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Bullying among the school-aged populace used to be considered a normal part of development. As the saying goes, almost everyone was once a bully or has been bullied. Research, however, revealed that bullying is not a harmless phenomenon. Many lives go downhill due to shame and frustrations caused by bullying. This is where Monte and Nicole Griffin's book comes into play: Their sons were bullied at different levels, and one of them had to suffer from physical, verbal, or relational aggression due to being different.
Bullying A Biblical Solution offers an anti-bullying approach that goes beyond the usual premise that bullying can be reduced solely by increasing supervision, identifying perpetrators, and punishing them until they no longer bully other students. The book draws wisdom from biblical characters and events and their application: a discipline measured with love, never done in anger. It emphasizes that students, both bullies and their targets, respond in appropriate ways when adults in their lives model appropriate social behaviors.
The Griffins develop the thesis of their book by introducing statistics on bullying. With this essential and indispensable tool for evidence-based analysis in place, readers are allowed to grasp the profound nature of the topic with concrete reference. In the discussion that follows, the Griffins identify the lesu-Do discipline, which application is the basic tenet of the book. In short, lesu-Do is a Christian approach to martial arts. It compounds physical fitness by placing God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit at the forefront of a Christian's response to bullying. The book is a valuable resource for a course on family engagement or to supplement a school's already established anti-bullying program. Its use of research studies makes it a credible reference in the understanding of cultural diversity, family dynamics, and human psychology.