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| Duggars keynote speakers for IBLP 2014 conferences |
Bill Gothard has recently resigned from an institute he founded, the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP). IBLP (also known as ATI) is a pseudo-Christian ministry that advocates for homeschooling, but is also a systematized form of legalism and extrabiblical rules, including strictly supervised courtship dating and a ban on all secular music and movies. The IBLP principles are very popular within the Quiverfull movement, which the Duggar family in the popular 19 Kids and Counting television show adhere to. (The Duggars are slated to speak at several IBLP conferences in 2014.) Gothard's resignation comes on the heels of recent abuse allegations documented by the Recovering Grace website.
Bill Gothard made it to 79 years of age, lived the life that he planned out, and now, resigns, leaving unbelievable human wreckage behind him. Why it takes so long for these monsters to be outed, I will never understand. And most of his followers will just claim it was a set up to tear down a Great Man of God. None so blind as those who will not see.
For many in fundamentalism, he was like a Mormon-style influence. He produced clean cut kids and families that looked so good coming out of the 60's anarchy. It was a natural response from parents genuinely concerned about drug use, promiscuity, etc. in the culture. But where the local churches should have been doing their job, a whiz bang parachurch ministry stepped in and took over. Wrong. Wrong and wrong. That was problem #1. The actual teachings were the biggest problem.
Ironically, Protestants who rejected even the concept of a Pope in theory had no hesitation in following the teachings of one man on nearly every aspect of their lives, including sex and contraception, nutrition, family, even medical information which was proven false and dangerous. He was far more of a pope than the Pope, frankly.
Additional Resources
Josh Duggar's Infidelity Outed in Ashley Madison Website Hack (Sola Sisters)
Growing Up Gothard (The Gospel Coalition)
An Open Letter to Bill Gothard's IBLP
A Beginner's Guide To Growing Up Gothard (Ron Henzel)
Conservative Leader Bill Gothard Resigns Following Abuse Allegations (Religion News Service)
When Having Kids Is A Religious Experience (ABC News)
Quiverfull: More Children For God's Army (Newsweek writer Kathryn Joyce)
Inside the Duggar Family's Conservative Ideology (Newsweek, Kathryn Joyce)
Recovering Grace
The Duggars, Bill Gothard, Vision Forum, and The Quiverful Movement (I am aware that some of the links in this article are no longer active, but this article still gives a quick thumbnail sketch of Bill Gothard, the Duggars, Vision Forum, Hyper-Patriarchy and the Quiverfull Movement, and how they are connected)
Midwest Christian Outreach
A Matter of Basic Principles: Bill Gothard and the Christian Life
Josh Duggar, Mike Huckabee and Fodder for Progressives
Is Jesus a Sinner According to Bill Gothard’s Teachings?
If Bill Gothard is Wrong, Then What’s Right?
Bill Gothard: Who Knew What and When? A Question of Accountability
ATIdentity
Bill Gothard’s Analogous Teachings
Bill Gothard; Déjà vu All Over Again
Bill Gothard and the Continuing Sex Scandal
Bill Gothard - Truly Repentant?
Leveraging Lunacy: How Bill Gothard Rode a Wave of Evangelical Goofiness
Four part series on Bill Gothard
- Part 1, Bill Gothard's Evangelical Talmud
- Part 2, Bill Gothard's Chain of Authority
- Part 3, Bill Gothard and the Law
- Part 4, Bill Gothard's Mystical Approach to Medical Issues
An Evening With Bill Gothard
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| From the Institute in Basic Living Principles (IBLP) website http://iblp.org/seminars-conferences/regional-conferences |
