Just in case you were stuck for things to pray for ..............!

This is just between you & me - it is not for publication or even placing on notice boards.

Could you imagine that the 'agenda' for Prayer Meetings in any church would or should be regarded as highly confidential?

The subjects which are 'suggested' to Exclusive Brethren as suitable matters for prayer give us insight into what is on the Lord in the Recovery Position(s) aka Bruce Hales fevered mind. The great man sure has a lot to worry about.

It ought to be perfectly obvious that around the world Governments are thinking - hang on, this lot are not remotely charitable - they operate solely for the benefit of their members.

This document also shows the continuing position of the brethren on the Charity Commission, who at last have had the back-bone to do something about this sham of a charity. I object to paying my taxes towards subsidising the brethren schools, meeting halls and other trusts.

So I shall be praying for victory, for those who have been emotionally scared by their experiences and praying that when the Preston Down Trust matter comes to Tribunal good will win over evil.

Copyright acknowledged as above to the Bible & Gospel Trust

Opposition to University education for Exclusive Brethren members is to say the least confused

This is an extract from Bruce D Hales ministry given in Penrith Australia on 31st Jan 2013.

It misses the point completely - banning degree courses for all young Peeblets on principle prevents access to most professions - brethren can not be teachers, doctors, architects, dentists, lawyers, surveyors et al.

Denigrating education in this way is hardly responsible or sensible. It is all very well for an Australian furniture salesman to compare bridge painting or house repairs with softer degree courses, but this fact remains - education is a source of enlightenment & it develops an enquiring mind.

Of course the last thing the reclusive Exclusive Brethren hierarchy want is any sense of free thinking. Brethren are taught obedience from an early age - questioning the truly stupid and damaging edicts (that chop & change) that flow from the clearly muddled & convoluted mind of Mr Hales results in rapid expulsion.

This is an extract that may well come back to haunt this very odd little sect, but what it really means is that Hales & his merry men start to lose control over the minds of young brethren if they begin to think for themselves - and that would be the beginning of the end!

Copyright acknowledged to Bible & Gospel Trust

I see John Anderson is visiting us........!

Apparently Mr Andersen is a senior elder in the Exclusive Brethren's Australian Chapel.

He is in the UK offering expensive words of wisdom to Peeb business executives, firstly at Envoplan in Hemel Hempstead where around 150 Peeb's & Peeblets gathered to learn how to maximise business efficiency in accordance with the Hales business model.

Then it is on to the Excel Centre for American style seminars, at I hear £500 a pop over 2 days.

Thousands of would be accountants sitting exams at the Excel Centre

Then interestingly I am told selected Peeb's are off to Tunbridge Wells for a special Fellowship Mtg. I really do hope that they are not planning to show excessive enthusiasm on numbers!

I have a very good chum in the Kent Fire & Rescue Service who would not take much persuading to pop along early on Saturday morning - all in the interests of keeping people safe.

I do find it extraordinary that a church would even consider stuffing their meeting halls to capacity, way beyond fire regulation (safe) numbers.

Clearly this was the plan at Biggleswade (which is why it was moved to Coventry) and I am told by a Peeb at the Bruce Hales gig that Salisbury was a model fire hazard, my invite was lost en route.

All those cheese sarnies for sweaty firemen would be completely wasted PR if they manage to upset enough senior fire safety officers who will simply place the whole sect on the national fire safety register for regular inspection.

Easy solution - obey the law chaps.

Do the Exclusive Brethren need a South Africa style Truth & Reconciliation Commission?

So many people have been seriously damaged over decades by the Exclusive Brethren's special form of apartheid that there is a suggestion (if they are indeed serious about putting these things right) that they need a type of Truth & Reconciliation Commission.

As we know there will be no peace & certainly no rest for those Brethren Members who have treated families with such injustice.

It is something I think senior brethren members ought to think seriously about, for the harsh treatment meted out to innocent people was & is not Christian.

We are told that things have changed, so what has changed, other than skin deep PR exercises?

For people who have had their lives & families wrecked a simple statement from the Brethren to inform them that 'this is a matter that has been faced / met in the assembly' is simply inadequate.

It is not surprising that the brethren face unprecedented critical comment, so many things need putting right, but when this quirky sect comes out of the shadows & expects to be treated like a grown up main-stream church when they have created mayhem & havoc in peoples lives for so long, the cynics might just ask - is this for real, or is it just about protecting their financial interests?

Can not imagine him in any other place really.

Can inbreeding in small closed sects cause long term problems?

This is a copy of an article published a while back on Peebs.net, but it raises some interesting questions about small religious sects who are effectively breeding from a very small gene pool. It poses some interesting questions, not least about the implications of inbreeding, but also the more likely immediate issue of 'cultural' selection .

Today a recent EB escapee told me that he remembers an unusually high prevalence of genetic diseases among the Brethren in the locality where he lived, and he wondered if inbreeding might be the cause of it.

I have often discussed statistics and the principles of population genetics with students of immunology, microbiology, medicine and nursing, and I know how to do the sums, but my statistical calculations and theoretical models have not given an unequivocal answer to the big question of whether or not the amount of inbreeding, and the small, isolated gene pool of the EB community is likely to produce an unusual number of genetic diseases. That question is best answered not by theorizing but by looking at what has happened to other small, isolated breeding populations.

