To Train Up a Child
Controversial Author
To Train Up a Child is a 1994 parenting advice book written and self-published by independent Baptists Michael and Debi Pearl that has generated controversy for encouraging child abuse. The book has been endorsed by the Institute of Basic Life Principles. To Train Up a Child gained notoriety after methods recommended in the book were found to have contributed to several high-profile cases of child death.
Background
Michael Pearl (born 1945) is an American independent Baptist preacher and author. After graduating from Mid-South Bible College, he worked with Union Mission in Memphis for 25 years. His 2006 graphic novel Good and Evil won the Independent Publishers' IPPY Award Bronze Medal in the Graphic Novel/Drama category in 2009 and was a 2009 ForeWord Book Award finalist. His other publications include No Greater Joy Magazine, Training Children to be Strong in Spirit, and Created to Be His Help Meet.
Michael married Debi Pearl (née unknown) in 1971. Together they wrote To Train Up a Child, which they self-published in 1994. The Pearls have five children.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “To Train Up a Child” is controversial Author. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Train, Child and Controversial, not as a finished interpretation.
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The phrase “controversial Author” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1928855. VIAF identifies the subject as 1757085. The Library of Congress control number is n97078127. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1994, 1945, 2006 and 2009.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “To Train Up a Child” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.