Bill Gothard was probably the one conservative person my parents loved but I hated. I liked Ken Ham, Dr. Dobson, Josh McDowell, and all of the marriage materials and speakers for women, but even I drew the line at Bill Gothard. (See my People and Terminology page for an overview of Bill Gothard.) At first, I liked what he said a lot–until I put it into practice and saw that it didn’t work. I was bitterly disappointed that I did not receive the results he promised if we put his principles into practice. The second time my parents made me go to one of his seminars, my brother Nate and I scowled through it. When they went to his anger management class, I refused to go. Looking back, I am kind of surprised they didn’t make me. They told me that the fact that I was so angry about not wanting to go was proof that I needed it. Also in hindsight, I completely understand why I was so angry.

Gothard had some bizarre views, and tried to apply Old Testament laws to modern day society, citing science, history, and other theological principles to back up his claims. His ministry has been accused of being cult-like, and really  as I studied psychology, I realized that while neither of us were raised in an actual cult, both my brother and I have symptoms of those who were. And we were raised on the mild end of extreme, so I can’t even imagine growing up in an even more extreme home. I remember him teaching us about how Christians often ignore the Old Testament, but it is not inapplicable. I remember his model of authority, and how he advocated extreme obedience to one’s parents: if you weren’t married, then what your parents said stood. If your parents didn’t want you to go to college, or if they wanted you to study something different, you had to do it. This obligation to one’s parents was  binding until either marriage or their deaths (or yours, whichever came first). He also advocates sexual practices found in Old Testament laws: refraining while the woman is menstruating and a few days before and after. Though he never used the word “Quiverfull,” he spoke at length how children were a blessing and people would be blessed for having as many as possible. I didn’t know what to think about that, and rode the fence on my feelings about birth control until much later. My mother came home feeling a bit guilty for stopping at three, and expressed to me how she wishes they’d had more children. I recall thinking his principles for debt management were completely unrealistic unless one never went to college or happened to have good luck their entire life.  I’ll write more on his kooky principles later, when I can remember them a bit more clearly. There are too many to list here anyways.

Bill Gothard, Answers in Genesis, the Southern Baptist Convention: at first glance they all seem so benign, but they’re not. They want to take over the classroom and the government for Christ. They want prayer back in schools, Creationism taught, laws to be made on the basis of whether or not they are Biblical. On a smaller scale, they prefer women to stay at home, raise children, and submit to their husbands. These rigid gender roles put strain on both men and women. It’s simply not an emotionally healthy way to live. I can say that having lived it and loved it for much of my life. But when it started to crumble, I found that I had been standing on a very shaky foundation. Respectful debate, criticism, and questioning to keep these movements in check is needed.

Even though I didn’t like him, he has had more influence on my life than I care to admit. Some of his less extreme principles stuck with me. I can even remember catching myself one day as an atheist behaving according to his ideas out of habit. Today, Gothard has faded into the background a bit. Their “currently available media coverage” articles date back to 2003 with nothing newer. Now they are a more hidden influence on the Quiverfull movement and the ALERT academy.

Tags: Bill Gothard, Christianity, conservative, fundamentalism

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 28th, 2009 at 5:52 am and is filed under Bible and Theology, Memories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.