Many breeds of dogs are genetic disasters, and suffer from various lifelong disabilities. There are also several wild animal species that have very limited gene pools either because their breeding population fell to very low levels, as with cheetahs, or because they live in isolated colonies that do not mix much with other colonies, as in Syrian hamsters. But the best analogy with EBs is the Amish community in the USA, which I shall describe later. 

Lots of studies have shown that there can be two main troublesome consequences of inbreeding, or small gene pools.  The best-known consequence is that some heritable diseases become more common, at least in the first few generations of inbreeding. This happens because there are probably thousands of fairly rare human genes that are harmless or beneficial if you have only one copy of the gene, but will cause disabilities if you have two copies. Each of us probably carries several examples of such genes, but usually only one copy of each, so they do us no harm. But if your mother and father were related then you must be descended from at least one of your ancestors through both parents, so you may inherit two copies of his dodgy gene, one through each parent, and this is bad. 

Another troublesome consequence of inbreeding affects the immune system. The genes that determine which infections you will be particularly susceptible to or particularly resistant to (the MHC genes) are the most diverse human genes known, in the sense that each gene exists in the human race in many variants or alternative forms. One of the theoretical consequences of living in a seriously inbred community is that this diversity can become restricted, and you will probably be susceptible or resistant to the same infections as your friends and family are. This is bad. It means you are particularly susceptible to the very infections that you are most likely to be exposed to, and only resistant to the infections that you are not likely to meet anyway. The most extreme example of this is seen among cheetahs, which now have no diversity at all in their MHC genes. They are all MHC-identical.

The Amish are a Christian community, similar to Anabaptists, derived from Mennonites.  They live and work together in isolated settlements in North America and only marry other Amish members, so they are about as genetically isolated as the EBs. It is very rare for an outsider to join them, except briefly as a guest. They forbid contraception and typically have families of about seven children. In 1900 there were about 3,700 of them, and in 1990 there were 127,800, of which 56,200 were adults, which is broadly comparable with the EBs. They have been the subject of many genetic studies, which might help us to know what to expect of EB genetics.

The consensus in professional medical and biological literature is that the Amish population has a very high frequency of genetic diseases. All the disorders that are present in the Amish communities are also present in the general population, just at a lower frequency.

One example is Ellis-van Creveld syndrome, which involves short stature and extra fingers or toes, abnormalities of the nails and teeth, and, in about half of individuals, a hole connecting the two upper chambers of the heart. The gene that causes it among the Amish can be traced back to just one couple, Samuel King and his wife, who came to their Amish settlement in 1744.

Also unusually common among Amish are many metabolic disorders. For example, about one in every 200 of them suffers from glutaric aciduria type I: they are born healthy, but can experience permanent neurological damage when a mild illness strikes.

But there is one big biological difference between the EB and the Amish. The EB have been breeding in genetic isolation for less than 100 years. If, as someone said earlier, they try to avoid intermarrying with people they are related to up to six generations back, then their sixth-generation ancestors will have lived about the middle of the nineteenth century, when there was a steady stream of people joining and leaving the brethren, and the gene pool was very large. The Amish, by contrast, have been genetically isolated since the seventeenth century. So the genetic problems of the Amish are perhaps a good guide to the future problems of the EBs, but not such a good guide to their present problems.

Other somewhat isolated human populations that are said to have suffered from genetic disorders include Icelandic, Ashkenazi Jewish, Micronesian and Samaritan populations.

What about the alleged EB policy of choosing a spouse, or having one chosen for you, who is unrelated to you for six generations back? Is this feasible in the long run?  If your ancestors avoided inbreeding, then six generations ago you will have 64 ancestors, and so will your prospective spouse.  If these ancestors and those of your spouse were random samples of the same historical population of, say 50,000 EB, then there is a 92 per cent probability that all 64 of your ancestors are different from those of your preferred spouse.  So only about 8 per cent of marriages would be forbidden under this rule.

In practice, though, it is probably worse than that. Your ancestors and those of your preferred spouse are not, in fact, random samples of a large ancestral population. Most people prefer to marry someone they know well, usually from the same country and often from the same town. That means that the effective source population may be much smaller than 50,000. If the effective source population were only one thousand then more than 99 per cent of marriages would be forbidden under the six-generations rule.  To find an unrelated spouse you might have to marry a total stranger.

In time, I predict the EBs will not be able to enforce the six-generations rule, and eventually, if their system survives, they will suffer some harmful consequences of inbreeding.

At present, though, I doubt that this has happened on a scale large enough to account for the anecdotal accounts we hear about an unusual number of disabled and deformed children among the EB.  If these reports are true, there could be other reasons for it. For instance, do the EB follow good medical advice on prenatal and perinatal care, and vaccinations? Failure to do so could account for permanent disabilities.

The limited gene pool of the EBs might suffer not only from being limited, but also from being selected. If there are genes that predispose to being docile and obedient, these have probably become progressively more concentrated within the EB population, and if there are genes that predispose towards intellectual inquisitiveness, these must have largely died out or been put out.

All facts considered, I think genetic inbreeding has probably not yet become such a serious problem for the EB as cultural inbreeding. I suspect that their cultural isolation will lead them to the brink of disaster before their genetic isolation does. That is a more serious problem at present, and they probably don’t know it.

