Bill Gothard
Encyclopedia
William W. Gothard (born November 2, 1934) is an American
Christian
minister, speaker and writer, and the founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles
(IBLP), notable for his ultraconservative teachings. Among the several strong distinctives of his teaching have been encouragement of Bible
memorization, large families, homeschooling
, aversion to debt
, respect
for authority
and extended principles related to identity
, family
, education
, healthcare, music
and finances
.
At the height of his popularity during the 1970's, the Basic Youth Conflicts seminar with Bill Gothard was regularly filling auditoriums throughout the United States and beyond with attendance figures as large as ten thousand and more for a one-week seminar. In this way, he reached many in the evangelical
community from the Baby Boomer generation during their teen years and years of young adulthood. Other seminars during this time included an advanced youth conflicts seminar and as well as seminars for pastors
, physicians
and legislators
. Bill Gothard has credited a large influence to his parents and father, William Gothard, Sr. was a speaker at many seminars during the early years. William Gothard Sr. held high positions at organizations that included the Gideons, Child Evangelism Fellowship
and Pacific Garden Mission
in Chicago.
in 1957 and an M.A. in Christian Education in 1961 from the same institution.
Gothard started an organization in 1961 called Campus Teams, which in 1974 changed its name to Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts. Later, in 1989, the organization's name changed again to Institute in Basic Life Principles
(IBLP), of which Gothard is currently the president and a board member.
The design principle is that people should understand their specific purpose for which God created them. This is a similar principle that launched Rick Warren's best selling book, The Purpose Driven Life
. Once a person understands his/her purpose and the purpose for other people, objects, and relationships in their life, then harmony and self-acceptance are the result.
The authority principle is that inward peace results when people respect and honor the authorities (parents, government, etc.) that God has put in their lives. One controversial aspect of this teaching is that the husband is the authority figure in marriage. While this principle is clearly Biblical (Ephesians 5, for example), some modern day Christians believe that this view is outdated.
The responsibility principle is that a clear conscience results when people realize that they are responsible to God for every thought, word, action, and motive. Part of this principle is asking forgiveness from whomever has been offended. Personal responsibility begins with a person's thought life.
The suffering principle teaches people to forgive others for the pain that they have caused you. It further teaches that pain is often a tool that God uses to develop character.
The ownership principle teaches that people are stewards, not owners, of their possessions. Gothard teaches that when a person yields their rights to God, true security results.
The freedom principle is enjoying the desire and the power to do what is right. Moral purity is the result of true freedom. This is probably the most controversial principle because many of the examples of "wrong" like certain types of music and dress are not generally accepted as being "sinful" even by those claiming to be evangelical Christians.
The success principle is that when people learn to think God's thoughts by meditating on and memorizing scripture, they make wise decisions and fulfill their life purposes.
In addition to the Basic Seminar, Gothard also has an Advanced Seminar and an Anger Resolution Seminar. He also has a 49-week "Daily Success" series where he expounds on the "Commands of Christ" found in the Gospels.
Gothard's "Total Health" training seeks to bring a Biblical view of sickness. He considers that there may be spiritual aspects of illness. His "Basic CARE Bulletins" and "Total Health Seminars" are offered to those who have attended "Basic" or "Advanced" or "Anger Resolution" seminars.
Gothard encourages homeschooling. IBLP publishes its own Advanced Training Institute (homeschool) materials.
Gothard teaches that dating is morally dangerous and that courtship is the better alternative. Gothard encourages parents to be involved in their children's courtship. The father, especially, should be involved in his daughter's relationships. He should at the very least have the right to say "no" when a man asks to marry his daughter.
Gothard teaches that some diseases have spiritual roots and to have suspicion of modern medicine.
Gothard continues to be the subject of much debate, many protesting his teachings as authoritarian, and anti-womanSome complain that Gothard's teaching is largely based on his own reaction to the free-love rebellion spirit of the 1960s-1970s, rather than being based on the Bible itself. Largely a method for helping parents maintain control of teens experimenting with drugs and sexuality, Gothard relied heavily on the philosophy of a patriarchy, going so far as to describe the father as a "hammer" which strikes the mother (chisel), to form the children into proper character. Various books, websites, and communities have been formed on the basis of claims to have been psychologically, emotionally, abused as a direct result of Gothard's teachings . Ronald B. Allen, now a Senior Professor of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary, criticized Gothard as being "basically anti-woman" . Additionally, after interviewing some former Gothard devotees, liberal writer Sarah Posner reported that "his unyielding theology, including 'non-optional' compliance with seven 'biblical' principles (the 'basic' life principles), compliance with 49 'character traits,' and other periodic Gothard revelations, are contrary to the Bible and have wreaked havoc on their emotional and spiritual lives of [them and their] families."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
minister, speaker and writer, and the founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles
Institute in Basic Life Principles
The Institute in Basic Life Principles is a non-denominational, Christian organization in Oak Brook, Illinois that serves as an umbrella organization for several ministries. IBLP was established by Bill Gothard for the purpose of resolving youth and family conflicts...
