“I remember someone telling my parents about a ‘seminar’ that seemed to give them hope. I remember the desperation in my mother’s eyes. I remember when my parents came home with arms full of books and papers – and then, what seems like a short time later, they announced that we were going to start homeschooling.”
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“Did you know that demons can be sexually transmitted? That many Vietnam veterans’ problems are caused by demons picked up from prostitutes? That a person can be ‘demonized’ through listening to music, watching TV, or by playing Dungeons & Dragons? Welcome to the world of Dr. James Logan, ‘the demon whisperer’, ‘the Stephen King of ATI’, pastor, adviser to missionaries, and conservative fundamentalist exorcist.”
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“I did not want to go. That is the first thing I remember about EXCEL, The Advanced Training Institute (ATI)’s eight-week program for teenage girls and young women, which stood for Excellence in Character, Education, and Leadership. My parents had sent me to ATI’s Indianapolis Training Center for a ten-day counseling seminar a little over a year before I went to EXCEL.”
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“Many people will call me embittered, angry, or any number of pejorative terms to delegitimize my story, but I am not telling my story in an attempt to lash out and hurt my parents. I am telling my story because I now know that my story is not unique. All across America, former homeschoolers are dealing with convoluted and dysfunctional relationships with their parents.”
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“It is time for Homeschoolers Anonymous to talk about Bill Gothard. It is time to speak up about Gothard, the Institute for Basic Life Principles (IBLP), and Gothard’s homeschooling cult, the Advanced Training Institute (ATI). I have been blown away by the response to my initial discussion among our alumni community. People are excited to tell their ATI stories.”
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Homeschoolers Anonymous 