Upon Further Review--Twisted Scriptures | Recovering Grace

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

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Upon Further Review--Twisted Scriptures

Category Archives: Upon Further Review--Twisted Scriptures

There You Go Again—An Open Letter to Bill Gothard (1997)

5 September 2013, 06:00

Moderator

There You Go Again1 BILL GOTHARD AND “THE FACTS” An Open Letter by Ronald B. Allen, Th.D. 7 November 1997 An on-again/off-again interaction-through-intermediaries between Bill Gothard and me seems to be on-again. The newest provocation was the publication last month of the first in a series of four articles critical of the Gothard ministry. The article […]

Issues of Concern—Bill Gothard and the Bible (1984)

2 September 2013, 05:00

Moderator

162

A Report by Ronald B. Allen, Th.D. Professor of Hebrew Scripture Western Baptist Seminary, Portland, Oregon May 30, 1984 The week that I spent at Basic Youth Conflicts in 1973 (Portland) was one of the most difficult of my life. In this seminar I was regularly assaulted by a misuse of the Bible, particularly of […]

Fellow Fundamentalists Denounced Gothard’s “Chain of Command” (1974)

26 August 2013, 06:00

Moderator

In the November 1974 issue of “The Projector,” a newsletter for Christian Fundamentalists, editor Dr. Dayton Hobbs challenged Bill Gothard’s “Chain of Command.” You can read the entire issue here: http://www.theprojector.org/projectors/nov1974.pdf As with most issues of “The Projector,” much attention is given to separation from non-fundamentalist influences. (Dr. Hobbs did not foresee how severely Gothard […]

Garments of Salvation

22 July 2013, 06:00

Eric Pazdziora

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and […]

Wisdom Books and the Beatitudes: Post-It Notes On A Work of Art

27 May 2013, 06:00

Kevin

Sometime last year I told my wife that the pastoral staff of our church were preparing a series on the Sermon on the Mount. Having not grown up in the ATI world (in the Advanced Training Institute), I had not anticipated her less-than-enthusiastic response: “Yeah, I’ve had enough teaching on THAT to last me my […]

The Gospel of Pragmatism

9 May 2013, 06:00

Moderator

Pragmatism is basically the idea that positive results are sufficient criteria for determining value, even truth. In other words: if it works, use it. One of the most famous pragmatists was a man known as Nicollo Machiavelli. For Machiavelli, the goal of a strong and controlled kingdom was worth whatever it would take to get […]

How “Counseling Sexual Abuse” Blames and Shames Survivors

18 April 2013, 06:00

Moderator

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Versions of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) document “Counseling Sexual Abuse” were distributed at Advanced Training Institute (ATI) Counseling Seminars for over a decade. The document speaks for itself, but Recovering Grace would like to point out how victim-blaming and/or callous dismissal of abuse survivors’ pain is built into almost every one of […]

Behind Every Good Man…

30 July 2012, 06:00

Moderator

The concept of authority is central to Bill Gothard’s teachings. So much so, that I remember performing a coronation ceremony crowning my dad “king” of our family as a Wisdom Booklet project. I was 16 at the time, and struggling with authority being defined as dad’s complete control over every aspect of my life. My […]

Father’s Day and the Mystical Hedge of Protection

6 July 2012, 06:00

Moderator

On Father’s Day 2012, Bill Gothard made an interesting choice of subject matter for an email to fathers subscribed to his email list (click here to read it). While we recognize that his intent was to encourage fathers, we feel that there were several issues within the email that are greatly troubling. And while we […]

Grace…Fully Loaded

29 June 2012, 06:00

Moderator

Years ago I learned a little acronym that was supposed to help me understand the meaning of grace: “God’s riches at Christ’s expense.” I suppose there is truth in the phrase, but it doesn’t really clarify this thing called grace. Later I learned another definition of grace: “The desire and ability to do God’s will.” […]