While the abusive "training techniques" were carried to the exceptional extremes, the Williamses are not alone in their zealous behavior: millions of children are "trained" routinely, using the spare-the-rod-spoil-the-child dictum of the Old Testament. Some of those children will overcome the beatings (as some of their parents had), while others will not: they will suffer emotional as well as physical scars and a few, like Hana, will die.
Children across the country may not know it, but they should be giving thanks that their parents are not following the Pearls' teachings or their "truly evil book."
* While not an ordained minister, Dobson has his 18 honorary doctorates from Christian colleges and universities prominently displayed behind glass at Focus On The Family.
** From the book:
On another note, Michael is an inductee into the International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame and holds several world titles, including Gold Cup winner of 2008-9, long distance thrower of the year with a record all time high of hitting a four inch target at 63 feet, and he is the undisputed best tomahawk thrower of 2009, holding the world title.
*** Debi Pearl grew up during the 1960s at the height of the hippie revolution and the Jesus Movement. The forced draft due to the Vietnam War brought a sense of eternity to the youth, provoking them to seriously consider their souls. It was a time of a great move of the Spirit of God. As a teenager, dressed in tie-dye tee shirt and long drooping peasant skirt, she stood on the highways and byways sharing the gospel and seeing miracle after miracle of God's amazing grace. She married her life mate, Michael Pearl, in 1971.
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