A Matter of Basic Principles: Bill Gothard and His Cultish Teachings

by Don Veinot, Jinger Duggar Vuolo (Foreword), Joy Veinot

Since the 1960s, Bill Gothard’s teachings about authority and character have captivated countless numbers of Christian families. Building his Institute in Basic Life Principles outside the framework of most churches and denominations, Gothard created his own unique religious system. His false definitions of grace, “umbrellas of authority,” and fear-based notions of human relationships, all wrapped in Christian veneer, led many to obey Gothard’s “non-optional principles” rather than what the Bible really says. Today, many of those followers feel betrayed by the bondage of legalism and the allegations of abuse at Gothard’s Institute.

In the mid-1990s, Christian apologists Don and Joy Veinot and Ron Henzel began researching IBLP after hearing of heartbreaking stories from those affected by what had become cultish teachings. They found patterns of corruption—from scandal cover-ups to spiritual abuse—which compelled them to expose the serious unbiblical beliefs at the crux of Gothard's worldview.

After extensive research and challenging Bill Gothard in person, the Veinots and Henzel published this book in 2003. Now in this twentieth anniversary edition, they add new material and re-present their conclusions in hopes of further exposing Gothard’s harmful teachings. If you are a survivor of Gothard-style authoritarianism—or if you know of a person who is— A Matter of Basic Principles can help you escape this spiritual oppression and discover the freedom to rejoice in our Lord’s saving grace.


After reading this new book, it is clear that the problems with Gothard’s Bible interpretations go deeper than I ever imagined.— Ron Rhodes, Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries, Author

Provocative, well-researched, easy to read and understand. A much-needed book that should be read by virtually all evangelical pastors—and all supporters of Bill Gothard.— Dr. Robert B. Stewart, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Theology, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Bill’s teaching on legalism, law, and grace deserves careful examination. The authors are to be commended for their concern in publishing this helpful volume.— Dr. Samuel J. Schultz, Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Wheaton College

People impacted by Gothard’s influence and those who minister to them will find no stone unturned in this meticulous analysis. Its research is rigorous, and its anchor is in the Gospel,— Donald T. Williams, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Toccoa Falls College

When you read about the problems relating to Bill Gothard, the problems are logically expressed by properly applying the Scriptures and using Gothard’s own IBLP teachings. It’s not just about questioning a false teacher; it’s about waking us up.— Dr. Jerry Buckner, Adjunct Professor at Gateway Seminary

I have followed the teachings of the Institute of Basic Youth Conflicts from its inception over 35 years ago. From the beginning I have been deeply concerned about the misuse and distortion of the teachings of God’s Word.— Earl D. Radmacher, Th.D ., Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology and President Emeritus of Western Seminary

I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to understand how Gothard, and his followers went well beyond the fundamentals of Scripture and have caused great harm to the body of Christ.— Jim Scudder, Jr., Senior Pastor, Quentin Road Baptist Church

The authors have sifted through an amazing amount of material, have sorted through many issues, and have presented a powerful indictment of many serious errors in Gothard’s teaching, the alarming level of hypocrisy in his personal behavior, and his decades-long resistance to consider correction and improvement of biblical understanding by people who once really wished to be a help to him.— Dr. Ronald B. Allen , Professor of Biblical Exposition, Dallas Theological Seminary

Genres: Nonfiction, Cults

384 pages, Paperback

Published August 23, 2023

About the author

L.L. (Don) and Joy Veinot are co-founder and president of Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc. (MCOI), a mission to cults and non-Christian religions based in Wonder Lake, IL. Don and Joy (his wife since 1970) have been involved in discernment ministry as missionaries to New Religious Movements since 1987. Don is a frequent guest on numerous radio and television broadcasts including The John Ankerberg Show as well as being a staff researcher and writer for the Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc. Journal. Additionally, Don is co-author of the book A Matter of Basic Principles: Bill Gothard and the Christian Life as well as contributing author of Preserving Evangelical Unity: Welcoming Diversity in Non-Essentials. Furthermore, he is the author of various research articles in the CRI Journal, PFO Quarterly Journal, Campus Life Magazine, Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics, Midwestern Journal of Theology, and other periodicals.

Don was ordained to the ministry by West Suburban Community Church of Lombard, IL at the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem, Israel in March of 1997. He is a charter member of International Society of Christian Apologetics (ISCA) and is also the current President of Evangelical Ministries to New Religions (EMNR), a consortium of counter-cult/apologetic and discernment ministries from around the country. In addition, Don co-hosts a weekly webcast with Ron Henzel, Senior Researcher for MCOI, called “The Unknown Webcast,” which can be found on their YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/c/MidwestoutreachOrg. The MCOI website is www.midwestoutreach.org. MCOI also
has a weekly e-letter, The Crux, and you can follow Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc. on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Parler, and USA.Life.

