NZ woman speaks out about life in fundamentalist Christian group
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A woman is speaking out about her time in a fundamentalist Christian group, which teaches that women must obey their husband’s every wish.
Rachel Lees grew up in a conservative Christian home, so was not fazed by dressing modestly or waiting until marriage to have sex, but when she became involved with the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) – also known as the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) – she said every aspect of her life was controlled.
In the early 1990s, her parents attended a seminar in Auckland held by American minister Bill Gothard. Lees said her parents were so inspired they pulled her siblings out of school and began home-schooling them as he instructed.
Gothard was the founder of IBLP, which followed a strict family structure where men held the power, and their wives and children had to obey.
Lees said she was not very interested in Gothard’s teachings but “tagged along”.
At the time Lees was working for a Christian radio station, and she said when she told Gothard this he was “appalled”.
“He told me that was no place for a lady like me to work and offered me an all-expenses trip to IBLP’s headquarters in Chicago to live and serve as his secretary.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/529623/nz-woman-speaks-out-about-life-in-fundamentalist-christian-group.
