He is known as “The Prince of Preachers.” Even though he was born almost 200 years ago on June 19,1834, he is still the most quoted theologian of our day! He began preaching as a teenager in a village chapel; and soon no church in London was large enough to hold the crowds that came to hear him. His sermons were printed every Monday in the London Times and even in the New York Times. He was the “Preaching Sensation of London!”
When he died in 1892 at the age of 57, London went into mourning. 60,000 people came to view him as he lay in state. 100,000 mourners lined the streets as a two- mile- long funeral procession passed by. Flags flew at half -mast and shops were closed. With all his greatness there were two spiritual battles that plagued him: evil thoughts and depression!
Spurgeon’s sermon on the Power of the Holy Spirit
On June 17, 1855 Charles Spurgeon described his battle with evil thoughts:
“I hope that my will is managed by divine grace, but I am afraid my imagination is not at times. Those who have a fair share of imagination know what a difficult thing it is to control. You cannot restrain it. It will break the reins. You will never be able to manage it…With regard to myself, my imagination has taken me down to the vilest kennels and sewers of earth. It has given me thoughts so dreadful, that, while I could not avoid them, yet I was thoroughly horrified at them. These thoughts will come, and when I feel in the holiest frame, the most devoted to God, and the most earnest in prayer, it often happens that that is the very time when the plague breaks out the worst.”
How Charles Spurgeon could have conquered his evil thoughts
Vile thoughts cannot just be restrained and managed, they can and must be conquered! We are commanded to do this: “Casting down imaginations.” How do we do this? By “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (II Corinthians 10:5).
The most crucial time to conquer evil thoughts is when we turn out the lights and get into bed. Our mind goes into “neutral” and our imagination becomes like a loose cannon on a raging ocean. It goes from one thought to another in a split second. Evil thoughts will then usually come. They come from the darkness of our soul and from the prince of darkness.
The most powerful way to conquer ALL these thoughts is to quote a new verse of Scripture to God every night while going to sleep. The light of God’s word will conquer every dark thought and then go down to our gut brain and increase our serotonin level which will overcome depression. We cannot “push” dark thoughts out of our mind any more than we can push darkness out of a room. But light always conquers darkness. All evil thoughts really do vanish when you go sleep quoting Scripture! This one daily activity would have conquered Charles Spurgeon’s evil thoughts and his depression!
-Bill Gothard EmbassyUniversity.com
Great thoughts, I believe I can see the hand of the enemy at work behind the scenes. Not all of our thought are our thoughts. In Matthew 16:17 we read “And Jesus answering, said to him Blessed are you, Simon Barjona! For flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but My Father in the heavens.” These thoughts came from God. In the same chapter V. 21 “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savors not the things that be of God but those that be of men.” Where did Peter get these thoughts from?
We must be “Casting down imaginations.” How do we do this? By “bringing into captivity (at spear point) every thought to the obedience of Christ” II Corinthians 10:5. The Word of God is the sword that the Spirit uses. Eph. 6:17. Meditating on Scripture empowers us to defeat evil thoughts through the power of the living Word.
The enemy seeks to render us spiritually impotent, The Lord desires to give us the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God as an offensive weapon as we battle the evil one.
re: thinking right thoughts
Each Sunday, my local Christian radio station announces a Bible memory verse for the week. With a few clicks of the mouse and a few strokes on the keyboard, it appears on an index card for shirt pocket carry. With a little daily practice, it is available to my mind for evening recitation as described above. We are unlikely to be a great Spurgeon, but this modest habit can help us draw near to God and resist the Devil.
it is too easy to play armchair quarterback with figures from the past. While the title of the article says “could”, Bill wrote this article with certainty that if only Charles Spurgeon just memorized and meditated enough on Bible verses, he would not have had the struggle that he did with depression. No one can state this over 100 years later after he passed away. Since there is a new Charles Spurgeon Bible commentary out, it seems like he was very well versed in scripture. While not as familiar with him as i am with others, what I have read about him is that he kept a very heavy preaching and speaking schedule and did pass away at the age of 57 which isn’t exactly super old even in 19th century standards. Exhaustion can easily contribute to depression which could have been a factor with Spurgeon and no amount of bible memorization will eliminate this as contributing factor in his bouts with depression. I have more to say on this but will start the conversation with here.
