A Christian interaction with the Amazon Original show, “Shiny Happy People”.
It’s Evil!
At the outset here let me clearly and plainly communinate a very important reality. I believe that IBLP (the Institute of Basic Life Principles), the Bill Gothard teachings, and culture are pure evil. I do not believe this, however, stems from any biblical teachings that have found themselves in the cross hairs. For clarity let me list the biblical teachings that have been brought into question because of this show. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list. It is a list of those that are most strategically questioned.
- Biblical submission
- Biblical family leadership
- Biblical corporal discipline
- Biblical child-rearing
- Christian involvement in culture
There are many logical fallacies that are used in the production of this show. If the Christian is not careful they can be sucked into them. Just to name a few…
- The straw-man
- The false dilemma
- The hasty generalization
- The correlation/causation
- The Texas sharpshooter
Again, this is not a complete list of the logical fallacies that are used in this show, but simply some of the most glaring.
My wife grew up in IBLP. The scars of that trauma have haunted her, her family, and countless other kids to this very day. Many of the troubles we had the early days of our marriage can be traced back to the legalism that was packaged as Christianity from Bill Gothard. However, the underlying premise of the show is that; the teachings of the Bible which are clearly misogynistic and abusive, allowed Bill Gothard a platform. “Biblical teaching” that subjects the female as a lower class, are used by IBLP to keep women in a place where they have no voice. Spanking your children is abusive and only creates an environment where little boys become child pornographers. The false dilemma is created, you can either be a well-balanced normal human being OR a Bible believing abuser. My critics will now say, but the show never gave those as the two options. “Fundies” are those who believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Fundies or fundamentalists are the ones who grow up, and unless you ultimately reject those teachings, you’ll end up as another Gothard reprobate. But my goal here is not to spend great amounts of time tearing down the show. My goal is to pinpoint the objection I have to the all-or-nothing mentality that this show desires to leave the Christian with. Be biblical or be sane, is the option given. I couldn’t disagree more.
What’s Evil?
The evil that we find in the IBLP movement is the evil of moralism. Moralism is the teaching that by having the proper morals, one is able to please God. Every single world religion has this same teaching in common. All religions teach that there is a path to peace with God and that path is by being obedient to these teachings or laws. Biblical Christianity teaches the exact opposite of this ideal. The biblical gospel is the message that there is nothing anyone can do in order to find peace with God. God must sovereignly save a person from their own sins apart from their own sinful bent. God must intervene and provide the way to have peace with Himself. Mankind turned away from their loving creator and rebelled just after creation. Jesus; being fully God, because of the great love that He has for His people, became a man, obeys the divine law of God on our behalf, and now offers that peace with God without merit or work. How does one know that God has done that for them? Because of a supernatural change in their innermost self. Desires for sin are replaced with desires for obedience to the Bible. The difference is huge. Any obedience to the Bible I have is because God has already adopted me as one of His children. I could never do enough to merit that adoption–it’s a free gift.
The biblical gospel will always lead to freedom and peace with God. Moralism will always lead to fear, abuse, and death. The Jews had the Pharisees who turned the Word of God into a guide-book on morals so as to remain “in the covenant”. The Muslims have the Jihadists who take the teachings of the Koran and weaponize them into acts of terror. It is a hasty generalization to label “fundamentalist” (those who fundamentally believe the Bible is God’s Word) as sex-crazed abusers. It is moralistic abuse of the Word of God that has lead to the creation of such abusers. “It’s better for a girl to put a knife to her throat, than to give in to gluttony.” This was quoted as a Bible verse. That’s not a bible verse. “But the Bible does say women ought to submit/obey to their husbands.” Yes it does. And for every declaration of submission that a woman is called to, a man is called equally to sacrifice himself for her. “Wives submit… Husbands love as Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself up for her.” A husband must first abuse the Bible before he could ever use it to abuse his wife. “The Bible says to spank your children.” Absolutely. It also says, “Father’s do not provoke your children to anger.” Again, a mother or father must first abuse the Scriptures if they are going to use them to abuse their children.
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Ephesians 5:22-33 (ESV)
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:1-4 (ESV)
(Note: underlines are mine.)
