While outsiders usually portray this as bad, those on the inside disagree and speak enthusiastically of the leader. One English member put it like this:. His gift is undeniable: his grasp of the truth, his grasp of mankind, his deportment is one of a magnanimous, benevolent spirit. He is closer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Members see the head of their church as a servant-leader who puts his life at the disposal of others.
Outsiders see him as an autocrat. The practise of separation has been heavily criticised in the press and by former members of the Exclusive Brethren. They say that the Exclusive Brethren's rigid laws destroy marriages, split families and damage the lives of members who try to leave. Since a member's whole existence has been focused on the church they have to rebuild their lives completely if they leave or are expelled.
It can be a very lonely experience. It was a known thing ever since you were a child that if you ever left you'd go to hell - you'd burn in hell for ever; and that you'd never be able to speak to any of your family or anyone that you'd ever known through childhood in the Brethren ever again.
That you'd just be ignored Representatives of the Brethren have rejected the claim about hell: "salvation is not in any way limited to membership of an organisation or fellowship". Families often put great pressure on leavers to return to the Brethren, which can add to the trauma of separation. Other pressure can include job loss and having to leave the family home.
They also say that members know that certain sorts of behaviour will lead them away from the fellowship and so their expulsion is the result of their own free and informed choice to do things that are contrary to the spirit of the Gospel.
The Exclusive Brethren keep themselves apart because they believe that "it is impossible for God to fully bless and use his children who are in compromise or complicity with evil". To put it another way; they believe that someone who does wicked things or spends time with bad people pushes himself or herself away from God.
Most Christians would agree with the general idea, but would probably say that the Exclusive Brethren label too many actions and too many people as wicked. Separation from evil implies a separation in desire, motive, and act, from the world, in the ethically bad sense of this present world-system and b separation from believers, especially false teachers, who are 'vessels unto dishonour'.
The positive side of separation from evil is getting nearer to God and achieving a close relationship thorough dedication, worship and service. God responds to this by moving closer to the individual, and loving like a father those who separate from evil.
The Bible refers indirectly to the doctrine of separation from evil by talking about God's chosen people, and everyone else. In the Old Testament God frequently makes a distinction between his own people, who were expected to be holy, different and separated from other peoples in order to belong to God as his very own, and everyone else. In the New Testament God wants believers to keep themselves separate from this world and its wickedness, from sinners who do not repent and from those whose teachings are against the Bible.
J N Darby, founder of the Exclusive Brethren, believed that "separation from evil was the divine principle of unity," because any wrong belief would cause "gross moral contamination. Darby was angry that other denominations had compromised with evil for the sake of unity - this was a false unity, he preached, and those churches had apostatised i. Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
And what concord hath Christ with Be'li-al? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient; in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. Some Bible passages that support separation set very precise categories of those who believers are supposed to keep away from:. I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one, no, not to eat.
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Exclusive Brethren Last updated There are up to 16, Exclusive Brethren in Britain, with congregations throughout the country. Structure The Exclusive Brethren is not a democratic movement, nor do individual congregations have any autonomy.
Lifestyle Like many closed groups, the Exclusive Brethren provide a warm, loving, family-centred way of life to its members that most find fulfilling and rewarding. Criticisms Members who leave or are expelled from the group have, in the past, often been avoided by current members.
Recent developments Addressing the frequently asked question, "Do the Brethren break up families? History Beginnings The Brethren movement began in Dublin in the late s with a group of men John Nelson Darby, Anthony Norris Groves, John Bellett, Edward Cronin and Francis Hutchinson who felt that the established Church had become too involved with the secular state and abandoned many of the basic truths of Christianity.
The leader of the church has absolute power to appoint the priests, resolve breaches of the rules, approve marriages and decide on punishments. Once someone leaves the Brethren, they are forbidden from having contact with anyone still in the church, including their relatives. Many Exclusive Brethren work in Brethren-owned companies, so they have to give up their jobs as well as their family and their home if they leave the faith.
Brethren women are distinguished by their white or blue headscarves and long hair -- which must never be cut. The men must have short hair, be clean shaven and are prohibited from wearing ties. Members marry each other, rarely divorce, and are encouraged to have large families. The nightmare was not over, though. For the next decade, life carried on much as before, but with one big difference: Mum would not eat or sleep with Dad and would barely speak to him. I was often used as an intermediary, with each trying to persuade me the other was wrong.
My best friend comforted me when I was desperate with worry that my mother would die during her "fasts", when she didn't eat for days in the hope that the Lord would answer her prayers and bring Dad back to the path of righteousness. My "worldly, unclean" schoolfriends were very sympathetic and tried to bridge the gaps in my experience by carefully recounting theirs.
Sometimes I secretly watched TV or listened to records with them on the way home from school. Once they daringly arranged for me to see a film - To Kill A Mockingbird - at the local cinema during school hours. Meanwhile Jim Taylor Jr's edicts became increasingly bizarre - Sisters had to wear their hair hanging down their backs, covered in a headscarf; all adult Brethren must be married - and then he started to go to bed with married Sisters, supposedly showing how pure he was.
Eventually, in , at a Meeting in Aberdeen, he appeared drunk and stated that his word was of such consequence that the Bible was no longer necessary - a bombshell that caused a number of clearer-sighted Brethren to protest and break away. By this time, it was too late for me to care. I was in my late teens and, to the horror of my family, left for university shortly afterwards. There I ate chips and curry for the first time, openly read newspapers and novels, drank wine, wore "normal" clothes, listened to pop music and cut my hair.
Being unclean was delicious. My mother may have disapproved but she, too, left the Taylorites then, joining instead the same sect as my father and grandmother.
She is still alive, still strictly religious, but she does not shut me out of her life.
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