That Charles Spurgeon was a titan among men in the kingdom of God cannot be disputed. That God will sometimes weaken a great man or woman of God in order to make them need some of the “least and lowest” is also clear. The Lord gave Bill some tremendous insights for these last days and many have testified of the effectiveness of his guidance in a number of practical areas. The mastery of depression and evil thoughts, anger and lust and guilt are key examples of that. Perhaps there are some things that the “Prince of Preachers” – Spurgeon – might have benefitted from.
From more than one source that I’ve read about Spurgeon, they all state that a fatal stampede that happen at one of his early speaking engagements deeply affected and traumatized him and that his bouts with depression started and stemmed from this tragedy. PTSD can and does lead to depressive episodes and more than one source point this out. Memorizing Bible verses as Bill is claiming here isn’t going to change that. This is a false claim by Bill.
The other thought on Spurgeon is that his battle with depression could have been like a “thorn in the flesh” as with St. Paul and his struggle in this area probably resulted in the grace being poured out in his life that seems to have made him the “prince of preachers” that people still today find attractive.
That latter explanation is one that I have pondered for Paul. Besides “thorn in the flesh” he also called it “a messenger of Satan”. When you consider that the word “messenger” in the Greek is the word “angel”, well that raises interesting possibilities.
We know that the Savior spoke of such emotions:
Matthew 26:37-38 “And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, ‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death'”
“Very heavy” and “exceeding sorrowful” would be a fairly accurate description of the emotions that we call to be “depressed”, without calling the Savior “depressed” outright. So we know that such feelings are not necessarily an expression of sin or failure. Bill himself taught that there are three types of “depression” corresponding to the three parts of our being:
Physical Depression: Chemical imbalance in our body, extreme exhaustion.
Psychological Depression: Hope deferred, disappointment, or even the recoil from the expenditure of large amounts of emotional “soul” energy from some very good event. The “let down” after a “big high”.
Spiritual Depression: Feeling the gap between where we are and where we should be. Scripture calls that being “poor in spirit”.
So I see your point. Spurgeon may, in the quote cited, be referring to the latter one, “spiritual depression”. Perhaps there, then, is the place where meditation is the absolute cure. Staying and wallowing in our deficiencies is not God’s will. Forcing ourselves to “hunger and thirst after righteousness” is the cure.
We can only guess at the probable many causes for Spurgeon”s battle with depression and thoughts. Exhaustion and trauma of the stampede should not be ruled out. Bill again likes to list things and depression can have more than one cause and Bill’s ideas of depression on 3 types ignores the interlinking of all of his so called 3 types of depression. St. Paul’s thorn in the flesh was his own struggles and he also wrote that this kept him humble and dependent on God and grace as a counter to his many revelations which suffering no matter what it is does for us. Many Psalms cover and are written out of a depressive state like Psalm 22, 42 and especially 88. In more than one commentary I’ve read on Psalms, 88 is always called the dark Psalm. I think the point of their inclusion in scripture is going to God with what and how we feel., to be honest with God at whatever state we are in. It seems like Spurgeon at least is honest in his writings about his internal battles with thoughts and emotions. His struggles and turning to God probably resulted in the fruit of his preaching and ministry to others and kept him humble and dependent on God. That should be the real lesson anyone should take away from looking at Charles Spurgeon, not throwing him under the bus for not memorizing the Bible enough in order not to be depressed.
Regardless, Bill has some point worth pondering. As stated, his insights have been a sources of blazing light with respect to many of our commonly accepted problems. Brings solutions where there was no expectation of finding them. God’s truths must be dug out . . . “Ask” then “Seek” and then “Knock”. Once dug out with the effort that buried treasure would command, they can be presented to others . . . Maybe even create a seminar to do that.
So I’m not sure what area to post this so I’ll do here. I recently joined a social media discussion group between Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants. The group is pretty big at 17.5K members, so no small potatoes and there are people on there that come from IFB world. Just to see what kind of responses I would get, I did a question on Bill Gothard and I asked if anyone had been to the seminars and what did they think ( I also stated that I was not a fan to be honest). I only got 2 responses out of 17.5 K members. One was negative and stated that he saw through Bill after a couple days. The other said “I haven’t heard that name in a long time”. So it seems that Bill Gothard is faded history and now DOA in the wider world out there. So despite a hand full of people that still support him here, he has faded into oblivion and out of sight. Not sure how many, if any have signed up for his “university” but I bet one could count that on their fingers.
