Recovering Grace » A Bill Gothard generation shines light on the teachings of IBLP and ATIabuse

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
abuse

Tag Archives: abuse

Twelve Characteristics of Fundamentalist Societies that Shelter Sexual Abuse

30 April 2014, 09:00

Moderator

163

How could he have fooled so many people, so thoroughly? How did the abuse go on for so many years, unacknowledged? Whenever a leader at this level is ousted or steps down, questions like these come to mind. In the wake of revelations of sexual harassment and abuse pouring in from survivors of Bill Gothard’s […]

Finding the Words to Say, “No More”

28 April 2014, 05:58

Moderator

107

When I was fourteen years old I was diagnosed with a very rare, very aggressive cancer. To be able to start my treatment, we learned, I would need to go to a hospital in a different city. There we met the oncologist responsible for heading up my treatment protocol. He was my future abuser. At […]

There Is No Victim: A Survey of IBLP Literature on Sexual Assault and Abuse

25 April 2014, 21:59

Moderator

153

Today, Recovering Grace looks at past Advanced Training Institute (ATI) and Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) materials that address the topics of sexual abuse, child molestation within a nuclear family, and domestic violence. This is not presented as an exhaustive survey, but is the full range of printed Institute material on these topics that […]

A Long Night’s Journey Through the ATI / IBLP System

24 April 2014, 06:00

Moderator

214

I grew up in Bill Gothard’s Advanced Training Institute of America (ATIA, later renamed ATI) home school program from 1985 through 2005 — twenty years! I worked at five different Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) training centers run by Bill Gothard and his staff, as well as working at IBLP Headquarters in Oak Brook, […]

Our Response to Bill Gothard’s Statement

22 April 2014, 10:30

Moderator

359

Bill Gothard released a long-awaited public statement last Thursday evening, April 17, 2014, regarding his resignation from the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP). We at Recovering Grace have spent several days processing this statement and considering our response. We see several positive aspects to this letter. Gothard generally acknowledges that the Christian life is […]

How Could This Happen Here?

15 April 2014, 08:42

Moderator

101

Recovering Grace will observe Sexual Assault Awareness Month for the remainder of April. In April 2012 and 2013, we published some very difficult stories of sexual abuse in ATI [Advanced Training Institute] families. Some critics objected that these families were extreme outliers within the program, and that ATI and IBLP have never condoned sexual […]

Rebuffed Are the Peacemakers

18 March 2014, 06:00

Moderator

Recovering Grace Interviewed on Christian Talk Radio

17 March 2014, 18:37

Moderator

Two members of Recovering Grace’s Leadership Team were interviewed today on “Issues, Etc,” a Christian talk radio show that aired in the midwest. In the 40-minute interview, Dr. John Cornish and Mrs. Kari Underwood share some of their personal history growing up in the Institute in Basic Life Principles, the formation of Recovering Grace, and […]

Realization, Fear, and Action without Acquiescence: Joy Wood’s Story

13 March 2014, 06:00

Moderator

Joy and her daughters, c. 1980

Editor’s Note: Joy Wood, an IBYC staff wife from 1974–1980, tells in today’s post of her and her husband’s time with the Institute, and of their resignation when asked to promote “lies of omission” after the 1980 scandal broke. This narrative, combined with Joy’s reflections composed shortly after her family left IBYC, records a journey […]

The GOTHARD Files: Failure to Reconcile 1981–ATI, part two

8 March 2014, 06:00

Moderator

120

Today’s post is a continuation of yesterday’s article. Accountability The LA Committee was launching its own massive last-ditch effort to hold Bill accountable. Using their personal funds, the committee drafted a unified letter dated January 19, 1981, with a list of 28 questions they wanted answered, stating that in spite of their removal from seminar […]