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Monday, January 08, 2007 Exclusive Brethren (again!)This odd sect has been in our newspapers quite a lot recently, both nationally (secret donations to political parties, cover-ups of immorality) and locally (they tend to congregate in clusters and we've got a couple of big clusters of them nearby - buying up all the houses in certain small areas, building unmarked "church gospel chapels" for their meetings). To the consternation of other neighbours.Here's a link to the most recent newspaper article, and a couple of para's from it: Former members tell of extraordinary restrictions on Brethren, who are told where to live and work and who to marry, and of the cruel and total ostracism of those who leave. Many mainstream Christians are a little embarrassed at what is being done by those claiming to share their religion and, with the wider community, a bit bewildered about what this narrow group is trying to achieve. So what's wrong with the Exclusive Brethren? The answer is right there in the name. If there's one thing that the founder of Christianity was not, it's exclusive. Jesus came in for considerable criticism for dining with prostitutes, tax collectors and others despised or ritually impure according to the religious rules of the day. The first Christians proclaimed the gospel as good news for all but especially for those on society's margins. It's always unattractive when religion is seen as something you "don't", as in don't drink, don't dance, don't smoke, don't gamble, don't borrow. That might generally be sound advice, but it is peripheral — to see it as the heart of Christianity (or Islam or Buddhism) is a serious error. The Exclusive Brethren's set of don'ts is formidable. On the proscribed list are television, radio, cinema, mobile phones, university education, health insurance, life insurance, membership of any union or professional association or sports club, short hair for women, long hair for men. Even pets are reportedly banned, because of an obscure verse in the book of Revelation. Exclusive Brethren cannot eat or drink with non-members, because their rules require them to be utterly separate. As one Melbourne theologian noted, the key verse in the Bible for them seems to be Matthew chapter 18, verse 17, "let (them) be unto thee as a heathen and a publican (tax collector)". I am quoting from the 1611 King James version so beloved of such fundamentalist groups. The article is by Barney Zwartz, religious editor for The Age. Anybody here had any experience with any exclusive brethren? Michele?? # posted by geoff @ 5:05 pm 0 comments |
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