So . . . I am going to suggest that a group that is founded on Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants together is going to attract a fraction of the folks that would have been attending his seminars. Try that on an IFB or Southern Baptist group – or Mennonite – and you will find a very different response.
re: whom to survey
Indeed, our thread subject was Spurgeon. If you survey a sample from today’s Roman, Orthodox, and Protestant churches, how much Spurgeon influence would come up? Yet Spurgeon served his generation well.
Obviously your catch must depend upon which pond you’re fishing. Even so, just this morning I heard a devout middle-aged Presbyterian mention Gothard’s positive influence upon him as a young convert.
“Duty is ours, results are God’s.” “Man proposes, God disposes.”
How will Bill Gothard be remembered by history? It all depends. Who writes the history?
Well, there are number of self identified IFB on there and currently having a big discussion on Bible translations and JKV so I would think there would have been more responses than two.
What I am finding is that “Cancel Culture” has forced a great deal of support underground. More so a few years ago than now, to be sure. Gothard’s name has been synonymous with Hitler in many circles. Support him at your own risk. And, again, the brand of IBC that would discuss doctrine with Catholics and Orthodox is not typical of the mainstream.
As we have often pointed out, the Apostle Paul was similarly cancelled in his day. From all appearances he died a forsaken, lonely man.
re: chicken culture or cancel culture?
If a Christian man fears frowns, is he really a Christian man?
Jesus warned us that some gospel seed would fall upon shallow soil, producing crops which would spring up on sunny days, but wither and perish under adversity. Unfortunately, both Bill Gothard and Christ himself have attracted their share of fair-weather friends.
David, please read what I wrote which was I didn’t know where to ask this, so I picked the most recent article with the least comments. If the moderator thought it was wrong, I think he would have said so. Give it rest you are not the moderator. Considered how large a discussion group this is with a wide diversity of people and the fact that Bill was a big deal back in the 70-80s, I thought I would have picked off a few more comments than “I haven’t heard that name in a long time”, which does imply DOA.
Bill’s situation today is not at all the same as St Paul. You are desperate here. St Paul is highly mentioned as beloved in some of the earliest writings like St Ignatius, St Clemens, St Polycarp, St Irenaeus, etc. His martyrdom was a big deal which was close to St Peter’s both in Rome. St. Paul did not loose his position due to sex scandals that Bill has had in his ministry going all the way back to his own brother Steven. You cannot take his final letter to St Timothy and twist it around to claim he was lonely and forsaken. They are not the same as Bill’s current situation which is due to his own behaviors.
I started a reply, must have lost it. Suffice it to say that at the time of Paul’s death he was anything but beloved. “All of Asia” had turned against him, which would be at least half of the professing church (a guess). In Philippians he speaks of those that preach “Christ out of contention”, deliberately to hurt him and flaunt the fact, apparently, that they were worthy to be free, while Paul was not. Your citations are from long after Paul’s death. Bill did nothing wrong by way of “sex scandals” – his brother, yes. If all it takes for a person to be “cancelled” is a fabricated, highlight coordinated smear campaign, that says little for the current state of the Christ on earth.
Regardless, fame was never Bill’s goal, not then, not now. So the chips fly where the Lord allows. He is waiting for that final word from the Lord Himself on that final day. In the mean while, with whatever time and resources the Lord gives him, he will keep pursuing His kingdom in every manner possible.
Undoubtedly St. Paul was beloved by many and hated by many. Just as his savior has been loved by many and hated by many, just as Bill Gothard has both friends and enemies. But where is the twisting of Paul? Did St. Paul boast that he always cruised on easy street? hardly. Wasn’t he frank about both his blessings and his sufferings?
re: sex scandals
Sex scandals go all the way to the top. The Lord himself was called a bastard. When his enemies boasted that they were not born of fornication, they were comparing themselves to Jesus of Nazareth, who presumably was. Was St. Mary innocent, or a fornicator? The question answers itself. Yet her innocence did not deter Christ’s enemies from smearing him with sex innuendo. So all sex scandals are not created equal. Rumors are not facts. Gossip is not authoritative.
