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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: parents

Rethinking Grace

15 October 2012, 06:00

Carolynn

106

As I’ve discussed with my parents various teachings I learned through the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) and through the homeschooling curriculum published by the Advanced Training Institute of America (ATIA), I’ve frequently heard from them, “We never taught you that!” They are sometimes defensive and sometimes horrified at the concepts I absorbed as […]

The Ravages of Guilt

8 October 2012, 06:00

Moderator

13

“If you say anything, I will tie up your family, just like I tie you up. Then I will make you sit there and watch as I kill each one of them in front of you. Will I kill you? No! You I will leave alive, so that you can spend every day of your […]

Here’s The Courtship; Where’s The Love?

25 July 2012, 06:00

Moderator

52

When I was twelve, my parents came home and said, “Just so you know, you’re never going to be allowed to date.” This was fine by me; I was more into books than socializing. In fact, although I had a speech prepared on why I didn’t date, I never did get to use it. Still […]

If Mama Ain’t Happy . . .

9 July 2012, 06:00

Moderator

23

I was in high school when I first went to a Basic and Advanced Seminar, and my family enrolled in the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) homeschool program. Prior to that, my folks hadn’t attended a Basic Seminar in nearly a decade. While they appreciated what they had learned the first time around, they didn’t implement […]

He Was Supposed to Protect Us

2 July 2012, 06:00

Moderator

12

The relationship between my step-dad and myself has always been a little different than a normal father-daughter relationship. For most of my life, I thought of him only as my dad, never putting “step” in front of it, because he was the only man to ever fill that spot in my life. I started using […]

Finding My Self Worth

28 May 2012, 06:00

LeeAnn

5

I had thought my anger was long past. I was convinced that I had forgiven and moved forward. And here I am. Over the past several months I have learned new things about myself and about others within ATI (the Advanced Training Institute) that have caused the tears to flow… again. Sometimes in a healing […]

To My Daughter

14 May 2012, 06:00

Moderator

40

Dear one, I am sorry for all the mistakes I made along the way. I looked to a program to validate what we believed we should do for our children by home educating them. I was more concerned about finishing the “race” (all the required booklets) and having good reports to send off to Headquarters, […]

Sexual Harassment Part 2: “Aren’t you making too big an issue of this?”

23 April 2012, 06:00

Moderator

153

Editor’s Note: This is Part 2 of a two-part article documenting sexual harassment within the Institute. Please click here to read Part 1 first–“Exploited Innocence: Sexual Harassment at HQ.” After publishing this first testimony, we have continued to receive similar testimonies of sexual harassment by Gothard: Another Witness: Sexual Harassment at HQ; Third Witness: Sexual […]

Exploited Innocence: Sexual Harassment at HQ

20 April 2012, 06:00

Moderator

231

Editor’s Note: While most of our articles this month have focused on sexual abuse, this article focuses specifically on sexual harassment experienced while in the employment of Bill Gothard. The dictionary defines sexual harassment as, “The persistent unwelcome directing of sexual remarks and looks, and unnecessary physical contact at a person, usually a woman, especially […]

A Difficult Journey

17 April 2012, 06:00

Moderator

61

“I want to die, I want to die! I can’t take it anymore!!” I remember screaming that as loud as I could in the middle of the woods while punching a tree until my fists bled and I slumped down on the ground from exhaustion. I was 10 years old and felt so hopeless I […]