by Neville and Philippa McCallum
Neville McCallum experienced the full wrath of the Exclusive Brethren in New Zealand during the notorious reign of James H Symington (cult leader through the 1970′s until his death in 1987). In Cast Outside The Camp, Neville and his wife Philippa recount how it felt to be pursued, interrogated and eventually cast-out of the Exclusive Brethren. They pull no punches in this often deep, always insightful and sinister human drama which is presented by peebs.net as a multi-part serialization.
The Exclusive Brethren priests turn on Philippa
The Exclusive Brethren priests turn on Philippa
ROUND 13
- Stillborn child -
It was the evil of this session, that convinced me of the depth of inhuman feelings in the Exclusive Brethren leadership. It also increased my courage and will to survive. It is sessions like this, that formed a backbone into many ‘outs’ around the world, and it is that backbone in 2008 is coming back to haunt them.
For nearly three years these poorly equipped cult members had tried to break me with a level of mind control that did not have the IQ level of an 8-year-old child, nor could their mind control have any moral connection with a church. Because nothing had worked for them, these ferret-eyed jackals turned on my wife, knowing that if they broke her, (because of my devotion to her), it would have to break me too.
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The title page to an anonymous 1852 pamphlet deriding the teachings of Darby
This anonymous 1852 pamphlet is written by someone with considerable ‘inside’ knowledge of the Plymouth Brethren and, as it is published just 4 years after Bethesda, some may consider it an important addition.
The last section of the pamphlet contains a controversial theory – it builds upon the Darbyite belief that the Exclusive Brethren represented the ‘One Assembly of God’ and the author presents these principles in full.
The author then suggests that the Plymouth rift was seen as an opportunity by Darby to establish himself and his pre-millenial rapture theories – by linking together Newton and his alternate prophetic versions and branding them as “evil”. It is a section worth reading twice – if you can deal with the intense doctrinal debate.
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A doctrinal analysis of Exclusive Brethren ‘Separation’
Criticizing the doctrinal origins of the Exclusive Brethren can be a dangerous ambition. The history and objectives of this strange seclusionist cult are intentionally steeped in the mists of tradition, conscience and the horror of even suggesting that any existing, or former, ‘Man of God’ (one of the internal titles given to Exclusive Brethren leaders) could possibly do something wrong! Today, the very concept of criticism is in the process of being carefully bred-out of the group. One of the irrefutable symptoms of being a cult is this intolerance toward internal questioning and criticism.
The following December 2009 blog entry presents in a refreshingly clear and concise manner exactly what is wrong with the Exclusive Brethren interpretation of what it is to be ‘separate from the world’. The author Milt Rodriguez (never an Exclusive Brethren member) also portrays a perfect summary of why Brethren divide so many times – how many ex-Exclusive Brethren have heard the dread words: ‘I can no longer walk in fellowship with you… I therefore withdraw from iniquity‘ …
The Dominion of Opinion that follows is recommended as one of the better doctrinal explanations of where the Exclusive Brethren went wrong with their malformed hypothesis of what ‘Separation from Evil’ really entails.
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