Ian

Church Commissioners - Oral Questions in the House of Commons Today

Interesting exchange between Paul Flynn MP & Robert Halfon MP in todays Church Commissioners Oral Questions!

Click to link to  full debate

I note that the US legal firm engaged by Ox Group USA have their offices at 666 Fifth Avenue.

(For my learned friends benefit - Ox Group are really nice folk and of course connected to Dean Hales, a member of the Exclusive Brethren & the son of its world-wide leader - Bruce 'The Minister of the Lord in the Recovery Position(s)' Hales)

However I could not have located Messrs Schiff Hardin in a more perfectly numbered place.

The Divinely Inspired Oracular Light From The Temple - commonly known as Bruce

Bruce & Jeni Hales

It is amazing just how much pain & suffering one man can cause - all in the name of Christianity.

Bruce old son,  you run one hell of a perverted church

Is this a standard feature in the employee handbook within businesses owned by Members of the Exclusive Brethren?

For a sect who claim to be charitable & accordingly qualify for significant tax breaks it appears strange for companies owned by Members of this reclusive sect to have restrictive practices around not just charitable collections amongst staff, but any collection whatsoever.

I wonder how widespread this clause is & if it reflects standard practice within the (privately owned) commercial arm of the Exclusive Brethren?

Surely this is just too simplistic?

We know that the basis of the whole Exclusive Brethren doctrine of separation rests on one biblical line - 2 Timothy 2 - we know that, because we have had this quoted to us parrot fashion for a long time.

It would seem that it was John Nelson Darby who added the line to 2 Timothy "in separating himself from them" and placed this addition in brackets, which were subsequently removed.

I am no theologian, but surely to base the entire doctrine of a sect on such dodgy foundations, a sect who incidentally has caused so much trauma to family life, seems just plain bizarre.

If this is right & I am happy to be corrected, it means that a mere human (John Nelson Darby) altered (or expanded on) an ancient biblical meaning, which resulted in a fundamentalist sect basing its whole philosophy on a one line insert which was only added in a few years ago?

Now I do not want a whole group of ecclesiastical scholars entering in to a high brow debate on this, but just tell me that is not right?

One does muse on the possibilities here - if Darby said that every true Christian should have at least 3 wives and live in a village in Java, would that mean every Peeb would have followed that edict and now live in Indonesia?

Had Darby said that it was unclean to live in a house - what would have happened?

Ideas on a postcard!!

 

Why do Peeb's pose as ex-brethren?

I am tickled by the number of "ex-EB' or "ex-PBCC" who comment in support of this reclusive sect.

What they do not understand is that their language is unique & of course anyone who has left the sect is regarded as a traitor & an opposer.

The world at large (in their eyes) is simply ignorant of the truth & to be pitied - if you leave the clutches of this small, & I have to say slightly swivel eyed group then you are most unlikely to hold warm, tender feelings for them.

But I could be wrong, there may be a cohort of lost souls who still regard the 'PBCC' as the gold standard in Christian teachings.

A very timely & relevent front page to our local Sunday paper

Abuse in any form is wrong, but when it happens in a church it is particularly repugnant.

Abuse also takes a number of forms. The Catholic Church are rightly having to face up to some very unpleasant history - but at least they are facing up to it.

Many might argue that the Exclusive Brethren, who also claim to be a Christian Church, have never put right decades of abuse - abuse of family, abuse of simple human rights, abuse of court orders and on occasion sexual abuse.

So following on from my last post - I repeat my challenge to the brethren - what are you going to do to put right all the bad things you have done to innocent people?

What are the Exclusive Brethren going to do?

Reading the many comment threads over the past few weeks one thing really jumps out at me.

The Exclusive Brethren have committed many sins against families over many decades & have done nothing to put matters right. If they believe that a resolution in a closed meeting hall along the lines of "we have come to the view that Mr X was wrongly dealt with" and a short note of apology dispatched to Mr X, covers the terrible things they have done in the name of Christianity then they are sorely misguided.

Part of my motivation for having a go at this sect is a real sense of grievance on my part & on behalf of many others - so I pose this question to those who believe they are the sect's UK leaders:

What are you going to do to put right the sins you have committed against families over many decades?

You can pontificate all you like about being the chosen few, God's own people awaiting the day of salvation, the day when you will rule the world - but until (in your own words) you get yourself right you will find eternity to be a hot & fearsome place.

There are enough people with enough motive, energy and resource to continue putting a powerful spotlight on your activities until you sort yourselves out.

We fully intend to be a real thorn in your side until we have what we regard as justice!

The ball is in your court chaps.

One wag's attempt at posting a comment, somehow I doubt it will be published by the reclusive Exclusive Brethren

The list of complaints about Exclusive Brethren businesses grows weekly

I now have over 20 letters and e-mails from different companies who are simply baffled how business owners who are members of the Exclusive Brethren appear to operate at such a huge competitive advantage in a number of markets.

I have also heard from our legal friends at Gallant Maxwell again claiming that I have accused one company of tax fraud. I have not & do not accuse the brethren or their closely associated business interests with anything illegal.

There is however a general air of puzzlement around how brethren owned companies can in some markets sell goods & services below what their competitors may regard as cost price.

