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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.

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From Clear Conscience to Clear Thinking: Journey from Guilt to Grace!

16 May 2013, 06:00

Moderator

While many entered the world of ATI (the Advanced Training Institute) as teenagers or young adults, I was one of those who began my journey quite young. Even though I didn’t understand my parents’ new found zeal for “Wisdom Booklets” on my first day of school, I gradually came to accept them as a regular part of […]

When We Criticize The Church

13 May 2013, 06:00

Micah J. Murray

We were sold a package deal. Truth and lies, hope and despair, real and fake — all tied up in a neat package with a bow and sold to us with the label of “Christianity.” The men in the suits with all the words told us that what they taught was true. They said it […]

When the Courtship Crashes

2 May 2013, 06:00

“Lindsey? Do you miss them?” The swing creaked as I pushed a blonde boy who attended our church.We came from different families, backgrounds, and were far apart in age, but today I’d been drawn to play with him by one thing in common. Our friends were gone. “Yeah.” “Did you tell them not to come […]

Set Free by Grace

26 April 2013, 06:00

Moderator

It was around 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning in June 2011. I was home for the weekend from the eating disorder hospital where I was in treatment. Asleep in bed, I woke up when my phone beeped for a text message. The name on the screen put fear in my heart. Terrified, I opened […]

When Asking “Why” Does Not Bring Answers

22 April 2013, 06:00

Moderator

Editor’s note: The following testimony references Bill Gothard’s “Why Did God Let It Happen?” teaching. This teaching has been delivered in several different formats, many of which do not directly reference sexual abuse. However, the Counseling Sexual Abuse document that was distributed at ATI (Advanced Training Institute) counseling seminars applies this teaching directly to sexual […]

How “Counseling Sexual Abuse” Blames and Shames Survivors

18 April 2013, 06:00

Moderator

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Versions of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) document “Counseling Sexual Abuse” were distributed at Advanced Training Institute (ATI) Counseling Seminars for over a decade. The document speaks for itself, but Recovering Grace would like to point out how victim-blaming and/or callous dismissal of abuse survivors’ pain is built into almost every one of […]

A Life Defined By Externals

15 April 2013, 06:00

Moderator

My story is an interesting one. Until I found Recovering Grace I did not know there were many others like me. When I was eight years old my mom and biological father divorced. Even as a child I understood why their divorce was necessary. People say I was born an adult. Within a year my mom re-married a […]

Why We Care About Sexual Abuse

4 April 2013, 06:00

Beverly

April is national Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Last year Recovering Grace dedicated the month of April to bringing these stories of darkness into the light, and we are doing so again this year. Why do we choose to focus our attention on this emotionally disturbing, heart-wrenching subject? It takes only a glance at today’s news […]

We Had Hoped

31 March 2013, 05:00

Micah J. Murray

Silence. Then suddenly, a breath. Cold air rushing into empty lungs. Grave clothes abandoned on a stone slab. An explosion of earth—shaking light. Hardened soldiers’ knees buckling. Trumpet blasts and angels singing and sunrise. Silence. Then the creaking of a boulder shifting. A cave opening. A dead man walking out of his grave more alive […]

God is Dead

30 March 2013, 06:00

Micah J. Murray

This is the second part of a Holy Week trilogy. Find part one here: “The God Who Bleeds.” Find part three here: “We Had Hoped.” God is dead, and we killed him. This is the terrifying reality of what we so cruelly call “Good Friday.” This is the sudden, dark twist in the story that […]