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The Death of James Taylor Junior
The last few weeks of James Taylor Jnr's life were tumultuous. He was a long-time alcoholic and had already been diagnosed as possibly suffering from alcoholic dementia by a doctor on the scene in James Gardner's house in Aberdeen. There had been a huge global repercussion to the events of July 1970 and both the infrastructure and the leadership were in tatters.
Many Meeting Rooms were 'lost' to the Exclusive Brethren during this time. In the manner that the Exclusive Brethren act out their major disagreements, many local assemblies required the excommunicated 'withdrawn-from' members physically to vacate the premises. Exclusive Brethren discipline dictates that you 'withdraw from iniquity'. At the final decision, this requires a physical extraction from those you simply cannot bear being around any more. You - or They - walk.
In many cases it was those who saw through the deceit that stayed in their seats. Those who tried to force the issue were then required to 'Walk'. The Meeting Rooms were therefore lost to those who tried to enforce the official line that James Taylor Jnr had done no wrong.
Today, a repercussion of this event is that every Exclusive Brethren Meeting Room is owned by a Trust. Each Trust document (and Peebs.Net have hundreds) indicates that in the event of another split, the Meeting Room will become the property of the then current 'Elect Vessel'. Today that man is Australian Bruce Hales and his name appears in each such Trust in every Exclusive Brethren Meeting Room world-wide. As the Australian press noted recently, this move makes Bruce Hales one of the largest real estate owners in the world!
But back in August 1970, no such structure existed and the Exclusive Brethren were in deep trouble. With a dramatic indication of his state of mind, James Taylor Jnr wrote to the Stow Hill Bible & Tract Depot in England:
In August 1970 Big Jim, who claimed he had never made a cent out of the Exclusive Brethren, demanded £1 million in royalties from the Stow Hill Depot in England, the company responsible for publishing his manuscripts and tracts. It was the first time that Stow Hill, a charitable institution, had ever received such a request for royalties on ministry.
- Goodbye Beloved Brethren by Norman Adams
(Page 96)
With a sign of light showing from under the rubble of 1970, the Trustees of Stowe Depot made the following reply:
[James Taylor Jr.] demanded the money be handed over by September 5th. The Stow Hill trustees sent him a rebuff in rhyme:
"A million pounds? How blind thou art, deceived ...
What hast thou, thou thyself hast not received?
How wilt thou stand, when in the final count
The Judge demands from thee the full amount?"'
- Goodbye Beloved Brethren by Norman Adams
(Page 96)
These words were to become chilling truth on James Taylor Jnr's death bed less than a month later.
Norman Adams mentions one other poignant moment in the short period before the death of James Taylor Jnr:
... "one American source claims that Big Jim was due to appear at a court hearing in New York on October 14th, and that, in fact, he made an attempt to be present. As he was taken downstairs in the lift in his home all he could say was: "Aberdeen ... Aberdeen ... Aberdeen ..." He was then taken back to the living room where he died."
- Goodbye Beloved Brethren by Norman Adams
Hardly surprisingly, there are two 'first-hand' accounts of the final moments of James Taylor Jr. We present both and leave the decision to the reader as to which is more likely.
First, here is the Obituary that appeared in the New York Times on October 17, 1970:
BIG JIM TAYLOR, LEADER OF SECT
'Archangel' of the Brethren Group is dead at 71
Big Jim Taylor, "archangel" of an exclusive and secret religious sect known as The Brethren, died on Wednesday at his home, 470 East 26th Street, Brooklyn. He was 71 years old.
While the family would give out no information, nor even talk to newspaper reporters, it was learned that Mr. Taylor had been in failing health in recent months. Death was attributed to a heart attack.
Mr. Taylor figured in the news in London last July, when he was linked by some of his followers with a 32-year-old mother of four. The incident, in which Mr. Taylor was traced to Scotland, drew headlines and led to a secret "summit" meeting in this city about a month ago, at which 500 persons were present. The purpose, it was said, was to clear the air and to explain the events in Scotland.
Mr. Taylor's death leaves leadership of the religious organization vacant. Until recently it had been believed that Stanley McCullen, a Scotsman residing in Detroit, was the heir apparent. However, it was reported that Mr. McCullen had "disagreed" with Mr. Taylor and so had counted himself out. Mr. McCullen, known in the sect as "Angel," was present at the recent meeting here.
Mr. Taylor, although visibly failing, still made an impressive appearance, packing 200 pounds in a 6-foot frame.