What is also clear is that the Exclusive Brethren are extremely efficient at claiming every benefit & tax break going - again I am not claiming this is illegal, but it may smack of hypocrisy in a sect that claims it is the ONLY true Christian Church.

The whole system of vouchers & payment in kind operated by the brethren is becoming clear & it is obvious that there is a substantial weight of evidence that will & should be made available to the tax authorities. This is to ensure that there is an appropriate review of the rules - I do not want my taxes providing a subsidy to a fruitcake of a sect whose doctrines are demonstrably anti-public interest.

I do not claim that any business is owned by the Exclusive Brethren, but despite the teachings of earlier Men of God, commerce & the assembly appears now to be so interlinked as to make it difficult to tell where one starts & the other finishes.

It is only through the industrious behaviour of brethren & their commercial enterprises that the brethren are able to fund an eye wateringly expensive system of private schools & their estate of meeting halls.

Avoiding tax is generally regarded as legal, tax evasion is usually illegal

I received another e-mail today outlining concerns with companies involved with the construction supply industry, again to save Messrs Gallant Maxwell the trouble of writing yet another letter we do not accuse them of anything illegal.

Spectrum Diamond
Hilbore Diamond
Lapwing Diamond
Otec Diamond
CMT Group

We do know who runs these companies, but if anyone has any specific information please do let us know.

This of course adds to the growing list of current or ex-employees of brethren businesses who are very unhappy with their lot at work.

 

Third Sector article on the Preston Down Trust v Charity Commission case

Update on Charity Commission v Preston Down Trust case

It would seem that Monty's Caravan (a display at Duxford Museum) will remain free of Exclusive Brethren elders for a while yet.

(for bewildered newcomers this is a reference to a gushingly excited minute from an Exclusive Brethren coordinators meeting where a promise of a visit to said exhibition was made in the event that the Preston Down case was won)

Given that the Charity Commission Tribunal has put back any decision now until September 2013 it would appear that there is little prospect of a deal being done despite protracted negotiations with brethren lawyers.

There are many people who do want this matter to come to an open, public Tribunal where the mountain of evidence (that demonstrates that the Exclusive Brethren should not have charitable status) gathered by the Commission can be properly aired.

Update on Tuesday's entry

As a result of comment on employment issues, particularly the employment of non-brethren women in businesses owned by members of the Exclusive Brethren we have had a number of very interesting responses.

It would appear that there a quite a few potential employment tribunal cases either in the system or potentially going that way.

I am not in any way accusing every brethren company of poor practice, but the very fact that from birth the different roles of boys & girls makes it almost impossible for women to be treated as equals in the workplace.

Girls simply do not have the option of a work career - for every women it is marriage, children, housework & an eternal round of grindingly boring meetings (inter spaced with the exciting opportunity to call out hymn numbers)

A common theme which is also emerging is the use of compromise agreements (gagging orders) which involve the payment of a sum of money in return for silence.

 

I had sight of a 16 page copy the other day - quite extraordinary in that it not only covered issues relating to the business concerned, but also banned comment on church matters.

If you have been dismissed by a company owned by a member of the Exclusive Brethren / Plymouth Brethren Christian Church or you are in dispute over equality matters we would like to hear from you.

Exclusive Brethren got 198 mentions in Parliamentary debates in New Zealand since 2005

It would appear that this site is no longer being kept updated, but it is a fascinating insight into the level of political involvement that the Exclusive Brethren have in New Zealand.

This is a sect that does not vote & professes political neutrality - a very different picture emerges from this website & indeed it is clear from previous political lobbying in the USA & here in the UK that when it suits their purposes the brethren have no problem entering the political arena & supporting those political parties / candidates that are seen as supportive.

We might just do a trawl through UK political donations to see if there have been any financial transactions linked to the current brethren problems with the Charity Commission.

A book offer - for the first three people to respond!!

Mike Moore has written a book about being raised in the shallow end of the Exclusive pond (Canadian Tunbridge Wells exclusives, rather than Taylor-Hales or Ravens). 

He is offering to ship a free copy of the book to each of the first three people who email him at mike_moore@sympatico.ca asking for one, and provide a mailing address to enable him to send it. 

http://www.lulu.com/ca/en/shop/mike-d-moore/the-songs-of-peter-grey/paperback/product-20937917.html

It is just fascinating!!!

There was always a feeling that women were second class citizens within the reclusive Exclusive Brethren, reinforced by current teachings from the Erect Vessel, the Minister of the Lord in the Recovery Position(s), our beloved brother Bruce Hales.

From an early age Peeb's & their offspring are taught that women have a wholly different role in life to men - all women when they reach their early twenties are expected to marry, bear children, clean, cook, wash & help with homework - you get the picture. Men on the other hand are macho, arriving at work around 05:30 for their 'Shake & Wake' sessions. An attitude that is the real world went out of fashion some decades ago.

But the number of female employees who we talk to (non-brethren) about their role in life, their status in the company & indeed allegations of discriminatory pay schemes, is growing.

Peeblets generally have little or no experience of running commercial organisations, or indeed how the real world works. So given that they have been raised in a little bubble, insulated from reality & then in an increasing number of cases, catapulted into running some sizable operations, it is not surprising that we see some truly breath taking examples of sexism & discrimination in the workplace.

