Exclusive Brethren Digest

The Age has been hammering out Exclusive Brethren articles, which is somewhat surprising. Although, any investigation into a secretive sect with obvious influence on the constructs of western democracies, with the occasional family destruction on the side, should not be surprising.

The Exclusive Brethren:

• have 40,000 members worldwide, about 18,000 in Australia.
• meet in rooms, not churches
• are allowed no entertainment (novels, university attendance, wearing of shorts, mobile phones, voting or contraception)
• the no-computer rule has been modified recently, with computers now allowed if they are leased from Mr Hales' office supply business.
• rule-breaking leads to excommunication, the loss of contact with all family members and the loss of business networks.
• have spent an unknown amount on the 2004 Australian federal election campaign; ($US530,000 — $A704,400) on the George Bush re-election campaign, and an unknown sum on the 2006 Tasmanian election.

They strongly campaign against green parties, and to a lesser extent the ALP’s of the world, and push towards the Howard’s and Bush’s.

From correspondence to The ABC:

“God ordains the powers that be. Voting is a political interference with God’s rights in this regard.” Which sound fine, but there’s a catch: “Satan infiltrates government and legislation, seeking to weaken man’s sense of what is due to God. No enlightened Christian would stand by and do nothing, while ignorant persons call good evil and evil good.” (And that even asking about the hypocritical vote=bad, campaign=good, means you are influenced by the MP’s they campaign against.)

This all sounds acceptable, but it is dishonest. Their campaigns are entirely secular, if they weren’t they’d distribute these:

From the collection of their actual pamplets here http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/docs/bbgreens.pdf

The following (from AU/NZ) are evils masquerading as goods, and the work of Satan:

TAXES:
Introducing Gift & inheritance taxes, introducing capital gains taxes on family homes, introducing petrol and diesel taxes, increasing company tax, increasing Medicare levy, removing private health care rebate.

DRUGS:
decriminalizing cannabis, allowing cannabis in some venues, testing heroin treatment programs, looking at other options of “social drugs” – ie: ecstacy, offer financial assistance to cannabis growers for alternative employment

NATIONAL SECURITY:
non-violent civil defence forces, only allowing asylum seekers to be detained for 14 days, welcome all refugees e.g. boat people (Ooooh, boat people, thanks for clarifying.), cutting defence spending, teaching criminals art (seriously, it’s there)

SOCIETY:
A smaller population, not building more jails, giving criminals voting rights, unconditional dole payments, scrap work-for-the-dole, legalize same-sex marriage, sex chance operations funded by Medicare, persons to choose their own gender regardless of their sex at birth, cancel all Third World Debt (Nice)

ROADS:
Spending money on “novel” public transport, blocking road construction

FARMS:
Pushing high country farmers off their lease-hold land, permit right-to-roam over private property

ENVIRONMENT:
Not lauding Howard as the saviour of the environment, introducing carbon tax, supporting the Kyoto protocol, adding more Government ministries

Summary:

• New taxes for people and companies are evil.
• All drugs are evil, decriminalising or helping drug users is evil.
• Non-violence is evil.
• Not punishing and traumatising boat people is evil.
• Teaching criminals art is evil.
• Providing asylum for boat people is evil.
• Cancelling Third World Debt is evil.
• The Kyoto protocol is evil.
• Homosexuality is all evil.

This seems to have little to do with EB’s technology, shorts, and entertainment are-all-evil line. I can understand the gay stuff – Jesus publicly bashed gays, or something, apparently there’s something in the bible that makes it OK to do that.

And on the subject of technology being evil, here’s how one EB priest put the reasons for their previous no-computer stance: “The whole IT system if you like, the computer area is marked and running into the mammon of sin in revelation. The number 666 I’m sure you’ll know about, and there it is, bar codes and everything. So we seek just simply to live a life separate from that.”

See? Makes perfect sense.

They’ve also popped out this little doosy faxed in correspondence with the ABC:

They’ve been involved in many things for quite some time, which makes recent revelations all the more disturbing.

