A parent who repeatedly abuses a child should not be honored.

No, this was in response to the idea that sin is going against the Ten Commandments and can never be right.

The ten commandments (and the writings that help put it in context) seem to fairly clearly state that a child must always honor his or her parents and that how the child is treated is never a reasonable excuse for dishonor, disrespect, and more questionably, disobedience.

I believe there are situations where this is false, and that while many of them are debatable, this one is pretty clear.

I can understand this to a degree; I don't think that the parent should ever be entrusted with a child again, and I can semi-understand being dishonoured by the community; but the whole idea of dishonouring such a parent seems to entail that they should be abandoned.
It may be that such a parent will have deep psychological problems causing such behaviour. They might not want to abuse their children, but it might be at a point where they cannot control themselves.
Should they be abandoned by the community?
No. I think that they need - to a degree - to be helped. Simply branding them as "wrong" and locking them away somewhere seems immoral. It might be that, with assistance and counselling, they can learn to control themselves, and live normal (although, hopefully childless) lives.

In extreme cases it may be that is not an option, and I understand that, but I think we need to look beyond the face value of someone's actions; people who do bad things may not in themselves be bad, and may deserve our help.

I was going to agree but also agree with the disagree comment of above, so i'll stand neutral, (for now)

Mr. Smith, a fair point. Although I would say they may be deserving of help, but never, absolutely never of honor.

So, what do you propose we do to murderers? Do you also take this stance with people who rape strangers?

Surely helping them is, in a way, honouring them? It might not be honouring their actions, but it is honouring the good person they could be.

I think that murder or rape should be dealt with similarly. However, these crimes are more serious, and it may be more likely that the perpetrator will be beyond help, but that doesn't mean that none should be offered or attempted.

Is it fair that a bullied child who fights back, and kills, the person who has been ruining their life for years on end should be treated the same as a hardened criminal who kills for the sake of it?

I'm sorry. You lost me when you said that murder and rape are worse than regularly torturing or raping your own child.

I just don't agree.

They are not more serious crimes, and in many cases show a better chance of rehabilitation, as most murderers are just one-off murders of passion or murder for-profit. Where they can be helped by giving them better options.

Repeat abusers have deep-seated huge problems and the potential person is less recoverable.

Recoverable, yes, but less.

Now, if you mean serial killers - they're a different story. And rapists are tricky.

But you'll note that rape was mentioned in my description. And those who rape their own child are not somehow better than those who rape others. Also, I don't think that other forms of abuse should be considered lesser because they don't involve sexual assault.

I just fundamentally view your ranking of these horrors as appaling.

I'm sorry. I'm not perfect.
I've never been beaten as a child, I've never been raped. I have no experience of the matters. In honesty, I don't take much personal interest in such matters. It's not that I don't think they are appalling, as they are, it's just that I've not really lent that much thought to them beyond the initial disgust of them.
So, yes, I accept your criticism. The day I stop learning is the day I die. Thank you.

But, don't you feel we're digressing from the original claim somewhat?

No, that's the point of the original claim, so it doesn't seem like a digression.

I fully believe that many, perhaps most, parents should be honored. But I do not believe that they all should. That was my point. And the reason for my point is because of those extremes.

I believe it's possible that they did something worthy of honor by a community, regardless, building a bridge, saving the lives of others, inventing the weekend, etc. But in general I agree with you.