All of these cases are confidential & many will resolve themselves, but I will have a wee wager that some will end up before tribunals in the not too distant future.

We are seeing a pattern emerging, which is not going to be desperately helpful to this weird little sect if they are seen to discriminate against women & more importantly women who are not members of the brethren.

Just another avenue to cruise down, along with all the others - we are spoilt for choice.

Trying to understand the Exclusive Brethren's obsession with the 'Rapture'

Not my usual bedtime reading, but my attention was drawn to this article in the Baptist Standard which helped me understand the Exclusive Brethren view of the 2nd coming. It kind of reinforces the increasingly popular perception that the doctrine adopted by this slightly weird sect has little basis in biblical teaching - e.g. the view of a 'Rapture' dates only back to JN Derby.

 

As with many of the 'rules' adopted by the brethren, a small fragment of biblical teaching is seized upon to support the highly divisive & perverted form of Christianity followed by the Exclusive Brethren.

Click picture to read full story

• Amillennialists view the 1,000-year reference as spiritual, figurative and symbolic.
• Postmillenialists believe Christians will establish the kingdom of God on earth through social reform and missions outreach, and Christ will return at the end of that golden age of gradual improvement.
• Premillennialists believe just before human history reaches its worst point, Christ will return to set matters right and establish a literal 1,000-year physical kingdom on earth.

The premillennial view dates back to early times in church history, but its most popular form—dispensationalism—dates back only to John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren in the mid-1800s. It gained traction among some conservative Christians in the United States in the 20th century through the annotated Scofield Reference Bible, accelerated with Hal Lindsey’s bestselling The Late, Great Planet Earth in 1970 and entered popular culture with the Left Behind series in the 1990s.

 

But as Bruce Hales (the Erect Vessel) the current world-wide leader of this small cult-like group says - being attacked by opposers & traitors makes the Rapture more likely & will bring it forward.

What a surprise - radio silence on the Peter Bone bill being dropped

Not a cheep from Peeblets on the Bone Bill!

No spin, nothing. I guess the Regional Coordinator comments about the Bill do look rather foolish now the Bill is toast.

Just a reminder of the Regional Coordinator's view only a few months ago.

One good outcome  - MP's are less willing to be openly supportive of the Exclusive Brethren once they have been informed of the reality of their doctrine, ethos & impact on families & the wider public.

The prayer had a rather short lived impact - we prayed for a rather different outcome, the outcome which eventually won the day. Bone's Bill is DEAD.

I wonder if the Northampton Team are quite so popular as they were in December?

Alas, Monty's Caravan is still feeling lonely & I have a feeling it has a long wait before it sees a party of portly men in White shirts meandering round Duxford with their sandwich boxes.

Apropos Salisbury burblings - the full context & an indication of the age of children 'encouraged' to pray in public

I had not appreciated the age that these kids were when they are schooled in the art of public praying at home until they had it off pat & they were required to pray in public meetings.

I am even more concerned than I was earlier.

What do people think - is this reasonable behaviour & I am being unfair, or is this something we ought to be really worried about?

Copyright acknowledged - Bible & Gospel Trust

What a fascinating insight into the role that Mothers & Fathers play in brethren families - apparently its the Mothers job to chase homework - along with the washing, cooking, cleaning, ironing etc.

Talk about stereotyping from an early age. The sex quality revolution clearly passed this sect by altogether. Its no wonder we see examples of this mind set spreading into the workplace.

The power of the internet

It struck me the other day just how powerful modern communications are & just how much impact this has on secretive cults who for generations have relied on obfuscation, half truths and straightforward lying.

The world is a much smaller place, so events in e.g. Australia are but a nano second away from an audience in the UK.

What someone says or does the other side of the world can be reported & commented on almost instantly - leaving little opportunity for perverted forms of religious bigotry to hide their sins.

This is a game changer for cults & sects who have long regarded their international operations as almost ring-fenced & protected from the spot light of public opinion. Public documents, law cases and public enquiries are littered with examples of this.

Interesting exchange of views between Kevin Rudd & those in Australia seeking to hold the Exclusive Brethren to account down under

 

 

Full exchange can be seen left under the Exclusive Brethren Document Store, it is from 2007, but still has resonance today.

Nothing like getting them young - Hales burblings from Salisbury

This particular passage from the Bruce Hales (almost) incomprehensible 'ministry' from the 18th April in Salisbury caught my eye.

Not entirely sure the age of these poor little kids, but to be effectively forced to stand up in public and partake in a religious ceremony before these mites even had the chance to understand what they are doing does strike me as a bit dodgy.

I suspect that these kids were at a very tender age - probably too young to comprehend what they were doing & I suspect too young to understand the whole bizarre doctrine of the Exclusive Brethren.

Copyright is no doubt claimed by the Bible & Gospel Trust

I wonder if they adopt the same system for other facets of life - but I have to say I do feel for these poor kids, lost at an early age & unable to comprehend what they are doing - can you imagine as a very young kid having the Erect Vessel commanding you to pray, then pray again & again until you get it right - must have been terrifying.
Some might regard this as child abuse.

