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

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

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Tag Archives: legalism

Anti-Law

7 October 2013, 06:00

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Grace 101 Over the past several Grace 101 posts I have focused on the parable of the sower from Matthew 13 to give us a structure for looking at enemies of grace. I started with the trampled or trodden path, the hard ground that would not let the seed take root. But other enemies take […]

“Rocky” Arguments and a Double Standard

3 October 2013, 06:00

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Many people over the years have expressed concern with the way Bill Gothard misuses Scripture—not to mention basic logic—in his attempts to validate his dogmatic pseudo-spiritual requirements for “successful” living. A friend of mine recently shared a document (pictured) obtained while attending an IBLP (Institute in Basic Life Principles) conference on effective communication. In […]

The Cave

26 September 2013, 06:00

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Once upon a time, there was a cave, and in this cave, there were a group of people who were captives. They had been there since birth and knew no other life. Indeed, they did not even know they were captives. These captives were chained in such a way that they were always looking at […]

From Rules to Grace

23 September 2013, 06:00

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In the past few years, since I have expressed many disagreements with the theology of Bill Gothard, ATI (Advanced Training Institute), and his parent ministry, IBLP (Institute in Basic Life Principles), I have invariably been asked how ATI had negatively impacted my life. Here is my story. My family joined ATI in the ‘90s. It […]

Too Good to be True

16 September 2013, 06:00

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Grace 101 Let’s face it. If we are pointing out enemies of grace, particularly those areas where the path is hard from years of tradition and wrong thinking, we don’t have to go any farther than our own minds. I define the flesh as the system we developed to handle life. Perhaps we could broaden […]

Issues of Concern—Bill Gothard and the Bible (1984)

2 September 2013, 05:00

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A Report by Ronald B. Allen, Th.D. Professor of Hebrew Scripture Western Baptist Seminary, Portland, Oregon May 30, 1984 The week that I spent at Basic Youth Conflicts in 1973 (Portland) was one of the most difficult of my life. In this seminar I was regularly assaulted by a misuse of the Bible, particularly of […]

Fellow Fundamentalists Denounced Gothard’s “Chain of Command” (1974)

26 August 2013, 06:00

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In the November 1974 issue of “The Projector,” a newsletter for Christian Fundamentalists, editor Dr. Dayton Hobbs challenged Bill Gothard’s “Chain of Command.” You can read the entire issue here: http://www.theprojector.org/projectors/nov1974.pdf As with most issues of “The Projector,” much attention is given to separation from non-fundamentalist influences. (Dr. Hobbs did not foresee how severely Gothard […]

Life Isn’t a Role-Playing Game: Part One

15 August 2013, 06:00

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“Your face…I don’t know what it is, but it’s like it’s glowing!” That comment was made by a character in one of my favorite role-playing games (RPGs). For those who don’t know, RPGs are a fascinating video game genre in which the game player must create a character and develop his or her skills, abilities, […]

The Dreaded “B” Word

12 August 2013, 06:00

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During the healing process of leaving ATI (or any other legalistic group) and discovering Jesus Christ and His gospel, there is often a very painful transition for individuals as they must face all the lies they believed, lies which are often coupled with a long history of injustices and abuse. I like to compare this […]

Experiencing Freedom

1 August 2013, 06:00

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I remember the day I was saved. It was after church on a rainy night, by my little bed, just before being tucked in. That was the day I asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me. I wasn’t a horrible sinner, being not quite five, but I knew that I did and […]