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

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What Now? Life After ATI

Category Archives: What Now? Life After ATI

Clear as Mud

11 January 2012, 06:00

RyanR

Several years after I ended my formal association with IBLP (the Institute in Basic Life Principles), I did something wrong. What it was isn’t the point of this article. At first I didn’t think much about it, but later that evening, I began to feel guilty. Very guilty. As I had been trained to think […]

Energy Givers, Energy Wasters, and Energy Takers

28 December 2011, 05:00

Moderator

A teaching we heard often in ATI was the need to be an energy giver. Let me start by clarifying that I firmly believe that we ought to reach out to others, encourage them with smiles and kind words, look for ways to serve, and just generally be a friendly and nice person. But what […]

In The Hands Of Jesus

14 December 2011, 06:00

Moderator

Isaiah 49:16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. With Christmas just ahead of me and the teachings of the Institute of Basic Life Principles behind me, one reoccurring thought whirling around in my head lately comes straight from the book of Isaiah: I’ve been […]

The Little Things

30 November 2011, 06:30

ChristinS

I’ve been pondering quite a bit lately about how many “little” things were missed throughout the publications and teachings of the Institute in Basic Life Principles. I’m dumbfounded when I read a passage from the Bible that was well-known from my Advanced Training Institute studies, and realize that I know almost nothing about what the […]

Quiverfull or “Full of It?'”

9 November 2011, 06:00

RyanR

149

These days, the Duggars are the most well known family to have participated in the Advanced Training Institute (ATI). For those not familiar with ATI or the Quiverfull movement, the prospect of a family having 19 (going on 20) children is just mind boggling. Yet for those of us who grew up in ATI, having […]

Failing Formulas

2 November 2011, 06:30

Moderator

For 23 years I lived with the understanding that there is a formula for everything: “If you do A-B-C, the result will be X-Y-Z.” If I followed the steps of 1-2-3, I’d have a successful education. If I do exactly these things, my marriage will be perfect. If I operate by a specific code of […]

“Get Over It”

12 October 2011, 06:30

Aimee

Recently a friend of mine, “Kay,” who also went through the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) was told by an acquaintance to just get over it. This acquaintance had come out of the ATI program without too much trauma. However, Kay had gone through some pretty horrific experiences at the hands of those in charge of […]

A Letter From My Heart

5 October 2011, 06:00

Ed B

“My view of myself was so big when I felt I had to keep all the codes that my Savior was small in my thinking.”

Dear Friends, I’m 32 years old and married to my beautiful wife of 3 years. We have a 2-year-old boy and a 10-month-old girl and I love being their dad. In fact, baby #3 is in the oven and we are excited about our growing family! We don’t feel an obligation to fulfill God’s command […]

When Analogies and Anecdotes Dictated the Music Standard

21 September 2011, 06:30

RyanR

Anyone who has spent significant time under Bill Gothard’s teachings can tell you that he likes to use analogies to illustrate his points. While there is nothing wrong with analogies per se, they are a terrible basis upon which to build doctrine. Why? What happens when you come across two analogies that advocate opposite conclusions? […]

Dandelions

14 September 2011, 06:30

Moderator

LIVING HOLY. Why? Toward what end? By what motivation? For what purpose? My boys are still at that age where they eagerly “pick flowers for mommy” whenever they come across a patch of dandelions. Like many men stuck in the practicality of things, to my husband, they are clearly weeds. =) But to countless mommies […]