William J. Webb defuses misguided readings of biblical passages that call for the corporal punishment of children, slaves and wrongdoers. Setting these passages in their ancient cultural context, Webb reaffirms the importance of reading Scripture with God's redemptive movement in mind.

Reviews

"William Webb is becoming one of evangelicalism's finest teachers of how to 'live the Bible' in our world. What he teaches us is simple: each text in the Bible is embedded in a historical context, and the only way to read the Bible responsibly is to see what the Bible was saying in that historical context. When it comes to living out the Bible in our world, we watch how God teaches his people to redeem those historical contexts. This book applies that method to corporal punishment with stunningly redemptive conclusions. Every parent and every pastor, in that order, needs to read this book before either lifts a hand or teaches others to lift a hand. I pray this book will flourish."--Scot McKnight, professor in religious studies, North Park University