Satan’s Trick
This is Satan’s trick–the twisting of Scripture. He was guilty of that very thing the first time we see him interact with mankind.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
Genesis 3:1 (ESV)
God gave a specific command that Adam and Eve not eat of a certain fruit from a certain tree in the middle of the garden. Satan twisted God’s words and added in “any”. Don’t get me wrong though. Eve also twisted God’s words. When she sought to correct the serpent she added to God’s words…
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
Genesis 3:2-3 (ESV)
Eve added her own little bit in their too. “Neither shall you touch it…” God never said that. They could have plucked all that fruit and invented stick ball with the limbs of that tree. But moralism entered in and destroyed God’s perfect design for the garden of Eden. The abuse of God’s words leads to all manner of evil.
The trick here is to show you one thing and equate it for what God actually said. God says, discipline your children, spank them, the twisted version shows you “blanket training”. God says wives submit to your husbands, the twisted version shows you wife spanking and disciplinary intercourse. God says that the father is spiritual leader of the home, when that’s twisted you get extreme patriarchal expressions like the Duggars. God says be fruitful and multiply, Satan shows you “quiverfull” extremism, ALERT militia training, Joshua Generation, and so many other terrible abuses.
The Right Path
Biblical marriages require a husband and wife who love, respect, and value one another as equals. Biblical parenting requires mothers and fathers who love and desire to train up their children in the way they should go. Who garner influence in their children’s lives through discipline not punishment. Biblical civics teach that Christians are to be good citizens, subject to the governing authorities that God has sovereignly placed over them.
But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
1 Thessalonians 4:10–12 (ESV)
I agree that; IBLP, Bill Gothard, the Duggars, and so many of these things the show uncovered are terrible evils. I personally have experienced a direct interaction with these evils in my own family. But these evils are not the result of biblical teaching. These evils are the direct result of evil people twisting God’s perfect Scriptures to suit their own twisted wills. To say that the Bible gave opportunity for these evil actions would be like blaming the atrocities of a serial killer, on the city in which they took place. The paved roads you provided, gave the killer the opportunity to travel from one place to another. The water and sewer systems you created and maintain, were used by the killer to cover up his crimes. You handed victims over to this killer, by allowing people to live in this city. The intention of the city planner was that the full gambit of the city be used for the betterment of the people who dwelt there, not so that some demented person could abuse these things to accomplish their sinister plans.
Thru the Maze
Biblical submission to husbands is good and right. Biblical spanking, and behavioral training is good and right. Biblical civic involvement is good and right. Lording your authority over your wife, is evil. Physical punishment of your children is evil. Insurrection toward a representative government is evil. Mark my words, Satan, the world, and our own flesh are luring us to one of three responses to these things;
- Draw you in the opposite direction of biblical teaching.
- Tell you the teaching is good, but wait a little longer to implement it in your own life.
- Compel you to take that teaching to an extreme unbiblical end.
No matter which of these three options you take, you’re still losing the battle. If you wake up from number “1”, the opposite lifestyle, you’ll be tempted to succumb to option “3” and swing the pendulum too far. If you are living in option “3” that same pendulum will want to swing you all the way to option “1”. Option “2” normally becomes greater fuel for either pendulum swing, once you make up your mind you need to actually act. Satan, the world, and the flesh end up catching the Christian coming or going too often. We are all or nothing creatures, and as such too many babies are thrown out of the bathwater.
Here is a call to find the narrow path. The path that finds its way, walking on the fulcrum, the balancing beam. The place where we seek not to fall off into the ditch on either side of the road. It’s a tightrope walk sometimes, but it’s the way the Lord would have us walk.
Final Analysis
Here now at the end I want to express a sentiment of gratitude for this expose into the life and evils of IBLP, the Gothards and the Duggars. In the very same book and chapter we find the full teaching on Biblical families, we also find the admonition to bring to light the evil in our world. Hiding sin and evil, no matter who is the culprit, is first and foremost a biblical idea. The courage and fortitude that the victims of these crimes had in order to bring to light the atrocities done to them, is truly heroic. That is not to downplay their pain or the personal sacrifice that they went through in deciding to share. It is to laud them for their strength and their obvious desire that others be warned and that justice is rendered. As I pray for my wife, her family, and the countless others I’ll never come to know personally, I’ll be continuing to pray for you. Praying for your continued healing and that you’ll ultimately find the true meaning of Christianity and the love and grace offered by Christ. No strings attached.