Rules of Sect
One of the beliefs of his sect was that no member should have anything to do with non-Brethren, should not talk to them, do business with them, employ them, or marry them.
That is why Mr. Taylor's reported liaison with a non-Brethren woman was so disturbing to the members.
In their daily life members live plainly without television or radio and decline to answer questions from strangers.
The sect's churches are not listed, the leaders are not named, and their titles are not disclosed.
The sect was started about 1827 in the British Isles, when a minister of the Episcopal Church of North Ireland, John Nelson Darby, formed a religious society that eventually was called The Plymouth Brethren.
This group developed a number of offshoots, all using the term Brethren but varying considerably in their beliefs.
View Based on Epistle
While Mr. Taylor's Brethren are fully as doctrinaire as the other sects, his speeches were regarded as excessively harsh, especially one in which he said members must not associate with anyone who would not keep the Lord's Commandments, "and if this meant divorce, so be it."
He based his view on the Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy, in which Paul wrote, "In a great house there are ... vessels of wood and of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor; if a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work."
Mr. Taylor was denounced in Parliament in 1964 and by angry British crowds, who charged that his preaching caused, among other events, four suicides, several broken marriages and "untold misery" to many Christians who belong to The Brethren.
When Mr. Taylor left England that year the Daily Mall editorialized:
The harsh tenets of this sect have broken up homes and led to misery and suicide. Now he has gone home. Britain's parting message is: 'Good riddance--and don't come back.'
It was learned from sources close to the sect that Mr. Taylor is survived by his widow, Irene, two sons and three daughters.
- New York Times, October 17, 1970
There are a number of errors in the above news report:
- The term "archangel" and "angel" is believed to have come from Norman Adam's book - 'Goodbye Beloved Brethren'.
- Stanley 'McCullen' is Stanley McCallum
- The woman was not a "non-Brethren woman" as reported - Madeline Ker was the wife of Alan Ker and they were members of the Exclusive Brethren in UK.
- JND was not an 'Episcopalian', he was in fact an Anglican curate.
- "Secret summit meeting" in August, 1970 probably refer to the many assembly gatherings following the news of the Aberdeen Incident.
The 'official' Exclusive Brethren version of James Taylor Jnr's last moments were described in a letter to a leading UK Brother, A. J. Gardiner:
His final moments will remain most vividly in the hearts of those privileged to see. He appeared strong and expectant as he suddenly looked upward, his face and eyes shining and his lips forming the words -- though inaudibly -- 'I am coming'.
He lingered for a few minutes his breathing at first becoming very strong and rapid and then becoming quiet, the Lord gently taking him to Himself at about 3:15 p.m."
- James Taylor III (son of J.T. Jr.)
But a Taylor family member, present at the death bed, wrote later of a vastly different scene and one that manages to chill to the marrow when remembering the Stow Hill Depot retort to his request for £1 million in royalties only a few days earlier:
"He was not at peace, despite what others may have said, or what has been circulated in letters to inform others of his death.
"My own recollection is that he was disturbed, especially with Renee, and he distinctly told her, "Get out of here woman, you were never with me".
"He was quieter for some moments, then just before he died there came upon him an almost indescribable horror, the expression on his face was one of abject terror. He opened his mouth to speak, however he did not actually say anything, his breathing very laboured, and erratic. It was in this state that he died.
"It was clear to all present that something was revealed to Jim that caused such terror. Only he and the Lord know what it was. There was some discussion among those present later as to what would be released as to the circumstances of his passing, however I did not remain in the room to find out the extent of those discussions. The truth is that I was in some emotional turmoil as I had been deeply affected inwardly by what I had witnessed. To this day I have sought to understand, but have accepted that the Lord has His own counsel, and will reveal what is His pleasure in His own time.
"It has been said that Jim opened his eyes, and with obvious joy said, "I am coming". This was certainly not the truth. It is one among many lies that have been told to the shame of my family, and others who are supportive of the family. There are monetary, social, and control issues as you are only too well aware of that surround the Taylor system, as it is so called. We are brought uncomfortably close to it by familial relations, and yet we are delivered morally from its associations, thanks be to God."
- a member of the Taylor family, present at time of death.
It has been said by some that the very soul of the Exclusive Brethren died during those few short turbulent weeks leading up to the death of James Taylor Junior in late 1970. Certainly, it is true to state that the early Plymouth Brethren would not recognize the Exclusive Brethren of the 21st century.
Many believe that it was at this time that the modern-day cult known as the Exclusive Brethren truly began ...
... their Christian Heritage traded for a Lie.
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