Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati

Photo courtesy of here.

A murderer who shot up Christians before getting killed by a church security guard was raised a Gothardite—a cult-like sect of ultra-evangelicals who follow the teachings of Bill Gothard.  These teachings, incidentally, have a secularized front designed to infiltrate social and political institutions (like police departments), known as “Character Cities.” We happen to have a Greater Cincinnati Character Cities organization—originally implemented by Phil Heimlich, with Anthony Munoz as a front-man for advertising.

In a piece written for In These Times by Silja Talvi, entitled ”Cult of Character,” Talvi highlights many of the troublesome aspects of the “character” movement.  And a few years ago, an I-Team in Indianapolis released a series of stories detailing the abuse kids experienced in one of these Gothardite training centers.

With direct connections to Bill Gothard, one must wonder how congressional candidate Phil Heimlich might respond to this most recent tragedy involving a young life led astray by these weird teachings.  One must also wonder about Anthony Munoz, generally respected in the community as a principled leader. 

The Greater Cincinnati Character Council has continued to plug away, with no real exposure about their strange connections to a character like Bill Gothard.

Thank you for reading (and printing from) The Cincinnati Beacon.