Domestic Discipline Pastor David Ministries Revised April 2020 Here are two quotes from American history books referring to the practice of husbands physically disciplining their wives before “women's liberation” in the US. In Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States” he says in chapter 6: “The husband’s control over the wife’s person extended to the right of giving her chastisement. ….But he was not entitled to inflict permanent injury or death on his wife….” (Zinn is on-line at: http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/zinnint6.html) In “American Legal History, Law in the Morning of America”, on page 30, William Blackstone is quoted from his commentaries on law, saying: “By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law.......The husband also (by the old law) might give his wife moderate correction. For as he is to answer for her misbehaviour, the law thought it reasonable to intrust him with this power of restraining her, by domestic chastisement, in the same moderation that a man is allowed to correct his servants or children; for whom the master or parent is also liable in some cases to answer. But this power of correction was confined within reasonable bounds, and the husband was prohibited from using any violence to his wife....” (This book is on-line at “The Online Library of Liberty” at: http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php? option=com_frontpage&Itemid=149 ) Notice that they did not consider “domestic chastisement” with moderation to be violence. They considered “domestic chastisement” with moderation and self-control to be the antidote for violence. Also notice that the phrase “(by the old law)” is referring to the general understanding, back in those days, that this custom had been in practice as far back as anyone knew. They considered it to be an ancient, normal, indisputable and unquestionable “law of nature” established by God ever since the beginning of creation, in the Garden of Eden. Gen. 3:16“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow (pain) and thy conception; in sorrow (pain) thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.“ KJV It is impossible to “rule over” anyone without the ability to apply discipline for disobedience. (See article listed below on: The Lie of Evolution) Without this type of moderate discipline, tension and pressure from conflict build and build until it explodes. And without this type of discipline the supposed subordinate would just disrespectfully tell the supposed leader to get lost. (When intercourse itself is performed in a natural and normal manner, it is usually painful for the wife, but not for the husband, which, ideally ought to be the manner people should practice
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