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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.

Tag Archives: ati

The Brilliance of Bill Gothard

29 April 2015, 06:00

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Bill Gothard created a cult, and he did a fine job of it. He didn’t create a commune that physically isolated his followers from the rest of the world. He didn’t lead weird sessions with chanting and candles. He didn’t even come up with strange names for his teachings. He conducted his cult in the […]

The Truth About God’s Justice

21 April 2015, 06:00

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I grew up afraid of God’s justice. Though my parents were well-balanced in meting out mercy and discipline (very well-balanced considering we went to a Gothardite church), I always imagined God coming down from heaven with a sword of justice in hand, ready to punish all of us for our sins. He had just enough […]

Through the Tainted Window

14 April 2015, 06:00

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Through a cold and tainted window Of reflections from my past I watched silent from a distance At a life that I once had   The movement of the players Well rehearsed and finely tuned Not one line misspoken Not a person missed a queue   I touched the darkened window As if my soul […]

Belonging

9 April 2015, 06:00

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In groups like the Advanced Training Institute, we have an identity and a community. We might not always like it, but it gives us a level of security. We are surrounded by people who think like us. We speak a different language from other people around us, using words like “courtship,” “motivational gift,” “rhema” and […]

In Search of Peace

2 April 2015, 06:00

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One of my earliest memories was walking down the hall from my Sunday school class to the sanctuary, pondering in perfect happiness the most important thing I knew: Jesus loved me, and his Father, God, loved me. They loved me even more than my Mommy and Daddy loved me. And that’s how much I loved […]

Ignorance Is Not Bliss

31 March 2015, 06:00

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Ever since our pastor announced that Bill Gothard stepped down, I feel like I have been in a state of shock. I have always been famous for saying, “Ignorance is not bliss.” Now I know just how right I was. I have to reconcile myself to the fact that I was living in ignorance, and […]

IBYC Board Minutes 1977-1980

4 January 2015, 08:23

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For readers interested in the corporate governance of the Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts (IBYC, now IBLP, Institute in Basic Life Principles) during the period leading up to and through the Scandal of 1980, the minutes from Board of Directors meetings are attached.  Some names have been redacted, including those of victims caught up in the […]

The Package: Bill Gothard and His Children

1 January 2015, 00:00

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    Bill Gothard and His Children: The Unauthorized Short Biography   Image of envelope copyright: kchung / 123RF Stock Photo

The Package: Bill Gothard’s Knowledge of Sin

29 December 2014, 00:00

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Suggested viewing from IBYC management for the publication staff, photographed on the sidewalk outside HQ. 1980

    Detailed Knowledge Summary Bill Gothard has denied publicly — for 34 years — that he ever had any knowledge of any details of immorality before April of 1980 (the first time that Tony asked to meet Bill privately with a report of what was being discovered). Gothard has made this denial to the […]

IBYC According to Bryen – 1975

27 December 2014, 00:00

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In hindsight, David R. Bryen’s thesis is remarkably accurate on many counts.  Published in 1975 and titled “An Evaluation of the Theological, Hermeneutical and Psychological Assumptions of the Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts,” this 126-page document was an unprecedented analysis of Gothard’s teachings. Why was Bryen so well aware of the dangers of Bill Gothard’s teachings […]