Gothardism: Biblical Exegesis or Peddling the Gospel for a Profit?

Devil: “If you are the son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you,”

and,

‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

Jesus: “It is also written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”


This interaction between Satan and Jesus shortly after Christ’s baptism is precisely instructive in understanding the way in which Satan used Holy Scriptures and how our Lord also used them. I believe that this encounter also gives us clear insight into how Bill Gothard does Biblical interpretation, and sadly it is not in the manner in which Christ did, so that leaves the reader to surmise which tact that Gothard takes.

Indeed, as we mentioned in our previous article, the basis for just about all of Gothardism’s “various and strange doctrines” [Heb. 13:9] is his interpretation of the Word of God. When one thinks about it, this should not surprise us, for the Bible as the Word of God is a critical and indispensable doctrine of evangelicalism and if one is going to deal with the evangelical community, one must at least do some deference to the Word of God, the Bible. Even cultists like Jim Jones, David Korsesh, though entirely antithetical to the faith of Christ, almost necessarily use Scriptures to craft each of their idiosyncratic views of reality. And what surprise? None, for that is exactly what Satan was doing in his encounter with Jesus Christ in the wilderness when Jesus Christ was subjected to testing by the greatest of deceivers, yet without sin.

It is the opinion of this writer that Bill Gothard’s treatment of Holy Writ is quite similar, if not identical, to the way in which Satan employed the Word of God in his encounter with Jesus. Lest the reader think I am stretching the case, let me remind the reader that the Devil was quoting Psalm 91: 11, 12, and doing so in such a way that even the conservative Baptist scholar D.A. Carson says:

“Satan quoted Psalm. 91: 11-12, from the LXX, omitting the words ‘to guard you in all your ways.’ The omission itself does not prove he handled the Scriptures deceitfully.. since the quotation is well within the range of common NT citation patterns.” [D.A. Carson, Expositor's Bible Commentary: Matthew, vol. 1, page 113]

In other words, Satan was not using the Scriptures any more wrongly than your local Baptist preacher might. His deceit lay somewhere else. Carson continues:

“Satan’s deceit lay in misapplying his quotation into a temptation that easily traps the devout mind by apparently warranting what might otherwise be thought sinful.” [ibid; emphases mine]

Bingo. Carson has with these words caught Bill Gothard barehanded. His writings reveal that it is this ploy that has been used repeatedly over the years to dupe otherwise intelligent evangelicals to believe and practice unbiblical things. It will be my goal to make this deceit [I know that is a strong word, but that is what I think it is, just as in the case of Satan] apparent to the evangelical community that has not shown much discernment in this matter over the last 30 or 40 years.

The ease in which evangelicals were/are duped into following such obvious unbiblical practices is still to me a stunning phenomenon, for Gothard’s misuse of the Word of God is so obvious and blatant that most of our church members would have immediately hoisted red flags of warning just hearing them spoken or seeing them written. But diabolical interpretation [I will coin this phrase solely for the purpose of this series of articles to denote the method of Bible “exegesis” employed commonly by Bill Gothard] is extremely alluring, having the appearance of orthodoxy and yet inside it is full of putrefying things. On one level, I want to excuse the millions of evangelicals who were duped into following Gothard on the basis of what I have just said: diabolical interpretation is seductive and alluring to the unwary and unskilled person. On the other hand, I want to severely chastise and accuse the leaders of those millions of sheep for malfeasance of their calling, for they are called to protect and care for the sheep, not to subject them to the abuse of false prophets, just because those false prophets quote a little Scripture and sell a few books or seminars. Their neglect and failure cries out for some kind of justice, really, but I will leave that to our Lord, who I believe has a very severe judgment reserved for the shepherds of the sheep. May God and Jesus Christ rebuke them in accordance to their works. As for me, I will respond to that which presents itself to my own life and ministry with the attitude expressed by the Apostle Paul in 2 Cor. 10:3-6:

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”