(IBLP), notable for his ultraconservative teachings. Among the several strong distinctives of his teaching have been encouragement of Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
memorization, large families, homeschooling
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
, aversion to debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
, respect
Respect
Respect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity , and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected...
for authority
Authority
The word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
and extended principles related to identity
Identity formation
Identity formation is the development of the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity in a particular stage of life in which individual characteristics are possessed and by which a person is recognised or known . This process defines individuals to others and themselves...
, family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, healthcare, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and finances
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
.
At the height of his popularity during the 1970's, the Basic Youth Conflicts seminar with Bill Gothard was regularly filling auditoriums throughout the United States and beyond with attendance figures as large as ten thousand and more for a one-week seminar. In this way, he reached many in the evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
community from the Baby Boomer generation during their teen years and years of young adulthood. Other seminars during this time included an advanced youth conflicts seminar and as well as seminars for pastors
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
, physicians
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and legislators
Legislator
A legislator is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are usually politicians and are often elected by the people...
. Bill Gothard has credited a large influence to his parents and father, William Gothard, Sr. was a speaker at many seminars during the early years. William Gothard Sr. held high positions at organizations that included the Gideons, Child Evangelism Fellowship
Child Evangelism Fellowship
Child Evangelism Fellowship is an international evangelical nonprofit organization founded by Jesse Overholtzer in 1937, headquartered in Warrenton, Missouri, United States. The organization lists as its purpose to teach the Christian Gospel to boys and girls and to get them involved in local...
and Pacific Garden Mission
Pacific Garden Mission
Pacific Garden Mission is a homeless shelter in the South Loop section of Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1877, by Colonel George Clarke and his wife, Sarah. It has been nicknamed, "The Old Lighthouse." It is the oldest such shelter in Chicago...
in Chicago.
Biography
Bill Gothard received his B.A., in Biblical Studies from Wheaton CollegeWheaton College (Illinois)
Wheaton College is a private, evangelical Protestant liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago in the United States...
in 1957 and an M.A. in Christian Education in 1961 from the same institution.
Gothard started an organization in 1961 called Campus Teams, which in 1974 changed its name to Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts. Later, in 1989, the organization's name changed again to Institute in Basic Life Principles
Institute in Basic Life Principles
The Institute in Basic Life Principles is a non-denominational, Christian organization in Oak Brook, Illinois that serves as an umbrella organization for several ministries. IBLP was established by Bill Gothard for the purpose of resolving youth and family conflicts...
(IBLP), of which Gothard is currently the president and a board member.
Teaching
Gothard's primary teaching, his "Basic Seminar," focuses on seven Biblically based "Basic Life Principles." Some argue that Gothard's teaching is legalistic but he claims that he teaches principles rather than rules to avoid legalism. He claims that the seven principles are universal and people will suffer the consequences of violating these principles. This philosophy is similar to natural law based ethics. Just as a physicist discovers natural universal laws, the natural law ethicist believes that there are discoverable universal ethical principles. Gothard's principles are called Design, Authority, Responsibility, Suffering, Ownership, Freedom, and Success.The design principle is that people should understand their specific purpose for which God created them. This is a similar principle that launched Rick Warren's best selling book, The Purpose Driven Life
The Purpose Driven Life
The Purpose Driven Life is a devotional book written by Christian author Rick Warren and published by Zondervan. The book has been on the New York Times Best Seller list for advice books for one of the longest periods in history, while also topping the Wall Street Journal best seller charts as...
. Once a person understands his/her purpose and the purpose for other people, objects, and relationships in their life, then harmony and self-acceptance are the result.
The authority principle is that inward peace results when people respect and honor the authorities (parents, government, etc.) that God has put in their lives. One controversial aspect of this teaching is that the husband is the authority figure in marriage. While this principle is clearly Biblical (Ephesians 5, for example), some modern day Christians believe that this view is outdated.
