by Tim Twinam
‘Be Ye Separate’ was first published in 1998 on the ‘Wyman Website‘ – a website forced to close in 2003 due to Exclusive Brethren litigation.
Being Separate always was fundamental to the Exclusive Brethren. As a child it was an unquestioned part of our existence, I knew of no other way. The family was enough because it was a huge Family. The Family was more than my parents and five younger sisters, it included all Exclusive Brethren everywhere.
As a teenager, long before the Aberdeen fiasco, I was aware that I could travel to almost any UK town and to many other countries around the world and would always be able to find a friendly door upon which to knock. Once announced as a brother belonging to the Sevenoaks Local Assembly, I would be given a welcome and immediate unconditional hospitality.
This was always the greatest aspect of the Little Flock. We shared a commonwealth of each other. We were the Church. We were the Bride. We, the ‘Un-named’, were the lonely banner-wavers of the only Truth in an evil world. We looked after each other.
From the time that an invited audience of local brethren gathered in a room to witness the complete immersion in warm water of a week-old infant, a new member of the church was added to the list of the Beloved. Each child was nurtured and became the spiritual responsibility of the wider community. I answered to my parents of course, but I was also expected to be subject to all members of the assembly. Well, some more than others if I’m honest.
From the earliest age the boundaries were carefully explained. I remember the time that an older relative told me firmly not to use a drinking fountain in the park because “Unclean people drink from there, dear.” I must have been between three and four years old. Evil was portrayed as a disease that we would be damaged by, if we allowed ourselves to come into contact with it. Eating with others was not a problem in the pre-school years because we were only ever in the family environment. But all that changed when we entered the public school system. At that time, during the Taylorite 1960′s, there was no such thing as an Exclusive Brethren school.
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The Exclusive Brethren today physically enforce the biblical concept of spiritual Separation
This 19th century document is probably the closest thing to a Constitution for the Exclusive Brethren. To this day, the Exclusive Brethren verbally use the title of this pamphlet in response to questions about their anti-social activities.
John N. Darby taught that a physical separation from the world was necessary for the Exclusive Brethren and this philosophy, together with his insistence upon central administration of the ‘Assembly’, were some of the early major influences behind today’s cult.
In typical Darby form, he broaches no criticism and allows no deviation. It must be done this way. His way is right. This is why many years later, Alfred J. Gardner, a London-based senior member of the Exclusive Brethren, wrote a paper on The Recovery and Maintenance of the Truth which extolled the development of the philosophy described in the attached document.
To those unfamiliar with the ways of the Exclusive Brethren and who baulk at the thought of trying to understand Darby’s words, we will attempt a quick paraphrase:
The established Church (Roman, Anglican, in fact most other established churches) has fallen into Apostasy (disagree with our teachings – this is Bad).
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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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