This is a quick round-up of some strange links between Secretary of State and candidate for Ohio Governor, Ken Blackwell, and the evangelical cult of Bill Gothard.  If you are worried about fringe religious evangelicals infiltrating public life, then make sure you pay attention to Blackwell’s Gothard connections.

First, check out page two of this Character First! newsletter.  It includes excerpts from a speech given by Ken Blackwell to the Greenville, Ohio Character Council in Darke County.  And it also includes this revelation, about how deeply the Gothardites have infiltrated public life:

Remember, these “character qualities” are really the secularized version of Bill Gothard’s fringe teachings.  (Click here to see the 49 traits listed at the Character First! web page; click here to see the same thing at Gothard’s page—though at Gothard’s page they are not sorted alphabetically by trait.)

For Gothard, these align with what he calls “The 49 General Commands of Christ.”  Character is one thing, but taking the fringe teachings of Bill Gothard, and implementing them into civic life is something else entirely.  Even if you think more religiously inspired ideas should influence public life—do you believe the teachings of Bill Gothard, teachings that include the idea that minor chords in music subvert the will of God?

Does this stuff belong on government employee pay stubs?

Think about these weird connections when you see Blackwell’s character building page at his government site.

What’s going on here?

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1. anon says:
   15 Jun 2006  at  11:25 am | #

   More on the Darke County, Ohio “Character Council”:

   They’re affiliated with REACH, a Greenville, Ohio based organization that promotes sexual abstinence.

   From Greenville council minutes, 2-2-02:

   (Safety/Service Director John) Schmidt stated he recently attended the Character Cities Conference in Oklahoma City. Schmidt stated the Darke County Character Council is well established. Schmidt read a poem to summarize the achievements of the Character Council. Schmidt reiterated the support that is necessary for character development in the community.

   For a look at a different Greenville (South Carolina) and its “Character Council” ties to Gothard, read County Program Has Secret Link to Evangelical Radical, The Beat, 5-7-02

2. anononononononononon says:
   15 Jun 2006  at  11:47 am | #

   Ever-devout Jesus General weighed in on Gothard-Character a couple years ago.

3. Royal Water says:
   15 Jun 2006  at  01:38 pm | #

   Well, if you merge Taft/Blackwell/Gothard/Sembler, like they most likely already are in one form or another, you’ll have powerful forces there in Ohio trying to re-educate kids at their most vulnerable stage in life. That can’t be all good, and may even make things worse. I lost over $10,000 (1983 value) of vinyl records when the Sembler cult STRAIGHT, INC. forced my parents to destroy my rock and roll record collection because they claimed that the music on those LP’s would make me use drugs if I heard it again. ARGH!!! Looks like Ohio is a hotbed of cult re-education and fear mongering activity.

   RW

4. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) says:
   15 Jun 2006  at  02:26 pm | #

   http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wnku/local-wnku-515203.mp3

   Second third of the broadcast is an interview with the local Character Council.  Right after buddy LaRosa.  Sounds innocent—but there’s that number 49!

5. kelly says:
   18 Jun 2006  at  01:13 am | #

   i was made to go to a bill gothard seminar when i was a teenager, i remember it very clearly because my parents felt i was getting a little out of hand and needed some good old-fashioned shame poured over my head to get me through until high school graduation. i also remember feeling like if i could just do ABCD like he said, maybe those guilty feelings would go away. i had a notebook and when i got back my mom was pretty happy with the ‘progress’ i had made. of course, to add insult to injury, they burned my janet jackson Rhythm Nation tape!! and then when i switched to wordless music (couldn’t take the christian stuff), they burned it too and told me it was new age…

   if i thought it would do any good, i would become a lawyer and sue these right-wing christian organizations for abuse of children. if you tell a kid that they might go to hell and burn forever, and the only way out is by accepting jesus into their hearts, then you are in effect abusing them (dictionary def: to inflict physical or emotional mistreatment or injury on (as one’s child) purposely or through negligence or neglect and often on a regular basis).