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 bewildering impact of Freedom
The bewildering impact of Freedom
ROUND 15 (Part 2)
- Coping With Freedom -
We were the fourth generation of our families (McCallum and Janson) to be in the Exclusive Brethren fellowship, with our ancestors joining in the 1800’s.
Even though we had kind of re-grouped during our 3 year ordeal, now we were alone to stand or fall on every decision we made. This is when the going got tough.
Up until this day (in our generation timing), we had never been permitted to make any important decisions ourselves, as all decisions came through the ‘world leader’s’ ministry which every home globally received a copy each month.
For any non member, including our children today, the above statement is impossible to understand without me giving a foundation for it.
Here are just a few examples –
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The story of Craig Hoyle is an indictment of the Exclusive Brethren.
In the uniform and monochromatic world of the Exclusive Brethren, Craig was a splash of unacceptable color. He was gay. He was a spirited free-thinker. He refused to conform. So the self-described ‘christian’ Exclusive Brethren excommunicated him and his cult-member parents kicked their 20 year old son out of their home, telling him never to return.
There are a number of articles on this site and elsewhere that describe the often horrific events leading up to his excommunication.
Today, Craig is literally ‘Moving On’. A thoroughly modern young man, Craig has embraced the power of social media and has formed a large network of friends and fans who are encouraging the attempts by Craig to speak out, deal with his appalling treatment by the cult and to begin a new life.
Aspiring to a career in Journalism, Craig is already displaying his skills in blending words, humor and visual acuity. We will keep these video journals updated regularly. Meanwhile and in any case, visit Craig and Brucie Bear on their Facebook page.
Moving On
1. Brucie Bear makes his debut
2. Brucie Bear Moves On
3. Brucie Bear arrives in Britain
4. Brucie Bear replies to an Email
5. Brucie Bear enjoys a whisky
6. Brucie Bear is kidnapped!
7. Brucie Bear celebrates an anniversary
Other Information about Craig
Part 1 – What is it like to be gay in the Exclusive Brethren?
Part 2 – Excommunication fron the Exclusive Brethren
Part 3 - After the Exclusive Brethren: Craig looks ahead
News – Exclusive Brethren intimidation tactics caught on film
There are many Christians known as “brethren” who trace the origins of their movement to John Nelson Darby who lived just over 200 years ago in Dublin. Schism and division has been a consistent feature of the movement almost from the start. The following summary relates to the Taylor-Symington-Hales Branch of the Exclusive Brethren (signified by the more recent leaders of this group); arguably the most radical and perhaps controversial of all the groups in the Brethren movement.
The Brethren trace the origins of the movement to John Nelson Darby who was born in London in 1800 into an aristocratic Anglo-Irish family. Lord Nelson, a friend of his uncle, Admiral Sir Henry Darby, was a sponsor at young Darby’s christening.
JN Darby as a young man
Darby’s mother died when he was five years old and at the age of 15 his family moved to the ancestral estate in Ireland. He took an honours degree at Dublin University and studied law for three years at the Dublin Chancery Bar. But he never practiced law. To the annoyance of his family, he abandoned his legal career and became a priest in the Irish Church of England in 1826, serving in the parish of Calary in the mountains of County Wicklow.
Almost immediately John Darby fell out with church leaders over matters of doctrine and by 1827-28 he was meeting to “break bread” in the home of one of four other dissenting young men in Dublin. The group believed that the existence of an established church and ordained clergy was contrary to scripture. “I can find no such thing as a national church in Scripture”, Darby wrote at the time. In 1832, he had a major disagreement with Archbishop Magee about a requirement for converted Catholics to swear allegiance to King George IV and, in the same year, disagreed with Archbishop Whately about matters of church doctrine.
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