Now, before I begin to detail the diabolical interpretation employed by Gothard, I want to make a second point. Reviewing a huge amount of literature already, and taxing my speed-reading abilities to the max, I find an attitude among the critics of Gothard that is, in my view, seems gracious and fair but is entirely wrong and false; that is, the notion that we must somehow cull out the good from what Gothard teaches and discard the bad. Some critics were almost apologetic in their critique, wanting to appear fair and impartial in their criticism. As I read this over and over again, I began to wonder why the inordinate attention to this issue? Of course our critique of heresy must not be cruel, mean-spirited or inhumane, but we also are not to have all that much latitude with heresy, either. As I read more, I then was able to surmise that this had been a huge issue in the earlier years, as when a man had written a book about Gothard. The book, written by Wilfred Bockelman, “Gothard, The Man and His Ministry; an Evaluation,” was published and delivered to a number of books stores but soon encountered a backlash from Gothardites all over the country. It seems that the book was in fact fairly favorable to Gothard and his ministry, but it contained a section that called into question the very issue with which we are dealing with here: Gothard’s questionable exegesis/interpretation of Scripture. The history of that event is a sad one indeed, as the book was pretty much censored by the evangelical community, the books stores actually sending boxes of the book back to the publishing house unopened, all apparently based on a reaction to even the smallest and even scholarly criticism of any aspect of Gothard and/or his ministry.

Also, in personal dealings with other critics, Gothard has invoked Matthew 18: 15-17 to quell any public criticism, using his familiar diabolical interpretation in the very process, by wresting his own viewpoint out of a passage of Scripture that has nothing to do with the instant case of his public abuse of the Bible and of the church of God. Many have been cowed by his intimidation and fallen victim to accepting his mistaken view of criticism of fellow believers. Frankly, I am not sure any of this applies, for I am not nearly so liberal as most critics, and confess that I am not at all sure that Gothard is a regenerate man at all; indeed, his teachings almost persuade me that he is not. Nonetheless, I will leave that question also unanswered here, though my own suspicions are obvious.

Homey don’t play dat!

But I do not buy his diabolical ploy to quell any and all criticism. Honest ministry and scholarship yields itself to the test of criticism and review by others. This is a reality that Gothard appears not to believe, for his approach to his ministry is secretive and illusive. He says that “If someone wants to know what we teach, let them come to the seminars.” No thanks. Rather, submit your teachings to public examination and then I will have some reasonable knowledge to decide if I would desire to attend your seminars -- or not, perhaps. When a person holds themselves out as the voice of God [Gothard does], and presents himself as an authority in matters of the faith, he is by definition subject to review, assessment and critique. I would suggest that he buck up and stop complaining about those who wish to pick a bone with him. It depends, of course, as to whether his critics have a leg to stand on. If not, then they themselves are as guilty of deception and poor manners as is Gothard himself. But if there are thoughtful and accurate criticisms of Gothardism, let them all be considered, I say. The Gospel is of no private interpretation, the Word of God says. Even the Apostle Paul, a divinely inspired writer, was subjected to the thoughtful and careful critique of the believers at Berea, so that today be known as a Berean is to be recognized as one who is thoughtful and careful in evaluating teachers and all those who hold themselves out as men of God.

But I go further in my view. I think that it is actually improper to talk of “taking the bad with the good,” or that Gothard’s ideas contain some small element of truth and therefore we ought to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. That might be an acceptable aphorism, rightly applied to some situations. But when applied to the issue of Biblical interpretation and application, it is a deadly deception. Indeed, though Satan was accurately quoting Scripture, his intent was devious and deceitful. At the end of that encounter, Jesus retorted:

“Away with you, Satan!”

Apparently Jesus did not share the same largess that Gothard’s critics seem to have. Corrupt teaching cannot be salvaged by an appeal to some small good that seems to be contained somewhere therein. That would be the same as to suggest that the admonition of “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” would be something to salvage from a pagan philosophy because it contains something of the Word of God! Well, I say as the Apostle Paul was apt to say it: “God forbid!” If a man is a false prophet, we are not to pay attention to anything he says, and we are to discard and avoid his teaching altogether. Anything less is, in my own opinion, an invitation to confusion, abuse and spiritual destruction. The question, of course, is whether or not Gothard is a false teacher. I maintain that he is, and that his diabolical interpretation of the Word of God proves that he employs the same method of handling the Scriptures as did Satan in his encounter with Christ. A serious charge indeed, but as they say, if the shoe fits --

Next article: Diabolical Biblical interpretation: Opinion made into Scripture