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

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

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Introducing our IBYC/IBLP Facebook Recovery Group

31 December 2015, 13:20

Moderator

24

One of the major problems with the teachings of Bill Gothard is that they are deeply intertwined with aspects of scripture that are indeed truth. Those who have experienced years or decades under such teachings often need the kind of help that can only come through discussing and sharing with others who have had similar […]

An ATI Education, Chapter 5: We the People Under Authority

23 December 2015, 06:00

Sara Jones

49

Rejecting your God-given authority doesn’t just affect your personal life. It can destroy a whole nation. I mean, just look at the French Revolution! In Wisdom Booklet 18, Gothard spends several pages discussing the the 18th century French Revolution. He chose as his “chief cause” the fact that many intellectuals of the day had rejected […]

An ATI Education, Chapter 4: The Law of Grace

17 December 2015, 14:18

Sara Jones

69

“If a woman doesn’t cry out when she’s raped, God holds her equally guilty with her attacker.” Bill Gothard states this outright in Wisdom Booklet 36; hundreds of people, most of them well-meaning Christians, read and accepted it. I was one of them. I wrote this series for Recovering Grace to give a glimpse into the long, […]

An ATI Education, Chapter 3: Thou Shalt Not Trap the Eye

14 December 2015, 12:15

Sara Jones

47

“Ye are the light of the world; a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.” According to Bill Gothard, this verse clearly directs women to avoid clothing with “eye traps” that might attract a man’s lustful attention.  As a quick recap, my previous articles explained: 1. Bill Gothard set himself up as the final authority […]

The Continuing Saga—Recent Developments with IBLP and Bill Gothard

18 November 2015, 11:13

Moderator

147

It has been more than 18 months since Bill Gothard resigned as president of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP). Since then, there has been relatively little public communication or activity from either Bill Gothard or IBLP, leading some to wonder whether the 50-year saga of this organization was coming to an end. Although for various […]

Negligence Lawsuit Filed Against IBLP

21 October 2015, 13:03

Moderator

283

Dear Recovering Grace Reader, Late yesterday afternoon we received an email from a Texas-based law firm notifying us that a lawsuit had been filed against the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) and its current board members, John Stancil, Anthony Burrus, Gil Bates, Timothy Levendusky, Stephen Paine, and David York. The lawsuit (which we have reviewed in its […]

An ATI Education, Chapter 2: Is It Just Me?

19 October 2015, 06:00

Sara Jones

102

“ATI is not user-friendly.” That was the opinion of one former Advanced Training Institute (ATI) student, now an adult, who skimmed over the materials that our parents had to work with. He was right. The Wisdom Booklets are the foundation of Gothard’s homeschool curriculum. There are 54 of them, and at a glance, they’re pretty impressive. […]

An ATI Education, Chapter 1: Under the Umbrella

15 October 2015, 06:00

Sara Jones

46

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 […]

An ATI Education: Introduction

12 October 2015, 06:00

Sara Jones

34

If a woman doesn’t cry out when she’s raped, God holds her equally guilty with her attacker. This biblical mandate is familiar to every student and parent who went through Bill Gothard’s Wisdom Booklet #36. Reading it as a bald statement like that, it’s hard to believe that a thinking Christian would admit to believing […]

Recovering Grace in the Media

17 September 2015, 21:12

Moderator

31

In the past two weeks, two major investigative reports were released in the media, both of which were focused on aspects of Bill Gothard and the IBLP and ATI organizations. Both of these reports utilized Recovering Grace spokespersons as sources. We found both of these articles to be exceptionally well-written, and their content to be much deeper […]