Just loved this article on Wikipeebia - perfect evidence of the daft rules machine

Rules and More Rules by BDH

Posted on April 26, 2013 by The Fairfield Kid Posted in A Lighter Look

Well – Bruce’s little white book on all things Brethren is a bit of an eye-opener if I’m honest. It is full of glaring anomalies, including the admission that they made young people confess to things and then booted them out for it. He now reckons this was wrong.

At least he is honest about that – it happened in the assembly I was in where they dispensed with the best part of a generation. Some church! Some Christians! Some forgiveness. It is where they lost all credibility for me.

It wasn’t God doing anything Bruce- it was a bunch of vindictive old men bringing each other down – through their children. And it was never put right.  BDH has the happy knack of putting things onto God when it suits him or the answer for the Peebs is unpalatable or irrefutably wrong. But I’m getting morose…… the point of this missive follows:

In the spirit of sharing and discussion I throw a few more gems out for your edification. There is no subject left untouched. Even that of deportment is dealt with in detail.
Under the banner of DEPORTMENT, he seems to have a preoccupation with sideburns, long hair and white shirts. I recall being frequently taken to task over my unruly hair and sideburns which in reality was just bum fluff -but it was an issue that just wouldn’t got away. Or rather – an issue that grew back.

Back to the Famous “Index by BDH on all things Brethren” (Yeah yeah… Copywrited by the Gospel & Bible Trust guys- and all power to them I say.)

General Deportment

“might have to make some external changes, sideburns, long hair, stupid coloured shirts.” (See -I told you he had it in for coloured shirts! Silently thanks God that they don’t have an assembly in Hawaii.)

Hair- “If your father did your hair when four, why do you have to change your hairstyle when you are fourteen?”

(Psst Bruce. My father did my hair when I was 6. The bugger put a pudding bowl on my head and cut around the edges. Apart from the issue of it hurting like hell, I looked like a Trappist Monk! I made a pact with God that day that he would never let him near me again. I cannot emphasize the derogatory effect this had on Peeb culture for me when faced with a school full of jeering derisory schoolkids.

Talk about testimony. Sheeesh!)

“Part in the hair – very critical” (For whom??)
“off your forehead- that’s good”

Hair – (women) “folly to put colour in your hair; God gives you hair and the colour.” (Bruce – I hate to point this out but the Almighty has not been too forthcoming in the follicle department where you are concerned. Should you be worried??)

Sideburns.

‘Take an inch off, mightn’t mean much, it’s a moral advance, take sideburns up, take hair off your forehead”

“Stand right up to them” (the kids I’m presuming here) “if you don’t do it I’ll take them off!”

“Want them half an inch higher, that’s rigid.”

(Note to self – How come Darby and Stoney and Raven and the rest of them all had huge sidies?? Stoney looked like Bob Geldoff on a bad day.)

Scarves

“Will protect you from yourself; won’t go into a wrong place with one”

“Sisters going around without  scarves on, it is painful, painful, it’s painful.”
(He means it- it’s painful!)

Shirts “colour of shirt, like the idea of being low key”

(These I hasten to add are so low key that you can pick a Peeb a mile off by the white shirts.)

He then has a global review – which might have been better placed beneath a heading -

“The Universal World according to Bruce Hales.”

I offer just a few snippets.

Asia. “Good place for wicked people to go, not for Christians.”
So that’s settled then
.
Australia “slipped when JSH unavailable” (I think he means when he was made unavailable to the Brethren. Anyway – wow- I always wondered why Australia went backwards then.  I thought it was because of the lousy government. But JSH getting the boot? Who’d have thunk that?)

Queensland “thinks it’s another country; mighty hard to get them to do business – nothing before lunch”

Germany “Germans were beat, they always will be, God will see to it if there is another war with Germany, it would cease to exist”
(Sheeesh Bruce- how many times I gotta tell you – DON’T mention the war!)

Scotland “they love skirmishes, they were always coming down and demolishing part of England”

Switzerland “hides the crooks; crooked wealth in Swiss banks”
(No mention of good watches or chocolate. Pffft!)

UK monarchy “poor such and such -he married the most beautiful woman in the world and still not satisfied”
(Psst ! I think he is talking about Charles…)

USA “Einstein was helpful to the US, atomic bomb, pray they hold the initiative; it’s safe in their hands”

“If every man submits to authority, we could wipe out the deficit of USA in three months”
(….hello US Treasury? Have I got the answer for you. If every man submits to authority… no authority! A-U-T-H…ah! Forget it!)

And my biggest let down of all. When I’m dead – I not really dead because I am going to be deaded -er- again as the great Eccles would say.

Cremation “folly of persons thinking they can reduce body to ashes and escape the second death”
Yikes. ..I’m pushing my luck I can see…..

The similarities between the impact that the Exclusive Brethren & Jehovah's Witnesses can have on families is striking

Click picture to link to video

Copies of BDH UK burblings arrive

Hot off the press - the little white leaflets containing the considered wisdom of the Erect Vessel's latest UK tour arrive.

This is the contents page - once we have had a chance to read through, we will publish anything of interest. Apparently the tour theme was about 'togetherness'

Today is a day of joyous celebration for one Father

I am so happy for one Father who has been separated from his daughter for nearly half her life through the wicked actions of a religious cult.

Today they have been reunited!

The Exclusive Brethren have been responsible for causing untold family misery for generations, but the reality is that so many more young people would leave if they did not lose their family, friends, home and their job if they left the sect.

