Michael Pearl

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Michael Pearl (* 1945 in Memphis ) is an American pastor , missionary and author of Christian counseling books. With his wife Debi he wrote a. a. the controversial book To Train Up A Child (German How to get used to a boy ), in which the corporal punishment of children is propagated. Three deaths in the press are linked to his teachings.

Life

Michael Pearl graduated from Mid-South Bible College in Memphis and subsequently worked as a pastor, missionary, and evangelist. In 1971 he married Deborah (Debi) Kay Smith, with whom he has five children. Together they lead the organization "No Greater Joy Ministries", which publishes books, CDs, DVDs and a newsletter on the subject of Christian education.

To Train Up A Child

American cover of the controversial book To Train Up a Child by Michael Pearl

The Pearls' first book about raising children To Train Up a Child was published in 1994 and has since been distributed in over 650,000 copies (as of 2012). It has also been translated into several languages, including German ( How to get used to a boy , European Missionary Press, Wiesenbach 2002).

The book says: “God, who made young children and therefore knows what is best for them, commanded parents to use the rod to raise a child. Anyone who refrains from doing so by claiming to act out of love is accusing God himself. "

The German translation of the book was indexed by the Federal Testing Office for Media Harmful to Young People in 2010 at the request of the German Child Protection Association .

Deaths

Seven-year-old Lydia Schatz died after her adoptive parents Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz, Christian homeschoolers , beat her with a plastic tube to discipline her. They were supporters of Pearl's "No Greater Joy Ministries".

13-year-old Hana Grace-Rose Williams died in Washington state . Her adoptive parents were a Christian homeschooler couple who adopted another child and had six biological children. They had starved Hana Grace-Rose, locked her in a dark closet while playing Christian music and Bible tapes, hit her with a plastic tube and forced her to sleep in a barn outside the house. Hana lost nearly 20 pounds in the last two years of her life. It has been suggested to be related to the book To Train Up a Child that her adoptive parents owned.

In addition to these two cases, the death of Sean Paddock is also linked to the book.

Works (selection)

  • Michael Pearl, Debi Pearl: To Train Up A Child . No Greater Joy Ministries, Pleasantville TN 1994, ISBN 1-892112-00-0 . German translation: How to get used to a boy . European Missionary Press, Wiesenbach 2002.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erik Eckholm, Preaching Virtue of Spanking, Even as Deaths Fuel Debate , New York Times , November 7, 2011.
  2. ↑ Who Is No Greater Joy?
  3. ↑ Nadja Erb: US Evangelicals - Fatal Beatings in the Name of God . In: Frankfurter Rundschau , November 9, 2011
  4. ↑ Florian Götz, Oliver das Gupta: Education with the rod - love goes through the stick . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , September 24, 2010
  5. ↑ a b Kevin Hayes: Is Conservative Christian Group, No Greater Joy Ministries, Pushing Parents to Beat Kids to Death? CBS News, March 4, 2010
  6. ↑ Edecio Martinez: DA: Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz Killed Daughter With “Religious Whips” for Mispronouncing Word . CBS News, February 22, 2010
  7. ↑ Elizabeth de Alwis: Beating death draws national attention . ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ChicoER News, February 25, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.chicoer.com
  8. ^ Jeff Hodson: Murder charges for parents who left girl outside . In: The Seattle Times , September 29, 2011
personal data
SURNAME Pearl, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American pastor, missionary, and author of Christian counseling books
DATE OF BIRTH 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Memphis