Abstract:
One of the major causes of juvenile delinquency almost anywhere in the world, including
Nigeria, is abusive conditions in the homes. The abusive condition in the Nigerian situation is
exacerbated by the authoritarian concept of the home. Children are usually seen as mere objects
who are to obey their parents, especially the father who has an absolute power over his children.
Christian parents too are guilty of being authoritarian and their favourite cliché is ‘children,
obey your parents’. This article aims at developing a theological guideline that would assist
fathers in rearing their children from the biblical perspective via a socio-rhetorical study of
Ephesians 6:4. It examines the rearing of children in the 1st century among the Jews and the
Graeco-Romans – the original recipients. Then, it compares the social condition of Nigeria with
that of the 1st century Graeco-Roman. It concludes by stating that the key to understanding the
verse is the phrase μὴ παροργίζετε, a combination of μὴ and a present active imperative, which is
used to prohibit actions already in progress. Thus, the verse becomes an appeal to fathers to
stop exasperating their children. To achieve this, fathers should see their children as full-fledged human beings with a right to their opinions and decisions about their lives.
Contribution: This article holds that rather than being treated as obedient objects to fathers in
all things, children must be seen as human beings created with will, mind and intelligence and
therefore be given a say in issues that concerns them and be disciplined in love and not harshly.