We know this because quite a few have told us that they would leave if they could.

So in the meantime they live a lie - playing lip service to the variable edicts that tumble out of Sydney HQ.

These guys must have the most extraordinarily boring lives - out to work at sometime around 05:00 & back home for supper, out to a religious gig every day of the week.

It's tedium personified, I know.

The Exclusive Brethren won't be voting in the County Council elections today

Despite making every conceivable use of benefits available to citizens of a democracy, the reclusive brethren do not fulfil their social responsibility and partake in voting.

Considered wisdom has it that this decision was going to be bad news for the Exclusive Brethren

Charity Commission launches investigation into The Cup Trust

Most tax-payers are rightly upset when they see their hard earned cash going towards causes which are clearly not involved in charitable works & also into organisations which can not demonstrate public benefit.

In my view the Exclusive Brethren fail both tests, but they are in receipt of a very considerable sum in charitable gift aid & tax breaks.

The complex web of trusts, schools, meeting halls and interwoven business interests make it as difficult as possible to see the full picture - what we do know is (either by design or by accident) that the whole picture has been made as opaque as possible.

This is no nice, friendly neighbourhood church - the Hales Exclusive Brethren (HEB) is one global business enterprise with one man at its head; a quasi church that has inflicted misery on many families across the globe.

Many have viewed the Cup Trust case as being a bit of a test case for the Gift Aid scheme, which the HEB make extraordinary use of. It would appear that every last penny is extracted from tax efficient schemes. I am not at this stage suggesting illegality, but there is certainly enough evidence to warrant an investigation by chums at HMRC.

One chap, who I know pays a keen interest in this matter estimates that the charitable status of the HEB is worth £multi-millions per year - even up to £100 million, all of which could be going to good causes - or indeed funding hospitals, (proper) schools or better infrastructure. It is not as though the HEB are poor.

The threshold for meeting the Charity Commission qualification for charitable status is remarkably low - you have to go some to fail their test - it says a great deal about the HEB that of the many thousands of religious groups who do qualify for charitable status, the Preston Down Trust (again a test case) has been rejected & is the subject of a massive PR & lobbying campaign by the sect.

We will watch this case with interest.



Click to read full story

Now it all makes sense - the Raptor is nearer at hand

Amongst the mind boggling garbage churned out over the decades by successive Erect Vessels there are some real gems which give you insight into the current troubles encountered by the Exclusive Brethren.

Apparently, the denial of charitable status makes the coming of the Raptor, sorry Rapture, even closer. The Rapture, according to this most odd sect, is when the pious Exclusive Brethren are swept up to heaven for all eternity, whilst the rest of us warm our bottoms elsewhere.

No doubt copyright is claimed by the Bible & Gospel Trust, duly acknowledged

So - given that the Pigster's still (I think) regarded as one of the unbroken line of Minister's of the Lord in the Recovery Position(s) news that the Raptor is coming sooner rather than later is surely good news? Should not the Peeb's be inviting the Charity Commission to remove their charitable status?

If you complain that the reclusive Exclusive Brethren have not got a sign up & say they are just a club then you are bigoted. Not sure it's a great tactic to call e.g. the Charity Commission bigots. 

Copyright - Gospel & Bible Trust

Now this 2nd passage of 'ministry' from Redbridge 1973 is equally instructive in understanding why charitable status is important - but listen to this "We're out of the world; I trust we're out of the world. The doors are closed, thank God, and the guard is on duty."

Not exactly public worship is it and not much has changed since 1973, except the PR & spin within the past few months. The bro's have nice shiny smiles on these days as they hand out porkie pies and burgers to any motorist daft enough to pull into their car parks.

Apparently the claim for charitable status is because the money is not used for anything else!!

"What else is it used for? It's not used for nothing else, isn't that clear? And so we are going to fight for it, but, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it"

Of course Peeblets probably don't know what a Raptor is since they are taught that the world began in a puff of smoke a few thousand years ago. How does a young brother, or sister, with an enquiring mind explain the presence of pre-historic animals that long pre-date any humanoid existence?

Inside New Zealand How To Spot A Cult

 

A fascinating video published on 14th April 2013 in New Zealand.

 

The comparison between cults such as Scientology & the Exclusive Brethren is quite disturbing.

 

The weight of evidence against the theology, doctrine & dogma of the ultra strict Exclusive Brethren builds day by day - the damage to families, the break up of families & the unacceptable claim to charitable status.

 

The paranoia evidenced during the Hales visit to the UK was quite extraordinary. As with many cults its all about a single personality and the idolisation of an individual - in the case of the Exclusive Brethren its the aura of invincibility & a direct link to God that gives Bruce Hales total power over the 45,000 brethren world-wide.

 

The really sad part of this is that so many brethren believe their own hype - there is a direct physical threat to Bruce Hales, not from anyone I know! I would quite like to sit down & talk to him, but somehow I doubt that is going to happen & I doubt we would come to any agreement.

 

I probably ought to feel hatred towards the brethren, I don't I feel a sadness for so many families who simply have no choice - if you are out of step with the truly scary leadership of this sect you face losing your family, your home, your job & all your friends (not that you are allowed special friendships) 

Still waiting

I am still waiting to hear from the delegation of Exclusive Brethren who went along to Andrew Selous's surgery to tell him that they were very unhappy with my actions & wanted to talk to me.

