Perspectives | Recovering Grace

Have you Shiny Happy People? Looking for more info? Start here.

Articles about how Bill Gothard mishandles the Bible to support his legalistic viewpoint.

Personal testimonies of finding true freedom through God's matchless grace.

Living and thriving through the grace of God.

Stories and accounts of the destruction caused by the teachings of Bill Gothard.

You are here:

Home
Perspectives

Category Archives: Perspectives

Safety or Superstition?

17 March 2013, 14:50

WendyA

The deeper I move into traditional realms of theological thought, the more I am convinced that one of the biggest dangers in the teachings of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) is that it teaches a subtle form of superstitious determinism. Rather than being free to live our lives without fear, we are taught […]

Stolen Treasures

11 March 2013, 05:00

Moderator

143

A recent article on Recovering Grace, entitled “Moving On,” prompted me to think about the reason it is so difficult to move forward after being victimized by legalism. As I have worked with those hurt by legalism over the years, I have often heard stories about what happened five, ten, maybe thirty years ago. These […]

Confido

28 February 2013, 06:00

Moderator

Confido by Will Boyd I was taught that what “we believe” is right That familiarity must be good That strong convictions make perfect faith I was challenged, sharpened, sent out into the world To argue for the validity of what “we know” The “world” couldn’t see it, they just saw minority opinions and naïveté And […]

Les Miserables: The Struggle between Grace and Legalism – Part 2

21 February 2013, 06:00

Kathleen Reynolds

Continued from Part One… {Spoiler Alert! This article gives a detailed analysis of the movie Les Miserables} Because Javert was so bent on seeing justice served, he was disturbed by Valjean’s successful escape. In the musical, he then sings “Stars” — an absolutely gorgeous piece, majestic and determined. I still remember the very first time […]

Les Miserables: The Struggle between Legalism and Grace – Part 1

18 February 2013, 06:00

Kathleen Reynolds

{Spoiler Alert! This article gives a detailed analysis of the movie Les Miserables} I have long loved the story of Jean Valjean’s redemption. I grew up watching a little-known movie version of the story, and read the book when I was 12 or 13. The fact that Valjean served 19 years hard labor for stealing […]

Dear Grace: Letter From a Parent

7 February 2013, 06:00

Moderator

118

Dear Grace, As a former ATI (Advanced Training Institute) parent, I’ve appreciated many of the articles published on your site. They have opened my eyes to things that went on behind the scenes at IBLP (Institute in Basic Life Principles) and caused me to rethink much of what we were taught (and at one time […]

Dear Grace: Overbearing Parents

10 January 2013, 06:00

Moderator

208

Dear Grace, I am 26 years old with a good head on my shoulders, and am currently in a courtship with a 29-year-old man who has a solid career, is in church leadership, and loves the Lord and me. I’ve always been obedient to my parents and done whatever they’ve told me in the area […]

Christmas Eve Reflections

24 December 2012, 06:00

Moderator

Great stories have great beginnings. And perhaps one of the greatest stories in the world began with something so small that the eye of man cannot see it–the seed of human life. It is almost unfathomable that God, the Creator of the universe in which we find ourselves, could deign to become a part of […]

Peering Underneath the Umbrella: Musings on Gothardism

3 December 2012, 06:00

Moderator

In recent days, I’ve been reading a bit about Gothardism on various websites, and it has brought back a lot of memories. Growing up, my family never went hardcore into the ATI (Advanced Training Institute) program, and we would still be considered on the outer fringes by the inner circle members. We were actually very “worldly” […]

Lucky Charms

1 November 2012, 06:00

MatthewS

167

We did not eat sugary breakfast cereal when I was a kid, so I never acquired a taste for the oh-so-healthy bowl of fancy shapes known as Lucky Charms. In college, I began to play roller hockey and was introduced to the fanaticism that some hockey players have for a different sort of lucky charm. […]