I cannot stress enough the power of realizing that you are not alone. You are not crazy for thinking that aspect of church or God or the Bible hurt you so much. There is a reason it hurts—because it hurts other people, too.

You Are Not Your Own: And Other Lies Evangelicalism Taught Me

Creative commons courtesy of Pixabay, Patrizia08. By Ryan Stollar “You best learn to live while you’re alive.” — Cloud Cult Healing from any trauma, but especially religious traum…

vashtiinitiative.org

This is like saying the once-rights of slave owners or husbands (property owner rights) are the same as the rights of enslaved people or wives (people once considered property by law). This nonsense is a brazen abuse of children's rights.

Jonathan Lange: Parental Rights Are Children’s Rights

Columnist Jonathan Lange writes, “Every enforcement tool from the federal DOJ and DOE to the local school board should be protecting a child’s right to be…

cowboystatedaily.com

I once created a quiz where you must identify whether certain phrases are lines from the bestselling erotic BDSM novel 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James or lyrics from Contemporary Christian Music songs. ...I retook it today and got so many wrong, lol.

50 Shades of Grey or Contemporary Christian Music Lyrics? A Quiz

Oh come on, you’ve thought the same thing.

homeschoolersanonymous.net

this is a good article abt what our normal was. don't dissect us. don't rubberneck/gawk at us. let us be. we can't explain to your satisfaction & yet another 'omg i can't believe it' won't help. just stop. #Exvangelical #religiousabuse #childhoodtrauma #traumasurvivor

R.L. Stollar@rlstollar.bsky.social · last mo.

"The church wants to wash her hands of Bill Gothard — 'we never knew him!' — but the backers and supporters and poster children are still celebrated."

"Affirming children’s inherent rights and value... is a key part of empowering our contemporary communities to better love and protect children. Christians should affirm children in an unambiguous way."

Using vs. Liberating Children: How Child Theology Differs from Child Liberation Theology

While deeply indebted to the Child Theology Movement, child liberation theology breaks from it in a number of important ways.

rlstollar.com

can confirm. it caused me endless trauma, ptsd, nightmares, a fear of parenting my own kids. but i banished the exparents & broke the cycle. i don't care if they call me prodigal. i am free now. #Exvangelical #religiousabuse #childhoodtrauma #traumasurvivor

Child Liberation Theology@childliberation.bsky.social · last mo.

"Parents who refuse to acknowledge the harm caused by Christian authoritarian parenting risk alienating their kids long-term."

I had a mazapán (Mexican peanut candy) latte today made by Sip Happens Coffee & Matcha! It was delicious.

Lily's facial expression here is 100% meme. 🤣

"Out of twelve pages of Gothard’s 'Road Safety' module, six are about car maintenance and contingencies and six are about what to do if you’re sexually assaulted while out driving."

Bill Gothard Explains Road Safety (aka How Not to Get Raped)

Bill Gothard claims that a victim of sexual assault who does not cry out—who remains silent for whatever reason—is equally guilty with her attacker.

homeschoolersanonymous.net

In the Dobsonian-Trumpian worldview, a sexualized saying like “Daddy’s home” can serve simultaneously as the essence of the gospel promise, the essence of biblical parenting, and the essence of good government.

When the Prodigal Son Returns Home With a Gun

Unless you are willing to look at the root of violence in your own families or respect the human rights of other families’ children, I cannot take your concerns about violence seriously.

rlstollar.com

"It’s important to create space for children not just to know that disobedience can be good and holy, but also to give them opportunities to practice."

Christianity should empower and liberate children

What would the church look like if we treated children as agents in their own lives, and allowed them to do their own theology?

uscatholic.org

Twenty years ago, Reb Bradley penned an article called "Solving the Crisis in Homeschooling." The crisis? "Parents have graduated their first batch of kids, only to discover that their children didn’t turn out the way they thought they would."

The History of Homeschooling, 1904-Present

A history of the modern U.S. homeschooling movement from 1904 through the present.

homeschoolersanonymous.net

Marvin Olasky did not make a singular mistake with Doug Wilson. It was one of many times when Olasky partnered with, platformed, and promoted Christofascists.

When Marvin Olasky Platformed Doug Wilson

World Magazine was intimately involved with promoting Christofascism throughout Marvin Olasky’s leadership.

rlstollar.com

"Children are not mere creatures of parents. They are not projects or weapons. They are inheritors of God’s Kingdom, images of that God, and they are capable of prophecy, leadership, teaching, and theology."

An Introduction to Child Liberation Theology

This is the first article in a multi-part series I am writing in 2022 providing an overview of child liberation theology.

rlstollar.com

"The church wants to wash her hands of Bill Gothard — 'we never knew him!' — but the backers and supporters and poster children are still celebrated."

I’m Tired of Talking About Bill Gothard and The Duggars

There will never be headlines for broken marriages and broken hearts, for eating disorders and suicidal depression.

homeschoolersanonymous.net

While I very much appreciate The Christian Post, JubileeCast, and The Roys Report covering Bill Gothard's heart attack and coma as well as crediting me for my corroborating screenshots, I find it odd that no one reached out to verify anything or even, like, give a heads up.

