We're joined this week on the podcast by parenting expert Ted Tripp and Dr. Tripp, the topic of physical punishment and raising children is in the news here in Minnesota right now with the recent issues surrounding Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and the accusations that he left his four-year-old son with dozens of wounds on his legs, clearly crossing a line of what is reasonable for physical discipline.

But most people seem to see a difference between discipline and abuse, but situations like Peterson expose a lot of folks in culture who simply want to do away with spanking altogether. If there's a chance it can be done wrong, let's not do it at all. So speak to this biblically.

What's the purpose of reasonable physical discipline in raising children, the rod, as the Bible calls it, and maybe share with us your own story as a young parent and how you came to embrace this practice rather reluctantly. Well, I think spanking is a very, very unpopular topic. I often laugh about this.

I've been teaching on this. First time I ever taught a series and talked about spanking was in 1976. I've talked about it more times than I can remember. I'm losing the battle because fewer and fewer Christian people are willing to embrace it. It's a hard thing for us in our culture, but I know my personal story is I came of age in the late 60s.

I got married in 1968. I had a son in 1969. I had very much imbibed while I was a Christian, I had still very much imbibed the thoughts of the age, "Be a free spirit," and all that kind of stuff. So I wasn't going to do anything to curb my young son, who was born in 1969.

By the early 70s, we were in trouble. This kid was wild and unruly. We heard teaching from the Word of God that talked about spanking and took us through the passages in Proverbs, and we were very compelled by those passages. I remember wrestling with this, Tony, wrestling with the fact that I did not want to spank my children.

I didn't want anything within me. My whole political and social philosophy of life was completely contrary to what I could see God was calling me to do. I was brought, I don't want to say kicking and screaming, but I was brought reluctantly to embrace what God had called me to do and try to sort out, "How do I do this?

In ways that are gracious and appropriate and not destructive?" That son is now 45 years old. I cannot imagine what his life would be or our lives with our other two children would have been if we had never gotten a hold of this biblical truth. So I think one of the reasons why I'm an advocate of spanking is I'm persuaded it's what God calls us to do, and it's a matter of faith and obedience for me.

But I think, what's the purpose of it? I think spanking, especially with little children, and I think that spanking is most effective with younger children, spanking gets their attention. It gives weight to your words. It humbles them. They want to avoid it, and it becomes a very effective way, particularly with little children where you can't really reason with them and they're not capable of complex reasoning.

It's a very effective way of helping them to understand the importance of obeying mommy and daddy. So I think that it's indispensable in those early years, particularly. Now as kids get older, they get more stoic about it, and what it would take to make the same impression, say, on a 12-year-old that you make on a 2-year-old with a couple of swats on the fatty part of his bottom, you would have to be doing something very excessive with a 12-year-old.

So I think, obviously, as kids get older, we're going to turn to other things. But I think in those early years, there is no substitute for it. And the nice thing, too, with spanking is that when a child is spanked, it's over. He is disciplined. I talk about steps to take in the book "Shepherding a Child's Heart," but he's disciplined.

And then you take him up on your lap, you tell him how much you love him, you assure him. I used to say to my kids, "Daddy hates to spank you. I hope I never have to spank you again." I told them that hundreds of times. And by and by, the day came when they didn't require that kind of discipline.

And I think the nice thing with spanking is that when you're done, you restore the child, you hug him, you pray with him, it's over. He's not in the doghouse. You don't have to ask yourself if you do something fun later in the day. Should we bring him along?

After all, he was bad this morning. No, that was done. It's been carried forth behind us. We're moving on. I think it is just such a much more freeing way to interact with kids and be able to put the discipline behind you and move on than other methods of discipline like time out that requires time or sitting on the chair, and no one can talk to you when you're on the chair and that kind of stuff.

I think that in my mind is much more destructive than a gracious, timely, appropriate use of physical discipline with little kids. I was blessed to have been raised in a home where I did get disciplined as a kid for defiant behavior at least a few times. And my kids love hearing stories of when dad got spanked as a kid.

And I find that whenever there's a lack of attention in family worship, I know I can just weave in one of those spanking stories into whatever we're talking about. Even if I've told the story 10,000 times, I know it will arrest their attention. Well, you know, it's interesting. Our kids, all three of our kids, well, we're the only children that have children, but all three of our kids were spanked.

And I have nine grandchildren. They've all been spanked. And they are happy children. My children are not abusive parents. So it does really bear good fruit for kids. Amen. Thank you, Dr. Tripp. And for more on physical discipline, see Chapter 11 of Ted Tripp's bestselling book, Shepherding a Child's Heart.

There he addresses those key biblical passages in Proverbs, like Chapter 13, verse 24, and 19, 18, and 22, 15, and 23, 13 to 14, and of course, Proverbs 29, 17, which says, "Discipline your son, and he will give you rest. He will give delight to your heart." That is a sweet word.

But speaking of discipline, what are the greatest hurdles for parents who refuse to use physical discipline? We'll talk about that tomorrow. I'm your host, Tony Reinke. Thanks for listening to the Ask Pastor John podcast.