All I can say is that what I just read here is pretty sick and crude. There is no comparison between Steve Gothard which really constitutes rape along with Bill’s malfeasance and the one attempt by the pharisees in questioning or implying who Jesus’ father was. If someone has to twist themselves this far to defend the indefensible demonstrates corruption itself. What I just read here can be considered blasphemy.
Just for the record, nothing Steve Gothard did was “rape”. It was all consensual, adults. Rendezvous were scheduled in hotels and at the IBLP facility. We interviewed two of the seven women involved, and they all stated the same during the investigation.
2 out of 7 is only 29%. You are not an investigator nor are you neutral. Steve Gothard as well as Bill were employers of these women. A boss having sex with employees is immoral and illegal. Woman working in an isolated remote area like Northern Michigan did not really have a choice. Woman working under the teaching of submission at all times likewise didn’t have a choice either and just added fuel to the exploitation. Steve is a sexual predator and Bill the accomplish. whether or not just 2 considered or told you it was consensual is really meaningless in the long run. I stand by rape.
The facts to not bear that narrative out. Neither my wife nor I would continue supporting a monster that would do such a thing. And “submission” of a woman to a boss is not a Scriptural thing beyond a man’s “submission” to his boss. Blind obedience, even in the home, is NOT a Bill Gothard teaching, nor was it ever. There are many things Bill would have done differently with the clarity of hindsight, but he fails as we all do.
And, if it were anything like what you suggest, there is not 1 out of 7 that would justify that, or attempt to cloak it after all of the time that has passed. Both of these women had plenty of personal energy to add to the discussion. Their lives and souls were forever marred.
re: blasphemy, Gothards, the Ninth Commandment, defenses, and twisting
Of course it was blasphemy when bad men smeared the son of God with innuendo.
Those who accused Steve Gothard of fornication were merely stating fact. But the Ninth Commandment forbids smearing Bill Gothard without cause. False witness is serious sin.
This raises a question about what we mean by defense. If you accuse me, I may simply insist that you prove your accusation. Have I defended myself? Not yet. Until you bring evidence to prove my guilt, I have nothing to defend.
The Lord’s accusers faced this dilemma. It took a lot of twisting to railroad an innocent man to Calvary. Innocence needs no defense. It has serene dignity. False accusers must twist themselves out of proportion.
re: Really constitutes rape? neutral investigator? lying figures?
On 1/20 above, we read that Steve Gothard’s fornication offense more than forty years ago “really constitutes rape.”
Then on 1/24 below, we crunch some numbers to show that only about 30% of the women with whom Steve Gothard fornicated have confessed their fornication. Therefore, it supposedly follows that Steve Gothard raped the other 70%. (Q.E.D.?)
We are further told that our moderator is neither neutral nor an investigator, both of which are probably true. This raises questions. Why speculate about credentials and about sexual victimization? why such rivalry over whom may designate victims? As the saying goes, “figures don’t lie, but liars figure.”
Without conclusive evidence, why speculate about lying, figuring, and raping? Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth.
re: ears to hear and lives that matter
How big a deal has Bill Gothard been over the past fifty years? For many, he was no deal at all. Yet for those who had ears to hear, he was a big deal.
Isn’t it remarkable that Gothard has been so polarizing? He seemed to create three categories: Category #1 was people who knew and cared nothing of him. Categories #2 and #3 comprised people who were influenced by Gothard. They either admire or resent him. Why such love or hate among those whom Bill Gothard influenced? Apparently Gothard lives matter.
Not sure if you have heard of him before, but prominent figure in the pro-life movement, Frank Pavone who was recently removed from being a priest is now accused of sexual harassment at his organization, Priests for Life. The article is here.
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/pavone-was-accused-of-misconduct-before-laicization/.
The story described by the woman in the article is just so much like what Bill has been accused of by the various women on DG, the lawsuit, other blogs etc. Young gullible and inexperienced women are taken under his wing and the rest is history. All I could think of when reading this about Frank Pavone is that all you had to do is sub in Bill’s name for Frank’s because both are so similar, it is just too creepy.