The Roys Report covers Bill Gothard's heart attack and coma. "IBLP’s doctrines, particularly those on authority, sexuality, and suffering, became a blueprint for fathers and older brothers to sexually abuse their daughters and younger sisters."

Institute in Basic Life Principles founder Bill Gothard reportedly hospitalized after heart attack | The Roys Report

Bill Gothard, the disgraced IBLP founder who taught millions of evangelicals, has reportedly suffered a heart attack and is in a coma

roysreport.com

"Parents who refuse to acknowledge the harm caused by Christian authoritarian parenting risk alienating their kids long-term."

Adults raised in the ‘Christian parenting empire’ of the ’70s-’90s push back

(RNS) — Leveraging social media, these parents and professionals aim to show that this parenting approach can result in trauma, estrangement and views of God as abusive.

religionnews.com

"We know that 'not all homeschoolers' are 'like that.' The culture we grew up in that is still alive and well IS 'like that.' If you’re not 'like that,' we’re not talking about you."

If The Shoe Doesn’t Fit…

“Can we please just stop with the comments about how not all homeschoolers are ‘like that’? We get it.”

homeschoolersanonymous.net

This timeline repeatedly demonstrates that people from around the world, throughout different time periods and with different cultural assumptions, can understand the importance of protecting children and their rights.

An American History of Child Advocacy

This idea of child advocacy is not new, it is not partisan, it is not ideological, and it is not crazy.

rlstollar.com

The relationship between Bill Gothard's Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), including his homeschooling program the Advanced Training Institute (ATI), and Michael Farris’s Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) has deep history.

A Brief History of ATI and HSLDA’s Relationship

The warm camaraderie and partnerships between ATI and HSLDA extend beyond the direct relationships between ATI’s Wisdom Booklet developers (Gothard, Cannon, and Guthrie) and HSLDA.

homeschoolersanonymous.net

"We must wrestle with the biblical texts, questioning and challenging them when they ignore the children they contain or justify violence against the children barely visible at their margins."

Noah’s Flood and The Bible’s Unseen Children

The Bible is not a children’s book. If a child must learn about genocide, it should be in an age-appropriate and protective manner.

rlstollar.com

yesterday i was struggling w guilt over the forgiveness aspect of things. it helped to read this today. i don't HAVE to forgive! it's ok to not be there. it was used to silence me for so many yrs. the system is rotten. #Exvangelical #religiousabuse #childhoodtrauma #traumasurvivor

R.L. Stollar@rlstollar.bsky.social · last mo.

"Gothard’s teachings didn’t stay inside IBLP. They seeped into schools, churches, families, homeschool communities and Christian culture."

i have been learning since leaving, that my anger is valuable. it's something i teach our kids, broke the cycle. they are treasures. their anger is a teacher. i learn from it. sometimes i'm even angry at the exparents. #Exvangelical #religiousabuse #childhoodtrauma #traumasurvivor

R.L. Stollar@rlstollar.bsky.social · last mo.

This is one of my favorite book passages. Encouraging children to feel their emotions is so important.

It’s beyond comprehension that someone who never married, never had children, obviously had all kinds of odd proclivities… was viewed as some kind of parenting expert. The people who wanted to abuse just needed an on-ramp. This cat and Dobson gave it to them.

"Gothard’s teachings didn’t stay inside IBLP. They seeped into schools, churches, families, homeschool communities and Christian culture."

The Forgiveness Gothard Taught and the Control It Created — Rebekah Drumsta

Forgiveness is supposed to be a meaningful, human practice. In Bill Gothard’s world, it became a rule. A requirement. A tool used to keep people compliant and quiet. For those of us shaped by IBLP and...

rebekahdrumsta.com

Someone just said I must have laid low, but actually I broke numerous stories from that group and mentioned the group directly each time but I guess no one in the group noticed until today, lol. Thanks, Christian Post. 😉

R.L. Stollar@rlstollar.bsky.social · last mo.

Well, I finally got kicked out of Bill Gothard's supporters' private group. I actually cannot believe I lasted 12 years there with no one noticing. *peels off spy insignia* I had a good run. 🫡

This is one of my favorite book passages. Encouraging children to feel their emotions is so important.

Ashlea Davenport 🕯️@ashleadavie.bsky.social · 9mo ago

"Stay angry, little Meg," Mrs. Whatsit whispered. "You will need all your anger now."

Well, I finally got kicked out of Bill Gothard's supporters' private group. I actually cannot believe I lasted 12 years there with no one noticing. *peels off spy insignia* I had a good run. 🫡

If you want to learn more about Bill Gothard's abusive teachings and practices, Homeschoolers Anonymous uploaded all of his Wisdom Booklets for free public viewing back in 2015.

Wisdom Booklet Archive Index

These versions are NOT intended for educational use, but for journalists and researchers who want to investigate the teachings of ATI in primary sources.

homeschoolersanonymous.wordpress.com