It’s tough being a cult. People look at you differently.

The Age newspaper reports yet again of hard questions being asked in Australian Parliament. This time it’s about Scientology, science fiction writer Ron Hubbard’s 1950 invention. Although the Exclusive Brethren evolved rather than were created, many of the effects of cultic behavior are startlingly similar.

Former Scientologists allege abuse, intimidation

The Age, Australia
by Katharine Murphy And Misha Schubert
November 19, 2009

Former members of the Church of Scientology have made explosive allegations about forced abortions, child abuse and financial extortion, prompting calls for a parliamentary inquiry.

Letters tabled by independent senator Nick Xenophon reveal claims of vulnerable people preyed on by a coercive and ruthless organisation that punished and shamed dissenters by physical incarceration, withholding food or intimidation.

…

Under the protection of parliamentary privilege, Senator Xenophon declared the church a ”criminal organisation”.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said they were ”grave allegations” and left open the prospect of backing a Senate inquiry into the church and its tax breaks. ”Many people in Australia have real concerns about Scientology,” he said.

…

Asked if the church would co-operate with any inquiry, Mr Brooks said it had ”always been willing to co-operate with any authorities on any concerns”.

Greens Leader Bob Brown backed an inquiry, but wanted it extended to the Exclusive Brethren and other groups. The Opposition said it would consider the terms of any inquiry.

Source (incl. video): Former Scientologists allege abuse, intimidation

You don’t need to have even an iota of religion to understand at a very basic level the difference between right and wrong. It is this basic human ability that makes the average person on the street increasingly angry when they recognize blatant hypocrisy.

If you have the audacity to suggest that you are the perfect church, the only religion, or in one particularly obnoxious case – ‘The Bride of Christ’ – then you open the door to your behavior being scrutinized very carefully indeed.

What further upsets folk in the current economic times is if they sense their hard-earned dollars are being used to further a cult and cultic activities. If they then understand that their dollars are being used to indoctrinate the defenseless young to be unquestioning future cult members, it is possible that the public will not only object, they’ll react.

The Exclusive Brethren have ‘flown under the radar’ for a long time.

Their fortress-style churches are described as public places of worship and as such are free of taxation. The fact is that they are places of worship for members of the Exclusive Brethren – not the public. They are therefore private clubs. Every Exclusive Brethren meeting room should be taxed. Why should you pay for them?

The Exclusive Brethren schools rely heavily on subsidies from governments. Their schools are vital to the Exclusive Brethren. Without their own schools, their children would mix with your kids and would become ‘contaminated’ (read: might realize they’re being duped!). What do you think is healthier for them? A choice perhaps?

Exclusive Brethren currently are not allowed to go to university. This means they have to recruit their school teachers from ‘outside’. They have a very high turnover of teachers! The level of interference in tuition and the way the teachers are watched forces most to leave the restrictive environment.

Exclusive Brethren are not allowed to go to university for the same reason as they school their young. Today there is a movement toward some extra tertiary education via correspondence courses – in carefully selected subjects and areas. But there is a fear there. The fear is that their young adults will learn to think – and thinking has always been the enemy of a cult.

The Exclusive Brethren break up families. They will spend as much as they need on expensive lawyers to prevent the excommunicated parent (normally male) from seeing his children. Why? Contamination with the world is again the concern – their children are their only form of growth. Who in their right mind would join them?

Exclusive Brethren honor money above all other commodities. A successful business equates to power and position. Money is a sign of ‘God’s blessing’ and the Exclusive Brethren were one of the earliest adopters of Prosperity Gospel theology.

Discipline is harsh and unequivocal. The end result is always in no doubt, there is no middle ground. The cost is immense and the impact can be fatal. These are their internal walls and most of their 45k members worldwide accept that.

The Exclusive Brethren lie without batting an eyelid. To them, they are dealing with swine and telling an untruth to defend the honor of the Assembly is an honor and as natural as breathing. They even have a scripture for it – ‘Tell it not in Gath’ (2 Samuel 1:20). Why waste something as precious as a pearl of truth when dealing with pigs?

The Exclusive Brethren defend their battered image with a kind of desperate horror. They ‘know’ they are right and that the world is evil. There is no question because they cannot question. To question is to invite Doubt and to doubt is always disastrous.

They have a very expensive Public Relations firm on retainer. Frankly the strategic advice given today to the Exclusive Brethren seems to be ‘fly a little lower under the radar’.

Like the leaders of Scientology, the elite and very wealthy hierarchy of the Exclusive Brethren just want us all to go away and leave them alone. That would be their fervent wish.

The trouble is that they’re a cult – and it’s tough being a cult.

People look at you differently.