The responsibility principle is that a clear conscience results when people realize that they are responsible to God for every thought, word, action, and motive. Part of this principle is asking forgiveness from whomever has been offended. Personal responsibility begins with a person's thought life.
The suffering principle teaches people to forgive others for the pain that they have caused you. It further teaches that pain is often a tool that God uses to develop character.
The ownership principle teaches that people are stewards, not owners, of their possessions. Gothard teaches that when a person yields their rights to God, true security results.
The freedom principle is enjoying the desire and the power to do what is right. Moral purity is the result of true freedom. This is probably the most controversial principle because many of the examples of "wrong" like certain types of music and dress are not generally accepted as being "sinful" even by those claiming to be evangelical Christians.
The success principle is that when people learn to think God's thoughts by meditating on and memorizing scripture, they make wise decisions and fulfill their life purposes.
In addition to the Basic Seminar, Gothard also has an Advanced Seminar and an Anger Resolution Seminar. He also has a 49-week "Daily Success" series where he expounds on the "Commands of Christ" found in the Gospels.
Gothard's "Total Health" training seeks to bring a Biblical view of sickness. He considers that there may be spiritual aspects of illness. His "Basic CARE Bulletins" and "Total Health Seminars" are offered to those who have attended "Basic" or "Advanced" or "Anger Resolution" seminars.
Gothard encourages homeschooling. IBLP publishes its own Advanced Training Institute (homeschool) materials.
Gothard teaches that dating is morally dangerous and that courtship is the better alternative. Gothard encourages parents to be involved in their children's courtship. The father, especially, should be involved in his daughter's relationships. He should at the very least have the right to say "no" when a man asks to marry his daughter.
Controversy
Gothard’s teachings discourage dating and rock music, including Christian rock. Gothard teaches that women working outside the home are putting themselves under another man's authority and conflict will arise. He has warned that some toys such as Cabbage Patch dolls may cause destructive behavior in children.Gothard teaches that some diseases have spiritual roots and to have suspicion of modern medicine.
Gothard continues to be the subject of much debate, many protesting his teachings as authoritarian, and anti-womanSome complain that Gothard's teaching is largely based on his own reaction to the free-love rebellion spirit of the 1960s-1970s, rather than being based on the Bible itself. Largely a method for helping parents maintain control of teens experimenting with drugs and sexuality, Gothard relied heavily on the philosophy of a patriarchy, going so far as to describe the father as a "hammer" which strikes the mother (chisel), to form the children into proper character. Various books, websites, and communities have been formed on the basis of claims to have been psychologically, emotionally, abused as a direct result of Gothard's teachings . Ronald B. Allen, now a Senior Professor of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary, criticized Gothard as being "basically anti-woman" . Additionally, after interviewing some former Gothard devotees, liberal writer Sarah Posner reported that "his unyielding theology, including 'non-optional' compliance with seven 'biblical' principles (the 'basic' life principles), compliance with 49 'character traits,' and other periodic Gothard revelations, are contrary to the Bible and have wreaked havoc on their emotional and spiritual lives of [them and their] families."
Books
- Basic Preparation for Engagement. Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts, 1971, ASIN B00
- How to Evaluate Music. Life Change Books, 1989, ISBN Unavailable
- Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts: Research in Principles of Life. Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts, 1981, ISBN 0-916888-05-3
- Men's Manual, Vol. 1. Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts, 1979, ISBN 0-916888-04-5
- Nuestro Dios Celoso/Our Jealous God: El Amor que no me deja ir/The love that doesn't let me go. Editorial Unilit 2004, ISBN 0-7899-1215-5
- Our Jealous God. Life Change Books, 2003. ISBN 1-59052-225-7
- Rebuilder's Guide. Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts, 1982. ISBN 0-916888-06-1
- Research in Principles of Life: Advanced Seminar Textbook. Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts 1986. ISBN 0-916888-11-8
- Rewards of Being Reviled. Life Change Books, 2004. ISBN 0-916888-30-4
- Self-Acceptance. Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts, 1984. ASIN B0007270AO
- The Power of Crying Out. Life Change Books, 2002, ISBN 1-59052-037-8
- The Power of Spoken Blessings. Life Change Books, 2004. ISBN 1-59052-375-X
- The Sevenfold Power of First Century Churches and Homes. Life Change Books, 2000. ISBN 0-916888-18-5