As a carpenter, I appreciate Stott’s human side whether as seen above in his enjoyment of dogs as he hangs out with Billy Graham or below with his willingness to roll up his sleeves and work hard. As a theologian, it’s his authenticity, fidelity, and clarity that continue to inspire me. Even though he came from a wealthy home and … Read More
Should We Judge a Movement By Its Abuses?
“Now, it is undeniably true that some of the more fundamentalist forms of Christianity— Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox— can do serious psychological and emotional damage to people… It’s wrong for Christians (or Jews, Muslims, and any other religious believer) to be so defensive about attacks on our faith that we deny that people within the religion can use its teachings … Read More
The Stupid Religious Reason I Missed Star Wars
Christians have a strange proclivity to fashion Jesus’ teaching on the narrow way into a joyless pursuit that devalues creation and makes the world he created very small. Let me explain. I chewed a lot of gum that year. I was collecting trading cards for the movie that everyone was talking about—a movie that promised to be one of the … Read More
A Critique of Gothardism, Part 4 of 5
As an exercise in discernment, this series critiques the teaching associated with the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), Advanced Training Institute International (ATI), and specifically their founder, Bill Gothard. His teaching includes a myriad of distortions and this post addresses examples under the fourth of six main areas (listed at the end of Part 1): A misuse of “the … Read More
A Critique of Gothardism, Part 2 of 5
As an exercise in discernment, this series critiques the teaching associated with the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), Advanced Training Institute International (ATI), and specifically their founder, Bill Gothard. His teaching includes a myriad of distortions and this post addresses examples under the first two of six main areas (listed at the end of Part 1): the use of … Read More
A Critique of Gothardism, Part 1 of 5
Over the next five weeks, as an exercise in discernment, I’ll critique the teaching associated with the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), Advanced Training Institute International (ATI), and specifically their founder, Bill Gothard. I believe Mr. Gothard’s teaching as a whole is a great example of a shrunken, distorted, and slightly Gnostic Christianity—in short—how not to be. As I … Read More