The Exclusive Brethren are getting nervous!

September 19th, 2008

Extracts of the eagerly awaited book ‘Behind the Exclusive Brethren’ by premier Australian investigative reporter Michael Bachelard, are due to be published in the “Good Weekend” lift-out of the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age this weekend.

As anticipated, the Exclusive Brethren are not only worried, they’re petrified!  Their new PR spin-doctors (they’ve been through several) are now Jackson-Wells, an Australian firm, who have decided to use the name of Daniel Hales as the Exclusive Brethren spokesman.

Daniel Hales is the brother of the cult leader Bruce Hales and has been largely a background figure in the Hales dynasty, far more concerned with financial matters than the spiritual aspects of life.

Here is their media release, dated today - September 19th, 2008.

MEDIA STATEMENT

Brethren say Fairfax article outdated, inaccurate

Extracts from a new book by journalist Michael Bachelard that will appear in the Good Weekend magazine tomorrow are out of date and contain significant factual inaccuracies, says the Exclusive Brethren Church.

The Good Weekend is published by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers and the article, entitled ‘Behind Closed Doors’, concerns the break up of the Alderton family in Bathurst, NSW, in the early 1980s.

“The events covered in the article occurred nearly 30 years ago and do not reflect the ethos or activities of the Church today,” said Daniel Hales, a senior member of the Church.

“In 2003, Bruce D Hales, as the new leader of the Church, reviewed the circumstances of the Alderton family and other families who had left the Church in the late seventies and early eighties. apologised for past wrongs and sought to achieve reconciliation.

“As part of this reconciliation process, Mrs Alderton, now 85, was invited to return to the Church and was reunited with some of her children, whom she had not seen for more than 20 years. To our regret, the offer was declined by Mrs Alderton.

Mr Hales also said that there are a number of factual inaccuracies in the article that perpetuate myths about the Church.

“Exclusive Brethren members are not required to have ‘as little to do as possible with outsiders’, in the words of the article,” Mr Hales said. “We employ many non-Brethren people in our businesses, our customers and suppliers are nearly all non-Brethren and our schoolchildren are all taught by non-Brethren teachers.

“We are not ‘required to attend church daily’ and our children are not educated in ‘Brethren-only’ schools. People from outside our Church attend the schools and most Brethren children attend public schools prior to Year Three.

“While our members choose not to attend universities, they obtain tertiary qualifications through the TAFE system. Contrary to what the article says, Brethren women do work after marriage and this work is not restricted to ‘their husbands’ businesses’.

“Families are not kept apart. Many people who leave the Church maintain regular and warm relations with people who remain in the Church.

“Sadly, as in many other families, disagreements over which path to take in life occur and people can become estranged. But independent academic research has shown the divorce rate among Church members is just a fraction of the Australian average.

“This significant number of errors of basic fact by Mr Bachelard does not augur well for the veracity of his new book, which will be published early next week,” Mr Hales said.

Friday, 19 September 2008

It is evident from this crafted statement from the Exclusive Brethren that Jackson-Wells are not considering making any change to the standard Exclusive Brethren approach.  It is however extraordinary that a media release that seems so concerned about accuracy would stoop to inaccuracy after inaccuracy.

Michael should not be too worried by this! Just the significance of the timing and the fact that the brother of the cult leader is involved indicates that there are some wobbly knees in Sydney (or more accurately, Barbados).

Michael Bachelard’s book is stunning! It’s real. It’s true.

“We employ many non-Brethren people in our businesses,”

Of course they do! They won’t eat or socialize with them though. But if you can make a dollar …

“our customers and suppliers are nearly all non-Brethren”

Biz is Biz! The Exclusive Brethren doctrinal concept of ‘Separation’ has never precluded taking money from those not ‘in fellowship’ … just most other aspects of normal human interaction.

“and our schoolchildren are all taught by non-Brethren teachers”

And this is because of the ban on university education! The Exclusive Brethren have no choice but to employ non-EB teachers! It is strange to see a self-inflicted wound appear so quickly in this template release.

““We are not ‘required to attend church daily’”

One of the benefits of operating a cult is that it simply takes a word to change things.  Just a few years ago, there were ‘Attendance Officers’ who would call on you if you did not attend a meeting. The EB web site shows that there is a meeting every day of the week. Like the garage door-opener - if Bruce decides he likes it, suddenly it’s not evil anymore! (we kid you not!)

“our children are not educated in ‘Brethren-only’ schools. People from outside our Church attend the schools and most Brethren children attend public schools prior to Year Three.”

Yes - the teachers and occasionally the Teachers children - but the intent is that the EB will eventually have enough Australian tax dollars to build enough schools to be able to indoctrinate all kids.

“While our members choose not to attend universities”

‘Choose‘? If a teenager was merely to apply to a university, they would be ‘Shut-up’ (shunned). No EB kid has been able to go to university for over 40 years! The cult leaders are afraid of the ramifications of someone learning to think for themselves. Their non-EB hired Teachers are watched like hawks!

“Brethren women do work after marriage and this work is not restricted to ‘their husbands’ businesses’.”

Having their name of one of the thousands of Trusts that have been spawned by the EB is not classified as ‘work’!  The fact remains that Exclusive Brethren women are discriminated against. They have a sole function - to breed. The number of Exclusive Brethren has more than doubled in just 30 years … from within.

“Families are not kept apart.”

An outright lie.

“Many people who leave the Church maintain regular and warm relations with people who remain in the Church. “

Following a Clintionian approach, the above depends on the definition of ‘many‘, ‘regular‘ and ‘warm‘. In the experience of hundreds of people, Jackson-Wells is making an outrageously fictional claim! The vast majority of people who leave the Exclusive Brethren have no relations with those who remain - and it is not those who leave who slam down the phones, turn their backs, cross the street or bolt their doors.

“Sadly, as in many other families, disagreements over which path to take in life occur and people can become estranged”

Yes - but they’re not like ‘many other families’. They are ‘the Bride of Christ’ and if a member disagrees, they are cast out and the remaining spouse is forced to separate and then divorce the ‘estranged’ party.  The Exclusive Brethren then disrupt and encourage the rift between any children involved and the estranged parent. This is standard practice by a cult that is now internationally notorious for ripping families apart.

The significant number of errors in basic fact by Ben Haslem (claiming to speak on behalf of Daniel Hales) does not augur well for the veracity of this or future media communications from them.