No woman should ever feel uncomfortable with any behavior and when she speaks up, whatever the issue is should cease. I can’t speak to her allegations or to what his intentions were. What caused her to come forward with this now. Working relationships in the “family” are obviously going to be different than for those in the secular workplace. Scripture expects a man of God to treat young women as “sisters”, no more . . . And no less, as Paul instructs Timothy in 1 Timothy 5. That would involve a lot closer physical contact than for strangers . . . With some huge barriers as well. In this day and age so much is being questioned and second-guessed, children told to not touch or hug adult relatives, for example. Even their own parents. Is that of God? I am not sure. Whatever the devil is, he is into extremes . . . Too loose and way, way too tight. In the end the Lord sorts through it.
But that term “grooming” is weird. Grooming for what? After a sex crime is committed we know it was grooming. The normal behavior of filial or parental affection can be very close and involve a lot of physical contact without ever being “grooming”. The key is whether those big lines are crossed, which nobody does accidentally. AND, again, when discomfort is signaled, making that not happen.
I don’t know what this priest is charged with. Bill’s interactions with young women whom he regarded as daughters were pure in intent and he was extremely, to a fault, responsive to reactions. A single young woman – missionary on a break – recently sought Bill out, actually flying in for the sole purpose of taking him to dinner. They had never met, but she was so grateful for all Bill had done over the years for her family. Bill was clearly nervous, hemmed and hawed and finally asked my wife and I to accompany them, just to avoid any awkward appearances. She didn’t have any concern, but he did. If he were evil no one else would ever have had to know. But that is who he is, who he has always been.
re: feeling uncomfortable
Is it expecting too much for each of us to assume responsibility for his own feelings? When the Holy Spirit indwells a man, he produces temperance. One of the first things we must temper are our emotions.
Jesus commanded me to love my neighbor, not to make my neighbor feel loved. Love is real, love is truth, but feelings are transient froth.
re: patterns of conduct and misconduct
Indeed we see similarities when we compare Frank Pavone with Bill Gothard. Both men were accused of creepiness on the basis of rumors. Both were fired by their respective bosses. In both cases the accusations came from anonymous sources, including women who had “trauma in my background.” In neither case was anything more serious than creepiness alleged, much less proven.
This is where the similarities end and differences begin. Apparently, Pavone was defrocked by due canonical process, and because of offenses which were ecclesiastical, not carnal. In contrast, Gothard was summarily canned after a critical mass of gossip about carnality.
grooming is not a weird term at all. Do you know how to boil a live frog? You put the frog in a pot of water and slowly turn up the heat. The frog adjusts to the increasing temperature to where it doesn’t recognize the final danger of being boiled alive. What is called grooming is exactly that, slow incremental words, touches etc. to the point where the victim doesn’t quite realize what is happening until too late. Whether or not Bill saw all these girls as daughters or granddaughters, he was totally inappropriate even in a father/daughter relationship. So finally now, Bill recognizes that maybe he shouldn’t be alone with any female that he has you and your wife as chaperones. It’s a little late now. The poster Was There was trying to tell you this.
Frank Pavone was laicized due to long term disobedience to his bishop. He has had a long history of this to where he moved around to find a friendly bishops to him to where he could just do what he wanted. This resulted in the bishop going to Rome and Pope Francis signed off on him being removed from being a priest. That is a vert short version of the story. This other stuff is now coming out. It is a total tragedy. Priests as part of their vows are suppose to obey the directions of their bishops or their religious orders. They are not allow to do what they want and how they want and when they want. Just a very short explanation on what happen here since you are not familiar with him and the situation.
Again, can’t speak to the priest. We have been around and around on “grooming”. Grooming is a silly term if you cannot define what the individual is being groomed for. Otherwise it is a series of symptoms that can be taken this way or that way. There are things we all agree that cross the line – those episodes do not exist for Bill. *I* think that this is a concerted, organized attempt to cancel Bill. I don’t just think it, I know it. Documents in my possession generated by the accusers themselves prove it. They hated him, so they had to craft a smear that, once repeated enough, would stick to him and take him down. Everyone that has had a hand in that will stand before the Lord and given account in fear and trembling. The Lord is the final judge of all these things.
It looks like Bill Gothard is in the news again. Jinger Duggar has a new book coming out tomorrow.
“Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear”
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jinger-duggar-free-from-cult-like-religious-upbringing-just-consumed-life
” It explores her strict upbringing, as well as what compelled her to walk away from the “false teachings” of Bill Gothard.”
“I can’t say, ‘Oh, it was a cult.’ I will leave that to the experts. But I will say that a lot of things make it tough for kids to leave or families to leave because the community is so tight-knit. The teachings are based on rules – man-made rules.”
