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

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I Remember…

25 February 2013, 06:00

Carolynn

I was nine when my parents decided to join the Advanced Training Institute (ATI). I have many memories of their decision and its effect on my life. I remember being extremely happy before joining ATI. Happy with how we were homeschooling (using a mix of curricula), happy that my parents started a homeschool group in […]

Me, the Pharisee

11 February 2013, 06:00

JoannaV

One of the things I respect my parents for is their constant search for truth. If I could convince my dad that he was wrong, he would apologize and correct our family’s future accordingly. This was a blessing and a curse. It meant that others could do the same. My dad had attended a Basic […]

Dear Grace: Letter From a Parent

7 February 2013, 06:00

Moderator

118

Dear Grace, As a former ATI (Advanced Training Institute) parent, I’ve appreciated many of the articles published on your site. They have opened my eyes to things that went on behind the scenes at IBLP (Institute in Basic Life Principles) and caused me to rethink much of what we were taught (and at one time […]

It’s All In Your Head!

4 February 2013, 06:04

HelenE

Bill Gothard teaches many things that are erroneous. Even dedicated followers admit the need to pick and choose. This story outlines only a few of them in relation to what I experienced starting in 1992. Bill’s teaching on mental illness is that it is caused by irresponsibility or a character deficiency. I disagree. I was […]

Words that Wound

31 January 2013, 06:00

Cyndi

Most of us have been there. You venture outside your pain and tell someone you have been spiritually abused. You test the waters, saying, “I’ve been hurt.” Sadly, others, especially those who profess Christ, can utter words that cut deep, invalidate your experience, and leave you like the traveler on the side of the road, […]

Identifying Religious Brainwashing: Doctrine Over Person

28 January 2013, 06:00

Stephen Smith

[Editor’s note: This is part 7 of an 8-part original series. Not all parts have been published on Recovering Grace. To read all 8 parts, please refer to the links below.] This is the seventh in an eight-part series on how to identify brainwashing in a destructive group or cult. It is based off of Dr. […]

Dear Mr. Gothard: One Student’s Letter

24 January 2013, 06:00

Moderator

Dear Mr. Gothard, I’m a former ATI student. I’m writing to you to explain why I no longer support IBLP/ATI, and why I’m involved with sites like Recovering Grace. You invited us to approach you “if” we have been offended. (You used wording, by the way, that you taught us we couldn’t use if we really wanted […]

How to Identify Religious Brainwashing ~ Part One

21 January 2013, 06:00

Stephen Smith

Aki Ray, a former child-soldier in Cambodia, is now one of the world’s foremost mine-clearing experts. He walks through the jungle looking for landmines and then defuses them one by one. He’s alive because he knows what to look for in the weeds. Can you identify the subtle signs of mind control? I couldn’t. That’s […]

Spiritual Abuse?

17 January 2013, 06:00

Eric Pazdziora

Do you think it is possible to be abused spiritually? What does that look like? Can we learn the signs? How can we tell if others have been spiritually abused? How does a person heal when things like prayer, scripture, and music, which many find comforting, have been used to wield damaging blows? When pulling […]

Parents in a Potemkin Village: Six Weeks in the Moscow Training Center

14 January 2013, 06:00

Diana Hall

A panoramic view of the Moscow Training Center assembled from four snapshots taken in Fall 1995

We entered the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) homeschool program when I was fifteen, and not much about my life changed. Our family attended functions here and there and added the Wisdom Booklets to our home school curriculum, but the more unique ATI teachings did not have much effect on us. Before we joined ATI we […]