IN 16 years as chief justice of the Family Court, Alastair Nicholson had only two delegations of people asking for special treatment, and both were from the Exclusive Brethren – wishing to prevent excommunicated from having further contact with their partner or children, which they believe they should have no right to do. With bans on TV, novels, newspaper, mobile phones, and, disgustingly, higher education - they also wished to restrict what the parent could do. The money came from the daily Brethren meetings donations – for a “fighting fund.”

(Lib)Peter Reith rang (Dem) Andrew Murray in 1996 about the workplace relations act – he’d had meetings with EB and wanted to confirm support for the continued inclusion of union-banning clauses. It was denied.

The government claims the clause was not designed to please EB, but since 2002, every one of the 30+ employers who claimed a "conscientious objection" (union banning) exemption belonged to the Exclusive Brethren church.

In 2001, amendments to the Workplace Relations Act substantially expanded the right of some businesses to exclude unions, banning not just closed shops but preventing any union official entry to a workplace, if staff agreed. The staff consultation clause was removed under WorkChoices this year.

(Lib) Eric Abez claims there is no special dealing with the clause, this is all just religious vilification, despite having met with members of EB several times, that the law had been in industrial relations law "since Menzies", and nothing had changed. (Well, apart from the changes, nothing has changed.) Research by the parliamentary library shows that a conscientious objection provision was first introduced in Queensland in 1948 after lobbying by the Exclusive Brethren.

In 1948, might wanna let that sink in a bit. Back when Israel was created, back when Jeff Kennett and Al Gore were BORN.

Barnaby Joyce, MP for a year now, recalls half a dozen visits by EB members (re: industrial relations, and their battle with Bob Brown), and notices them in a Parliament House cafeteria.

The Victorian Nationals leader has had a meeting with four members, discussing policies on gay rights and abortion, and they've also been "watching from the public gallery (in NZ) on most sitting days."

Facts:

• EB has between 33 and 38 schools in Australia.
• 10 in Victoria
• 13 in NSW
• EB schools are not always identifiable.
• Victorian EB schools get $1.2 million this year (although typically have no computers.)
• Women may not preach or pray aloud, must have long hair and wear headscarves.
• Men have short hair and must be clean shaven.
• They only marry other members.
• Councils provide rate exemptions on each of their dozen parcels of land in Australian capital cities on the grounds they are used for religious worship.
• The Supreme Court of Queensland ruled last December that Exclusive Brethren were not eligible for the millions of dollars in rate exemptions they claimed during the 1990s because their church services were held in private, and did not fit the category of "public worship". (They have reapplied for exemption, offering to make changes to premises or practises.)
• Looser laws in Victoria means easier exemption.
• Leaders receive millions in tax-free dollars in donations each year.
• There are weekly “fighting fund” donations, and donations for the upkeep of “churches”.
• There is a monthly “special collection”, which goes straight to leaders, and not the poor. (Poverty is a sign of God’s punishment, and few members are poor, so little would end up in the hands of needy Brethren.)
• An Age journalist was refused entry to a Brethren meeting because he "could be the most corrupt man in Melbourne".
• Previous world leader, American James Symington, boasted of buying 600 hectares of prime North Dakota ranch land out of the proceeds of donations from the EB flock.

I’m struck as to why all they put so much effort into all this. Apparently, it has to do with the final rapture, with Jesus’ return after the tribulations (as opposed to before) and that can only happen once Christians have taken over the reins of government, and got the world under Christian control. (According to an academic specializing in religion.)

Or perhaps it’s just a good old power trip/scam/another participant in the conga line of hijacked religions that seem to plague us so much nowadays.

It’s a shame this sects' influence has only begun to concern us, and especially shameful nothing has been done to prevent damage they've caused to families. Those who support and aid members that leave have yet to be given adequate recognition of their efforts.

But most shameful of all, is that no party except the Greens supported Bob Browns motion to investigate the sect’s political and social activities, which will now continue unabated.

I might go investigate further into my nearest EB “church”, there’s one in my adjoining suburb, perhaps I’ll walk.