November 21st, 2009
The impact of Australian senator Nick Xenophon’s comments in Canberra this week regarding the Scientology ‘church’ should not be under-estimated.
First there is the man. Nick Xenophon is an independant and carries no party allegience. His 400BC namesake was also a soldier as well as a respected historian. Nick has a background in law and is a resourceful and intelligent political warrior. Several are noting that the modern-day Xenophon seems to have a strategy in his carefully worded attack against the ‘religion’ of Scientology.
“There are a couple of things to know about Nick Xenophon. The first is that the independent senator from Adelaide has a genius for publicity. He’s a hustler par excellence. The second is he’s rationing his tabloid impulses in Canberra. Xenophon’s record to date suggests he’s opting for strategy rather than sensation; picking his political fights, not going at everything like a bull at a gate.”
This is not a ‘flash in the pan’. Xenophon has been planning his attack for some time:
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It is a remarkable moment – an Exclusive Brethren submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission is a newsworthy event indeed! The following submission was published a few hours ago on the Human Rights Commission website.
The three names shown as signatories: Daniel Hales, John Myhill and David Stewart, are representative elders of the cult in Australia. (Daniel Hales is the passed-over older brother to the current reclusive leader, Bruce D. Hales.)
There is little hint of the Jackson Wells ‘turn of phrase’ in this tangled document – some comments border on Incitement to Discriminate and the general appeal seems to be little more than a ‘self-pity party‘.
Submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission Continue reading »
on
Freedom of Religion and Belief in the 21st Century
by
Daniel Hales, John Myhill and David Stewart
[2009]
The following letter is an individual response to the recently published Jackson Wells paper, ‘Into the Light: understanding the Exclusive Brethren’. This letter was copied to Peebs.Net by an individual who was once a member of the Exclusive Brethren cult. As far as we know, there has not been a reply.
From: [removed]
Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2009 12:42 PM
To: kjackson@jacksonwells.com.au
Cc: info@peebs.net
Subject: Exclusive Brethren
Please could the following be directed to Ben Haslem.
FTAO: Benjamin Haslem
Dear Benjamin,
I read with interest your article - Into the Light: understanding the Exclusive Brethren
I have had years of involvement with the Exclusive Brethren and may be able to help you. I do not wish to denigrate what you have written in your article, I would rather seek to assist you in your endeavours to portray the truth regarding this little-known sect. I am very aware that it is difficult to understand the Exclusive Brethren as they are, by nature and intention, secretive. They prefer to be out of the limelight and not subject to criticism. They do not enjoy engaging in debate and discussion with those outside the sect. They are much more comfortable with confrontation that can be resolved through finance or intimidation, rather than through merit. You are unlikely to find members of the Brethren involved in open debate with the wider community, freely engaged with religious scholars, or willingly discussing theology with any other faith groups. But you will often see them in a courtroom, they have a long history of litigious behaviour. You will also note that they employ eminent lawyers and public relations consultants.
Unfortunately, there are statements in your article that are misleading or untrue. I would like to take this opportunity to help you, and to correct these errors. Also, many people who have been victims of the Exclusive Brethren’s disciplinary activities may find some of your statements offensive. I would like to help you to be accurate and thus be sensitive to these victims. I will comment on your writing by way of interjection, I trust that you find it useful.
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As an example of the Spin Doctor’s art, the following paper recently produced by Jackson Wells (the Exclusive Brethren Public Relations firm) is textbook quality. There are many other examples of ‘lipstick on the pig‘ publicly available, ranging from ‘Living Our Beliefs’ (purportedly) by Bruce D. Hales, to virtually every Planning Application that the Exclusive Brethren submit for their fortress-style Meeting Rooms and very private schools.
Jackson Wells seem proud of their unusual client – quite probably the only ‘christian church’ to have published a web site where the only means of contact is the telephone number of their expensive public relations firm! For those who were brought up in or know the truth regarding the Exclusive Brethren cult, ‘Into the Light: understanding the Exclusive Brethren‘ by Jackson Well’s Ben Haslem is easily recognized as an outrageous example of whitewash. However, the principle of spin-doctoring has a purpose – it is designed to seed the possibility of doubt.
Today we reproduce the Jackson Wells paper. Tomorrow, we publish a letter to Jackson Wells written by an ex-member of the cult – a letter that has remained understandably unanswered.
Into the Light: understanding the Exclusive Brethren
by Benjamin Haslem
Jackson Wells
April 2009
In early 2007, senior members of the Exclusive Brethren Christian Fellowship approached Jackson Wells seeking assistance dealing with a sudden and intense increase in media interest in their small Christian church.
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No, the Exclusive Brethren have not ‘taken over’ Peebs.Net! We are not writing this with loaded bound versions of Bruce Hales’s so-called ‘ministry’ held to our temples …
It is not often that we can point to something the Exclusive Brethren state publicly and agree with the statement. The statement we want to support as being the Truth was spoken by Mr. Athol Greene, the Father-in-Law to the current leader of the Exclusive Brethren, Bruce D. Hales.
David Marr writes this week from Australia’s The Age:
“You won’t change us,” he says, fixing me with his old eyes.
“You. Won’t. Change. Us.”
This statement by the self-described ‘spritual advisor’ to the reclusive Bruce Hales is historically accurate. Athol Greene is right that the Exclusive Brethren have been intransigent and steadfast in ripping apart families for almost 50 years.