Reviews

[Peter Vik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly important book. I wish very much that I had known about it when the first edition was published. I had heard of Bill Gothard, and he sounded harsh and legalistic, but I had no idea how deep the poison went. It will forever be a blemish on evangelical Christianity of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century that this man’s teachings were allowed to be so influential, and that more leaders did speak out against them. Having known people who were in some way influenced by Gothards teachings over the years, I can only repent for not having taken the time to learn more and plead with them to examine these teachings in light of God’s Word. Thankfully, there were godly witnesses like Ron Allen and the late Earl Radmacher (excellent Bible scholars whom I admire very much), who did speak out with biblical clarity on the problems of Gothard’s false teachings. Unfortunately, their concerns did not fall on a wide audience.
With Gothard’s moral failures coming to light in recent years, many are denouncing him personally, but hid organization (The IBLP) continues, and continues to peddle his false teachings. The church will need to combat these teachings for years to come. This is why this book is so important. With meticulous validation it shows that there was no sudden catastrophe for Gothard or the IBLP. The problems, whether in character or teaching, were there from the beginning. The influence this has had on many families is, I believe, a major contributor in young people leaving the Christian faith. But the reality is, those who leave Gothardism are not really leaving the Christian faith at all, but a system of false teachings from a false teacher. The book shows how Gothard redefined grace as works, and heaped mountains of teachings on his followers that had no foundation in any biblical text.
The damage done to families and churches cannot simply be undone, but I hope that healing can occur, and those abused by this system can find the true gospel of God’s grace. For this to happen, I believe, there will need to be sincere and honest repentance on the part of pastors and parents who allowed Gothardism to have a place in their families or ministries. A sincere confession that they unintentionally exposed their congregations or their children to false teaching. An honest admission that those teachings are not found in the scriptures, and thus, they exposed those under their spiritual care to a system of teaching that was not biblical Christianity. Perhaps, with an admission like this, some of those who were bruised and broken by this evil will have a chance to discover the real biblical faith, rooted in the character and work of the real Christ. May the Lord be so gracious to His church.

[Brandi Cheek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book exposed the truth about Gothard’s ministry during a time that his influence had a firm grip on church culture even in places where Gothard wasn’t even a household name. I only wish my family and others I grew up with had paid attention to the content of this book as it is indisputable evidence of the corruption in IBLP. But like this book mentions, pride keeps us from viewing these things objectively and many knew of the bigger problems with Gothard but still wouldn’t reject His teachings as a whole.

I appreciate the careful records and documentation of Gothard’s correspondences which shows the unbiblical nature of his dealings with those who challenged him. Through his letters we see his undeniable pride, his refusal to accept correction, and his flawed method of interpreting scripture that led so many thousands astray.

I also greatly appreciated hearing real life, well-documented stories of others who challenged Gothard and paid the consequences. I was shocked and disturbed by many of these stories. Many people who know of Gothard know about the sexual abuse that occurred in IBLP which is mentioned in this book, but the primary focuses in this book is on the stories of spiritual and financial abuse of families. I would so love to read more about Ron’s own experience in a Gothard-influenced church but I unfortunately I have been unable to find further information online.

I didn’t give this book 5 stars simply because it seemed to in only a few areas to read like a heated personal opinion of Gothard. If there wasn’t so much supported documentation I would say it does harm to its credibility. Certainly for someone who may still adhere to the teachings of IBLP and is skeptical of the book’s content from the outset, those heated opinions may give reason in their own minds for them to disregard the book entirely.

I was blessed by the thorough presentation of the true gospel in the last chapter presented in contrast to the false gospel of IBLP. This is really the heart of the “matter of basic life principles,”: Jesus’ yoke is easy, and His burden is light. Matt. 11:30 Follow Him, and find rest for your souls.

[moriah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up in an environment very similar to IBLP and I’ve experienced a lot of different cults, all with the same kind of patriarchal teachings. My childhood was heavily steeped in patriarchy and obedience/control focused teaching. My family has recently left this lifestyle and we have realized just how horrible and damaging these teachings are, and how deeply they have been ingrained in us, having always been taught a fear based faith.

[Mark Reeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read the original publication, I bought this one to see how much had changed.

I was expecting a lot more in terms of updates but was fairly disappointed. I would still have rated the new book at 5 stars except for one major issue: nothing was updated about Gothard's Medical Training Institute of America, which is no longer on the internet nor does IBLP have a link to it, and a Google search reveals nothing but groups criticizing it when it existed. This is a significant omission; if the material is still being promoted by IBLP the public should know such, or if it is not.

[Allan Nemer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me first state that I never got involved with the teachings of Bill Gothard. This is a good book but an emotionally difficult read. The sheer scale of unbiblical behavior and teachings on the part of Mr. Gothard is staggering. The authors have done a good job of presenting their evidence. Yet, because of that it becomes, at least for me anyway, a more difficult read. It's worth reading to the end but prepare yourself.