>>>This just happens to be from my hometown newspaper in Portage, WI:
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>>>http://portagedailyregister.com/news/49a11bd6-a139-11dd-840c-001cc4c03286.html
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>>Yes. It's the adult throwing a tantrum and step to escalation. Those who say it's benign because they "were raised that way and turned out fine" undermine their own argument—if truly benign, it can be done without. I was once in a class taught by Joseph Chilton Pierce and I like his take on going corporal: it's gets a child's attention but is evidence of the adult's lack of creativity. My son is 5 y/o, well behaved and very empathic. i.e. no paddle required. But then, I am not a fundamentalist of any sort. So I'd be willing to make an exception: if found guilty, let the judge/jurors paddle the pastor. On youtube. ;-)
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>I think a spanking with a paddle, the hand, even a belt is just another tool in a parent's toolchest. I probably didn't spank my three kids more than a handful of times each, but at some point they all crossed the line and had to be dealt with. I've always thought it was a last resort. Timeouts and loss of privelages and such usually work. When they don't you move up the force continuum.

Thank goodness they never went so far over the line you had to shoot them! ;-)