Parents should beat their ‘sinful’ children and those who don’t are going against the will of God, according to a staunch Protestant minister in a church newsletter, the Leidsch Dagblad reports on Monday

The minister, from the Hersteld Hervormde Kerk in Katwijk and named as A Vlietstra, made the comments after congratulating two parishioners on the birth of a new baby, the paper said.
Basing his statement on 17th century texts ‘which are not irrelevant today’, the minister said children who misbehave should be ‘chastised’.
Condemnation
Social workers and children’s rights organisations have been quick to condemn the minister’s statements.
However, in a reaction, the Katwijk minister said he had simply been quoting from a 17th century guide to raising children and was not making recommendations.
In 2010, the three children of controversial Amersfoort preacher Gertjan Goldschmeding were put under social worker supervision for a year after their father admitted hitting them as part of their upbringing.
Goldschmeding also believed in a literal translation of the Bible and uses the Old Testament words ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’ to justify smacking.