“Duggar Vuolo alleged that Gothard’s teachings “are based on fear and superstition,” which left her with a crippling anxiety that she still struggles with today.”
“I remember he would talk about rock music a lot,” she recalled. “He said anything with this specific beat in a drum is harmful. It’s dangerous. He told the story of a young man who was in a car accident and died because he was listening to music with drums. I remember one time we were on our way to one of the seminars and somebody turned on music with drums in the car. I was freaking out. I just thought, ‘Goodness, this is it. We’re going to have a car accident because somebody turned this on.’ I was so fearful. It just consumed my life.”
,” Jinger Duggar makes a bold comparison between Gothard and her older brother, Josh – who was convicted of downloading and possessing child pornography in 2021 – in her forthcoming memoir, Becoming Free Indeed. ”
https://www.yahoo.com/now/bill-gothard-accused-inside-sexual-194402162.html
Thanks for your post. We may put together a formal response at some point, but want to make sure we understand what she is saying.
I skimmed through the Fox article. There are some of the typical errors, including that 30 women accused Bill (no such number ever did). I read the two extreme examples she put forward and we will be reaching out to Bill for comment. Somehow I am guessing there is way more to each account (rock music = wreck, painting = death at sea). The second Yahoo! article was much worse, call IBLP a church (it isn’t), that the church put him out (it didn’t), and particularly that the women quit the suit because of statues of limitations (a lie they told – reality is that the judge had already ruled years earlier that they did not apply if what they claimed was true).
Jinger is free indeed to make her own decisions. I am sorry about her anxiety and fear, which I can relate to. I pluck out this statement:
“There’s a healthy fear of God that the Bible speaks of, but it’s more of an awe reverence, realizing the greatness of God,” she explained.
We are in awe of the greatness of the Grand Canyon, but we are not afraid because it cannot hurt us. The Lord can most definitely hurt us, and it is foolish for any of us to imagine that we know Him so well that we are in no danger of bringing Him to anger. Our nation was founded by those that were genuinely afraid of of the Lord, even while trusting Him to save them because of His promises. Somehow we imagine that we have suddenly found truths in the same Bible they read that renders all that foolish or even dangerous. I submit that their fear of the Lord was much closer to reality than the version the church is rapidly embracing, which is no fear at all.
“I believe in God’s good Grace and freedom to be ourselves!”
That is quite a statement. *I* know what the Bible says, and it does not say that. Where did we get that from? Here is what I read about God’s “good grace”:
Titus 2:11-12 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;”
That is the exact opposite of “freedom to be ourselves”. There comes a crossroads for each of us, where we decide whether we are going to be afraid of God and His word, or whether we will inhale the “woke” spirit of this age that assures us that we are inherently good and we are smart and most of all that we have the right to decide for ourselves what we believe and live our lives by. God is not the God of panic and despair. However, whatever relief we find from the discomfort of fear in this life, it is not worth playing fast and loose with any part of what God has actually said. “Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.” (Proverbs 28:14)
It is always dangerous to cherry-pick quotes and draw final conclusions. So we will be studying what she has to say more closely before crafting an official response.
re: cashing in on Gothard gossip? defense of funky music?
Does Gothard gossip pay? We are about to find out. At least one publisher hopes to profit, beginning on 1/31/23.
The above quotes from the new Vuolo book raise questions. If Gothard’s teaching frightened Mrs. Vuolo, why did she suffer it? Was she a victim of Gothard tyranny, or Duggar tyranny?
Also, why the hyperbole about rock music? We who attended Gothard’s seminars remember the rock music material as but one topic among many others. Did Gothard “talk about rock music a lot?” As a proportion of his overall teaching, rock music was no greater than other topics. But that mote looms as great as a beam to Vuolo. Why? does she resent her famous parents because they forbade funky music in the house of Duggar? What manner of liberty does the book promote? liberty to resent our parents?
re: man-made rules
Does Mrs. Vuolo really object to man-made rules? Has she noticed that these are mostly the rules she obeys without objection, and indeed without noticing, during the routine of her life? Must nothing interfere with Vuolo-made rules? Is her book a case for liberty or for chaos? The Son makes us free indeed, but the world, the flesh, and the devil consign us to chaos.