My response to Andrew (the MP for South West Beds) was straightforward - I am not hard to find & I am very happy to have a civilised conversation with anyone.

I am beginning to wonder if the delegation had an ulterior motive since none of its members have made any attempt to contact me.

Peter Bone's Bill dropped - inevitable, but it will be interesting to see how the Exclusive Brethren spin this latest set back!

Peter Bone MP sought to change the law & give all Christian Groups automatic charitable status.

Using the Parliamentary '10 Minute Rule' process was always going to be problematic & as expected the bill ran out of Parliamentary time & has accordingly been lost.

I have little doubt that the brethren will seek to spin this as a victory - not entirely sure how, despite the legendary skills of people like Damien McCrystal (ex-Sun journo, brought in by the Peeb's to do PR)

I am not sure why the brethren don't just accept reality - they are not a charitable organisation & they do not & should not qualify for tax-payer support.

I do hope that they in fact appeal the Preston Down Trust decision & we, finally, have a proper public airing of all the issues surrounding the ethos, dogma & doctrine of this most strange of sect's.

We know that the senior brethren have been jumping through hoops to avoid a First Tier Tribunal hearing as part of the Charity Commission decision to refuse charitable status for the Preston Down Trust.

Also interesting (and quite funny) to see the incredible security measures applied since the leaking of their Regional Coordinator minutes. It's not quite as tight as they might hope it is.

But much of the info received as been kept private to avoid another internal backlash & witch-hunt, which whilst amusing is not desperately helpful to those involved.

Voldemort v Symington - are they related?

FOR SALE - Full set of Hogwash by J H Symington

You remember Hogwarts, an amazing fantasy story set in a land with wizards, spells and dark secrets. We now  have available - a full set of Hogwash in pristine condition, many of the slimline volumes are still in their original plastic wrappers & remain unread.

The author, not JK Rowling, but JH Symington, dictated much of his work during his lifetime & it was published volume by volume to his own private fan club by compulsory subscription.

Symington, known affectionately as Pigster, bore a striking resemblance to Voldemort from Harry Potter & certainly practised many of the dark arts that our villein from the other fantasy world would appreciate.

Apparently there are quite a few full sets of Hogwash still around and in their little plastic jackets, so the value of this set is not clear, Even if your not a fan of Hogwash, you may still find this literary work an alternative home, perhaps for lighting open fires or even as a cure for insomnia.

Offers?

If you tear out 3 pages at the time & twist firmly, you can make quite a useful fire lighter. The Faux Leather covers, being made of plastic do smoke a bit (possibly not as much as the Pigsters posterior though).

The smoke brought back less than fond memories of the Pigster & the wickedness he visited on so many families, this man was responsible for treating families no better than the pigs he reared & probably worse. A pig has a short & miserable life which is ended swiftly with a sharp knife.

The thousands of brethren families who suffered for generations at the hands of this & other brutal leaders of the reclusive Exclusive Brethren rarely had the opportunity to end their grief so swiftly.

The Exclusive Brethren have never put right the wrongs they committed over so many years & continue to commit even today - so why should they have an easy time?

How am I going to cope without Wordex?

This Webinar looks just irresistible.

Wordex is in effect the software you & I would expect to find on a normal PC, but locked down & made appropriate for the tender minds of members of the Exclusive Brethren.

In other words as a member of this strange sect you can have a PC, but its locked down to prevent you using most of its features. Fore example you could not Google a question, for there is a White List of permitted web sites - no news or current affairs programmes, want to watch the BBC iPlayer forget it.

UBT are the brethren's in house & very expensive business services team - want a 1820's mobile phone - UBT are your ideal supplier, but at a cost (all profits channelled into running the meeting halls & schools)

Audience stats for April

Clearly exposing the Exclusive Brethren is of interest to people across the globe. There have been 83,549 hits in the past month.

More interesting is where these visits come from!

Hits by country in April

Symington sure knew how to pick his topics!

What twit would go to Belfast in 1974 & consider calling the published burblings from your 'church' meetings 'Have I understood violence' a really sensible move?

So in the midst of The Troubles in Northern Island up pops an American pig farmer to pontificate on the subject of violence. Yes Jim you understood violence only too well - you dished out enough.

Fascinating stuff. Apparently the Exclusive Brethren still regard Jim 'the pigster' Symington as a Man of God, I can personal vouch for the fact that he was a cruel, poorly educated man who feared technology, but had no problem receiving $millions from the wider brethren community in cash - not sure he ever paid his proper tax bill.

Despite his many flaws and failings this deluded sect still regards this man as part of an unbroken line from Saint Paul.

One wag's request to attend a really super UBT Achievers Seminar in May

I am not convinced that this chaps request for a seat at the years hottest event at the ExCel Centre in London will be accepted, but it tickled me.

Achievers from any brethren company welcome - Peeb's will be given their nose bags in one room - worldies will be banished to the evil restaurants and cafes

Tickets are selling like hot cakes (suitably served in evil free rooms) - so book your place for either the 21st or 22nd May at a mere £495.00 per person.

I just loved the wheelchair request within 24 hrs, if deemed necessary by Our Beloved Mr Bruce.