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July 11th, 2009
Victory . . . Brethren elders Daniel Hales, left, and Athol Greene. "You're probably not in a position to realise the happy lives our children have." Photo: Kate Geraghty
You would be forgiven for assuming the toothy smile of Daniel Hales and the self-satisfied smirk on the face of Athol Greene (Father-in-law to Daniel’s brother Bruce Hales) was as result of some joyous moment in their spiritual lives. In fact, their good humor comes from the fact they have gained an outrageous ruling in Australia’s Family Court that prevents an excommunicated member from seeing his eight children.
We reproduce a David Marr article from the Australian press that sums up the anger resulting from the Family Court ruling. The intransigence and arrogance of the group that Kevin Rudd, the Australian Prime Minister accurately described as “an extremist cult and sect” comes out in a quote from Athol Greene below:
“You won’t change us,” he says, fixing me with his old eyes.
“You. Won’t. Change. Us.”
The Exclusion Brethren
by David Marr
July 11th, 2009
A father’s price for quitting his marriage was to lose contact with eight children left behind in the Exclusive Brethren. David Marr caught up with sect defenders.
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Bruce Hales is a different kind of Exclusive Brethren leader than all those before. Not gifted as an orator, not particularly learned, apparently a shy and retiring man who is reportedly scared of media attention and that ‘someone may attack him‘. As a result, sightings are rare and Bruce Hales travels secretly and normally with a contingent of bodyguards. No other Exclusive Brethren leader has ever acted this way.
Even the Exclusive Brethren recognize the differences between Bruce Hales and his predecessors. The varied spokesmen now publicly decry the use of the term ‘Elect Vessel’ and ‘Man of God’ which is both an admission of the lack of quality doctrine and teaching involved in BDH ‘ministry’ but is perhaps also an unusually realistic assessment of his spiritual stature. It has been noticeable that there has been a recent increase in the travel and use of other more gifted teachers within the Exclusive Brethren community.
This should not to be viewed as a sign of weak leadership however! ‘Mr Bruce’ is very much in control and is adulated by most Exclusive Brethren. Expressions like “Mr. Bruce will look after us” or “Mr Bruce is filling our storehouses for the coming famine” are frequently heard and these speak to the new position that Bruce Hales has carved for himself. Playing off the ‘End Times’ forecasts of doom and panic that have been the main doctrinal heritage provided by many EB writers and teachers, Bruce is placing himself in a role of ‘Joseph’, the biblical son of Jacob who became the savior of both his family and Eygpt. One obvious difference of course, is that Joseph didn’t keep most of it for himself …
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September 22nd, 2008
We have been sent a copy of the Jackson-Wells spin-doctors’ media release. It is a remarkable document that offers an in-depth and wide-ranging rebuttal. There is only one problem, they have yet to read Michael Bachelard’s new book – ‘Behind The Exclusive Brethren’.
Is it fair to suggest that by waiting 24 hours or so they might have gained a little more respect? What an extraordinary error!
We reproduce the media release in full:
—– Original Message —–
From: Ben Haslem (bhaslem@jacksonwells.com.au)
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 12:32 AM
Subject: Exclusive Brethren Media ReleasePlease find attached and following a media release from the Exclusive Brethren Church.
Media release – September 22, 2008
New book ‘a transcending work of fiction’: Brethren
A book about the Exclusive Brethren Church to be launched tomorrow is likely to be “a transcending work of fiction”, according to the Church.
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You know that sound that pennies make when they hit the floor after being in free-fall for a while? It just happened.
It all started with a surprisingly (one could say comradely, friendly, even nauseously) gentle article in yesterday’s The Australian that shone a whole new shade of pink over the Topic du Jour – the Exclusive Brethren and their outright panic over the about-to-be-launched ‘Behind The Exclusive Brethren’ by investigative journalist, Michael Bachelard.
For those with a strong stomach, we present:
Brethren lift veil on their exclusive lifestyle
The Australian
Brad Norington
September 20, 2008Daniel Hales says talking to his neighbours would help dispel negative perceptions about the Exclusive Brethren straight away.
“If you went up and down our street,” Hales says, “they would say, ‘oh yeah, they’ve got some funny beliefs, but gee, they’re nice people, they’re good people’.”
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The Transformation of Daniel Hales
Who says Public Relations firms are ineffectual?
The news that Daniel Hales, brother to the Exclusive Brethren leader Bruce D. Hales, is to present a paper at the ICSA Annual Conference in New York in early July 2010 marks a new step in a carefully choreographed transformation.
Daniel Hales has lived in the shadow of his younger brother since not being selected as a suitable leader of the EB following the death of their father John S. Hales in 2002. Always heavily involved in the business and monetary aspects of the cult, he has nevertheless been carefully groomed over the past several years by Jackson Wells (http://www.jacksonwells.com.au/), the EB’s Public Relations Agency, to act as a spokesman for the group.
Several spokesmen have come and gone since Bruce Hales gained control in 2002. Due to the reluctance (some say inability) of Bruce Hales to face the media, a series of personalities have attempted to divert attention away from what many view as firm evidence of cultic behavior. Indeed, the Exclusive Brethren were recently described by current Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as “an extremist cult and sect” who went on to state that he believed “they break up families“.
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