Plymouth Brethren

[clairethewitch70]

Just found out my neighbours are members, wondered why they ignore us. Does anyone have experience of this church? It's not one I have heard of.

My exH works for a company ran by PB. They're lovely people, they would go out of their way to help us. Have really helped him in his career.

They use computers but they have a blocker on so no social media or anything like that can be accessed. No ties to be worn in the work place. They don't eat with the none PB at work, but they don't make a big deal of it either.
They don't like blasphemy such as "oh my god", etc.

All in all, lovely people. Both men and women working there and they were lovely to us.

My parents left this 'cult' when I was a baby and there was a big split as the leader was found in bed with another mans wife.
The reason they are a cult is this. If you break a rule you are 'shut up' which means you are not allowed fellowship with anyone else and are sort of under house arrest until you have repented of and put right whatever you did wrong...eat in a restaurant/talk to someone you should not have done etc. If no repentence you are basically kicked out and excommunicated. If married they try and persuade your partner/children to stay 'in' and have no more to do with you.
My mums sister stayed in after the big split and my gramdma never saw that daughter again. My mum saw her sister just before she died but that was once in 40 years and only allowed as they were briefly encouraged to try and reach out to estranged family and try and get them to repent and join again but that was short lived. Rebecca who wrote the book is a relative of mine so that is really the story of my extended family. She writes beautifully.
The have a leader called Bruce Hales who they call MOG(man of God). He rakes in the money from their tithing and their mobile phone and computer contracts which have to go through a brethren network of some kind. He flies a private plane and is a fairly nasty piece of work. They are well lawyered up and sue anyone who tries to expose them for what they are.
When the charity commission was made aware of them and the fact that their services were not open to genral public and that they were self serving financially, they investigated and gave them a monitored period of time to pull their socks up. They then created these emergency teams that pop up if there is a disaster/flood etc and hand out food/drink etc. They never did this before the investigation.
The ones you meet through school/work/neighbours are likely to be nice enough. It is the international leadership that is wealthy, corrupt and making all the rules. I hope and pray that it will all collapse one day and that families can be reunited with long lost loved ones that they dare not contact for ear of losing everything.
They encourage whisky drinking so many are dependent.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N5BS5JD/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1&tag=mumsnetforu03-21#immersive-view_1561103457861

Recently read this. It’s an eye opener. I knew nothing about The Brethren beforehand.

There are also videos about them available on You Tube.

Wow VDB that is an eye opener. I'll have to ask a friend of mine too. Her family had involvement in past but not now in it.

DH family background is PB but they left. There are some really sad stories about brothers and sisters who have never been allowed to talk to each other again even decades later. I haven’t heard any stories of abuse but there are clear hangovers in some of the older members of the family’s behaviour in terms of expecting to be super involved in everyone’s business and take long Austenesque stays with extended family (even several steps removed) at the drop of a hat. Son of Rambow is a good film about a boy growing up in a PB family iirc.

There's one at my daughters school. I feel very sad that the little girl has to eat by herself everyday. Mum used to be friendly to me until she caught me with my satanic bible. Now she avoids me like the plague!

I used to work for the PBCC.

They are very nice, but will not socialise with outsiders. They consider them separate from the world, although need the outside world for their survival.

It’s a patriarchal sect, with only men allowed to preach in their meetings, although women can call out the hymn number.

The local community will be really small, may four or five families, who meet together every day.

They don’t believe in higher education, but do want their children to get Level 3 qualifications. They go straight to work in family/community businesses at 18.