How do we grow in wisdom and character? How are we protected from temptation? How does God give us direction for our lives?

Say it with me, ye thousands of Gothard’s alumni: “By staying under authority.”

Authority is the foundational principle of Gothard’s worldview.

“Our faith multiplies as we see how God speaks to us through those He has placed over us.” (Basic Seminar Textbook, pg. 20)

“Each of us has a multitude of character deficiencies that need to be perfected. God uses those in authority to do this. ‘Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child: but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.’ Proverbs 22:15.” (pg. 26)

The second night of the Basic Seminar is a deluge of charts and anecdotes about teenagers in rebellion, broken relationships, and people drifting in search of God’s will. Their problems can always be traced to the fact that, somewhere along the line, they didn’t listen to, or flat-out rejected, their God-given authority.

For instance, in Gothard’s trademark style of illustrating his points with completely unverifiable anecdotes, he relates the following story:

A twenty-one-year-old girl who is supporting herself and living away from home firmly believes that it is God’s will to marry a certain young man. This girl’s parents don’t attend church. Both the girl and the one she wants to marry have trusted Christ for salvation. The girl’s parents strongly oppose this marriage stating only that they don’t think he is the right one for their daughter, and, therefore, that the marriage won’t work out. Both the girl and her boyfriend feel that the marriage will work out. (pg. 29)

“How would you advise her?” Gothard inquires. He then provides the answer:

The parents of the twenty-one-year-old girl who disapproved of their daughter’s marriage did so, among other reasons, because they detected underlying attitudes in both her and her boyfriend which would have been incompatible in marriage. One of those negative attitudes was a stubborn self-will. The parents sensed that each expected to be “the center of the stage.” Neither had learned to submit to authority. They had no conception of “deference,” which is regard for the wishes of another. A big step of correction could be taken by following her parents’ wishes and waiting for marriage, so that proper attitudes could be learned by both the girl and the fellow. If, after a period of time, they still felt it was God’s will to marry, it would then be a lot easier for God to change the parents’ minds. (pg. 30)

There’s no discussion as to whether the parents might be mistaken, or have their own problems with being “the center of the stage.” He doesn’t seem curious as to why the young woman (she’s twenty-one; she isn’t a girl) was so anxious to be out of the house and married. It’s not even a consideration as to whether she can make this decision on her own, even if it’s bad. The answer is that she ought to “stay under authority” and let God change her parents’ minds.

Since that quiz was such fun, he then gives another one:

An eighteen-year-old boy plans to go into the ministry. He prays about what college to attend and finally chooses a top-ranking Bible college. His parents fail to comprehend the importance of either the ministry or the Bible education, and they threaten to withhold all college funds unless he attends a near-by university. Their counsel to him is that if he learns another profession first, he can always have something to fall back on if he fails in the ministry. The son’s points are that he doesn’t plan to fail in the ministry, and that he needs the Bible training. (pg. 29)

“How would you advise him?” One thing you figure out pretty early on is that your instinctive answer is always wrong. Gothard always has the right answer. It’s a subtle but devastating technique that he honed to a fine art in his Wisdom Booklets. In this case, his answer was as follows:

The father of the eighteen-year-old boy who planned to go into the ministry detected in his son attitudes of ungratefulness, stubbornness and insensitivity to the feelings of others. Even though the father wasn’t a Christian, he realized that these attitudes would cause his son to fail in the ministry. The very fact that his father had apprehensions of his failure in the ministry should have been a significant indication to the son. A proper response to his father’s counsel would have been an essential step in developing these qualities. (pg. 30)

I definitely sympathize with the father in this case. He had a much better outlook on life than a young, zealous eighteen-year-old. But this wasn’t presented as a young man (not a boy) who needed to listen to his father, but was free to make his own—possibly bad—decision. It was an illustration of a young man who should have heard God through his father’s opinion.

To reinforce this concept, Gothard then introduced us to the concept of the “Umbrella of Authority.”

No longer did we just hear God through our parents and other authorities; now, if we persisted on making our own decisions, we opened ourselves up to destruction.

Later, while studying Wisdom Booklet 15, a family learned more about God’s ordained structure of authority in the home. According to Gothard (who had exactly zero experience in marriage and raising children), it’s the husband’s role to develop the long-range vision for the family and lay down broad commands to accomplish those goals. His wife then implements these commands by creating “laws” for the household. There are dire consequences for a couple who doesn’t function this way:

… Many husbands have acknowledged that their motivation for spiritual pursuits can be quickly destroyed by negative attitudes or lack of enthusiasm from their wives.

When a husband gives a command to his family and the wife fails to work out the proper procedures to carry it out, many consequences may occur.

First, the father may attempt to give the laws himself. Very often, however, he is not sensitive to the needs and responses of the children; thus, he may be too harsh or demanding. The wife will then try to compensate by being more lenient than she should be, and the children will sense a divided authority.

Meanwhile, when the wife does not fulfill her function in the family, she will feel inadequate and inferior. She may try to compensate for these destructive feelings by withdrawing, reacting, or looking outside the family for her approval and fulfillment. (WB 15, pp. 615-616, first edition)

To Gothard’s audience, these “consequences” are terrifying. Nothing is more lethal to a family than “divided authority.” Unless this wife got back under authority and did her job, the entire family was doomed to rebellion, suffering, anger, and eventual destruction.

The most significant aspect of the teaching on authority was this: Bill Gothard somehow became the ultimate authority over his followers. It was no longer safe to question him or refuse to live by his standards. God and Satan both lurked outside the umbrella, ready to destroy rebellious families.

For the thousands of families enrolled in his “homeschool program,” Gothard provided the safe haven we needed.

Uncertain about how to please God? About what was acceptable dress, music, and entertainment? About what to do if sexual abuse was devastating our lives?

All we had to do was turn to Gothard, agree, and obey.

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES IN THIS SERIES
An ATI Education: Introduction
An ATI Education, Chapter 2: Is It Just Me?
An ATI Education, Chapter 3: Thou Shalt Not Trap the Eye
An ATI Education, Chapter 4: The Law of Grace
An ATI Education, Chapter 5: We the People Under Authority
An ATI Education, Final Chapter: Guilty Silence