The 49 Character Qualities of Ruth #8 - a blog about growing up under Bill Gothard's teachings

[Shallah Kali]

{btw Huckabee appears to be a Gothard follower http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2008/01/18/huckabee/index.html http://dogemperor.newsvine.com/_news/2008/01/18/1238654-mike-huckabee-member-of-bill-gothard-cult. Palin has connections as well http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/18/palin_iacc/ http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4173778 http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/19/162534/731/103/603997 . }

http://nolongerquivering.com/series/the-49-character-qualities-of-ruth/

This entry is part 8 of 8 in the series The 49 Character Qualities of Ruth

Security vs. Anxiety -Structuring my life around that which is eternal and cannot be destroyed or taken away (John 6:27) – Bill Gothard
http://nolongerquivering.com/2010/02/27/the-49-character-qualities-of-ruth-8/

(Note from Ruth: This chapter is about my experience and my life. This is not intended to represent any family but my own or any childhood but my own. I fully realize that the adults involved made choices that were, even if influenced by ATI discipline strategies, in fact, choices. Not all ATI families utilize the same strategies or would implement them in the same manner. In addition, I am not going to name, even in pseudonym, the brothers who perpetuated the abuses I speak of here. They were children at the time these things happened and just as much victims of the circumstances as was I. I’ve also had my therapist give me input on writing this portion of the story.)

snip

I wasn’t blanket trained – that would become commonplace in ATI families later. I was, however, from birth, forced to spend one hour per day listening to a recording of the Bible. In early infancy, this was usually done during my time in the wind-up swing, while mom cleaned or did other things for my brothers.

At the age of six months, this changed and I was to spend this bible time in “obedience training”. Kay oversaw the institution of this practice. I was put in a play pen and the tape would begin to play. If I cried, I was picked up and swatted on the butt. I don’t remember this, of course, but it’s been described to me by my older brothers. If I continued to cry, a sheet was placed over the top of my play pen to keep my eyes from wandering. If I continued to object or looked as if I were doing anything but listening to the tape, I was swatted again. This was repeated until the hour was completed or I had stopped crying. As a result of this, I began to associate crying with immediate and swift punishment.

When I outgrew the playpen and could sit on my own, I was placed on a chair and the scripture would be read or played. The same rules applied- if I cried or fidgeted, I was swatted. As I (or “we”, since this applied to all the children) learned to sit still, my mother or, usually, my father would put toys within my reach during this time. If we made movement to grab the toy, we were punished.

http://razingruth.blogspot.com/2009/09/blanket-training.html

Blanket training
TWOP has been discussing blanket training lately. My mom didn't do it with me or my older siblings but she did it with my younger siblings. I remember Luke and Matt having an especially rough time of it. In my house, it worked the way I'm about to describe it but this varies household-to-household. I think it probably depends on how quick the parents are to adopt the "spare the rod" ethic.

Matt and Luke were placed on their own blankets. One thing people don't hear is that those blankets aren't big. They're not supposed to be bigger than a bath towel or crib quilt. Each child had their own to reduce the temptation to play together. I was told that playing together during blanket time wouldn't encourage self control and I never understood that because that's when we exercise the most self-control (in dealing with others, right?). If the boys went off the blanket, they were slapped on the hands or feet. Whatever body part went off first. If they cried they had to sit for added minutes on the blanket. My mom started when the kids were starting to crawl so ages depended on how mobile the child was. Matt was very mobile so he got the worst in blanket training. We also weren't supposed to talk to the child who was in training.

Christian Dominionism ~ Part 3: Bill Gothard and the Ties that Bind Extremist Politics to Christian Patriarchy
by nolongerquivering
http://nolongerquivering.com/2009/11/04/christian-dominionism-part-3-bill-gothard-and-the-ties-that-bind-extremist-politics-to-christian-patriarchy/#more-2855

misc. articles that talk of gothard @ talk2action, a news site that covers rw activity http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=gothard&btnG=Google+Search&domains=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.talk2action.org%2F&sitesearch=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.talk2action.org%2F