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Response to Schatz case

by No Greater Joy Ministries

District Attorney’s Comment

No Greater Joy has recently received several negative comments in connection with the Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz case in California.

The following is quoted from a recent news article:

“...[Butte County District Attorney Mike] Ramsey is quick to point out that followers of No Greater Joy do not advocate spanking to the point of serious injury. ‘Even the Tennessee pastor that espouse[s] hitting children right from infancy says that you must watch that you don’t cross the line. Clearly this is a situation where the line was crossed from discipline... to beating... to murder,’ said Ramsey.”

— quoted from “DA: Deadly Child Abuse Case Linked To ‘Biblical Chastisement’ ” published on 2/12/2010 at KHSLTV.com.

Mike’s Response

We do not teach “corporal punishment” nor “hitting” children. We teach parents how to train their children, which sometimes requires the limited and controlled application of a spanking instrument to hold the child’s attention on admonition. Over 1,000,000 parents have applied these Biblical principles with joyful results.

The courts have never charged NGJ Ministries with teaching abuse; quite the contrary. In a former case where a woman owned one copy of To Train Up A Child, the prosecuting attorney used that very book as testimony against her out of control methods. Likewise Ramsey, the prosecutor in the Schatz case, is quick to point out that No Greater Joy does not advocate spanking to the point of serious injury.

It is regretful that our teachings were not able to turn them from their predisposition to abusive habits. Those of us who deal with substance abuse, psychological impairment, and family issues, try to make positive changes in every person, but sometimes our best efforts are too little or too late. But for the sake of our precious children, we must double our efforts and move forward.

Michael Pearl, CEO
No Greater Joy Ministries, Inc

“There are always some who act in the extreme. These individuals are capable of using what has been said about the legitimate use of the rod to justify ongoing brutality to their children.” — To Train up a Child, page 51

“The rod should never be a vent for parents’ anger. Where the supreme motivation is anything other than the child’s good, it is inevitable that such behavior by the parent will assuredly create problems.” — To Train Up a Child, page 51

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