and that they were doing God's will.
Spanking totally destroyed my childhood relationship with Jesus and completely killed me within my soul.
I had a close relationship with Jesus before I was 5. After I turned 5 years old, I prayed to Satan instead of Jesus. I reasoned that if Jesus was the one who inspired the Bible verses that told my parents to spank me, then I should pray to whoever opposed Jesus.
Later, when I was 8 years old, I told my dad that I didn't believe in God anymore because of spanking. I could not believe in a God who was actively harming and destroying children through verses like Proverbs 23:13-14. My dad told me, "Well, that's a really dumb reason not to believe in God," and kept on spanking me.
I hope that hell exists so that Tedd Tripp and Michael Pearl can burn in it. Congratulations to all recipients of the millstone award. Jesus said that if anyone causes a little one who believes in him to stumble, it would be better for that person to have a millstone tied around their neck and be thrown into the depths of the sea.