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Bill Gothard

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Bill Gothard (born November 2, 1934) is a conservative Christian conference speaker and founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) (formerly known as "Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts), based in Oak Brook, Illinois. This organization "brings in an estimated profit of at least $63 million annually."

His conferences focus on family relationships and specializing in "youth conflicts." His solution to family and youth problems is a conservative, some argue ultraconservative, view of family life. Critics of Gothard and IBLP claim that his views are authoritarian and legalistic in nature, and that he does not always "practice what he preaches".

Biography

In 1964, Gothard's alma mater, Wheaton College, invited him to design and teach a course based on his work with youth. The course was given the name Basic Youth Conflicts; two hours of upper-division undergraduate and graduate credit were awarded to students completing the course. Forty-six students, youth pastors, and teachers registered for that first class. The next year 120 students enrolled in Basic Youth Conflicts.

Gothard gained popularity in the 1970's due to his calls for strong authority in a time of social unrest. His calls were a product of deeply conservative evangelicalism. He was ordained by LaGrange Bible Church in suburban Chicago. Since then the Basic Youth Conflicts (later referred to as Basic Seminars) grew and attendance averaged between 10,000 and 20,000. Yet, due to sex scandals and allegations "at one time the seminars could attract capacity crowds to major indoor sports arenas even twice in the same year, now they can hardly fill all the seats in local church auditoriums."

In 1996, Character Training Institute (CTI) was started (with help from businessman Thomas A. Hill) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and helps instill the values of following "authority" into hundreds of elementary, middle and high schools, state and city offices, corporations, police departments and jails. This includes a "Police Dymanics class," which "in a nutshell, is biblical wisdom that's been packaged into a law enforcement message," is what CTI instructor Ray Nash told Rev. Mark Creech in a November 2004 article for Alan Keyes' RenewAmerica Web site." Currently "160 cities ranging from Compton, California, to Hamburg, New York, 31 counties, and seven states—Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Carolina—have now passed "character" resolutions and proclamations based on CTI's teachings and materials." Current board members include Texas Republican Representative Sam Johnson.

His seminars teach that unmarried children should honor their parents even if they are adults and that unmarried adult children should continue to live at home until marriage. If they never do marry they should remain with parents until death. This was true of Gothard (who has never married, and who lived with his parents until their deaths). Similarly, divorce is never acceptable for any reason, and a person who is divorced should seek (if possible) to reunite with their spouse – even if the divorce took place before the person became a Christian – and if not possible should never remarry.

Gothard distrusts modern medicine and organized the "Medical Training Institute of America," which publishes Basic Care Newsletters full of Gothard's teachings. This has led to criticism that Gothard is "practicing medicine without a license", though Gothard has never been legally charged with such.

Gothard also discourages the listening to contemporary Christian music; encourages homeschooling and publishes its own homeschool material; and claims borrowing money for any reason, even a home mortgage, is wrong (though he did not advocate home mortgages to be wrong during the earlier years of his ministry). Gothard protested against the Cabbage Patch Kids because Cabbage Patch Kids or Treasure Trolls could lead to difficulties in conceiving or giving birth to a child (see January 1996 Basic Care Newsletter), and has discouraged the use of contraceptives or other family planning.

In 2004, Gothard received his Ph.D. from Louisiana Baptist University, an unaccredited school.

Controversies and criticism

Gothard has been criticized by two groups devoted to the "counter-cult and apologetics ministry". One group is called Midwest Christian Outreach (MCO), a group consisting of 5 board members, including president Don Veinot and his wife. Don Veinot wrote a book that was critical of Gothard. MCO publishes a quarterly journal that has criticized Gothard on occasion. Another critical group is Personal Freedom Outreach (PFO), a group devoted to the exposing what it believes are cultic movements. PFO consists of 10 people that publish a quarterly journal.

PFO published criticism about Gothard in three basic areas: a view that Gothard's views are legalistic teachings and interpretations of Scripture, a belief that IBLP and its adherents exhibit a "cult-like" mentality, and concern about Gothard's application of authoritarianism within his own organization. Gothard was also accused by some of being hyprocritical for not practing what he preaches about conflict resolution.

Much of the criticism of Gothard originated from Don Venoit's book A Matter of Basic Life Principles: Bill Gothard and the Christian Life 21st Century Press (2002). (Venoit was later criticized himself for hypocrisy following his involvement in a child abuse scandal on May 11, 2003.) Some controversy was created when Bill Gothard's brother admitted to having affairs with a number of secretaries in the IBLP ministry.

Gothard was also criticized in a song by Christian rock musician Steve Taylor. Gothard preaches against modern Christian musicians and specifically he had mentioned negative things about Taylor.

Books

See also

Footnotes

  1. Silja J.A. Talvi "Cult of Character" In These Times January 9, 2006
  2. Ron Henzel "Bill Gothard and Institute in Basic Life Principles" Midwest Christian Outreach 2006
  3. Silja J.A. Talvi "Cult of Character" In These Times January 9, 2006
  4. G. Richard Fisher, "A Study in Evolving Fadism: The Cultic Leanings of Bill Gothard's Teachings", Personal Freedom Outreach Quarterly Journal, April-June 1996.
  5. Ron Henzel "Bill Gothard and Institute in Basic Life Principles" Midwest Christian Outreach 2006
  6. Rich Poll, "Exegeting Bill Gothard". Christianity Today March, 2003.
  7. Don Veinot, Ron Henzel, and Joy Veinot. A Matter of Basic Principles: Bill Gothard & the Christian Life. 21st Century Press, 2002. ISBN 0971700923

External links

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