Shiny, Not-So-Happy People (with David and Nancy French)
Shiny Happy People, a new docuseries documenting the effects of the teachings of Bill Gothard on the Duggars, had the biggest debut of any documentary series ever produced by Amazon. In this episode of the Good Faith podcast, guest host Nancy French and “founding friend” David French discuss this popular series, the legacy of Bill Gothard, purity culture, and the true hope for those affected by this anti-Biblical ideology.
SHOW NOTES:
Shiny Happy People on Amazon Prime
‘Shiny Happy People,’ Fundamentalism and the Toxic Quest for Certainty by David French, New York Times; June 13, 2023.
‘They Aren’t Who You Think They Are:’ The inside story of how Kanakuk—one of America’s largest Christian camps—enabled horrific abuse by David French and Nancy French, The Dispatch; Mar 28, 2021
‘It was just a thing at Kanakuk’: Campers and staff say nudity was part of camp cultureBy Nancy French, Springfield News Leader, May 26, 2022
Survivors, ex-employees say Kanakuk Christian camp ‘ministered’ to its sexual predators, by Nancy French, USA Today, May 26, 2022
Nancy French’s Tweet Thread on Kanakuk Ties to Bill Gothard
Joe White Says Pete Newman’s Wife Should’ve Been His First Layer of Accountability [Deposition Video]
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This Podcast brings back a memory from almost 50 years ago. I encountered Bill Gothard through a several day course called “Basic Youth Conflicts” in either 1973 or 1974. I was the Leader of a youth group at the Chapel at Ft. Meade Maryland. I had forgotten about Bill Gothard until this podcast and another podcast from Holy Post discussed him and his movement. I never engaged in any additional courses or parts of Gothard’s work though his organization sent me information for a number of years after.
Great episode — loved listening to Founding Friend David French in dialogue with guest host Nancy French. Thanks for sharing both of your perspectives on this series. It really made me think about the longer-term impacts of this kind of teaching / authoritarian / black-and-white worldview on the church (in a way more subtle and far-reaching than a “traditional” cult in a single geographical location), and our human resistance to nuance…
Great episode. A weird cocktail of nostalgia and nausea. Like Brian (above), me and my (now) wife also attended one of the Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts, as it was called in the early 70s. It was a whole different world back then. I think it would have been helpful to have mentioned that Gothard had been around for over two decades by the time David attended as part of his Protestant “bride price.” Having come to faith out of the counterculture, as did a ton of others on our campus—a fruit of the Jesus Revolution/Movement—Gothard’s teaching actually created something of a framework for those of us who were without a compass of any kind back then. It was only in seminary 4-5 years later when I realized the incredible danger and power that comes from poor hermeneutics. Gothard taught from Proverbs as though it was epistolary literature. So, a verse about children in Proverbs became an axiom, and no longer a proverb (something that is true in some circumstances with some people). The other thing that I really think was at work here too is the intoxicating effect of success and notoriety, and the power and currency they create. Gothard in 1970 was very different than Gothard in 1990. But, there’s a pretty straight line between those decades. Thanks for the work, especially Nancy. It was fun to hear you two on the same show!
Shalom