Does anyone know much about the Brethren?

[carlycurly]

There are plenty of indications that our new neighbours may be part of the Brethren and I suspect that the house has been bought by the church for let to Brethren families.

I'm fascinated by such a different way of life and am really just interested in finding out some more about it all. I'm guessing I won't find any on here due to the restrictions on using internet. we've had a few interesting situations with them so far and it's certainly not the usual neighbour interaction.

I would say it's devaluing the concept of a cult to say that all religions are cults.

There's quite a bit about different Brethren groups on Youtube, the BBC also has articles. The Brethren, Plymouth Brethren and Exclusive Brethren have websites.

It is interesting to find out about different belief systems. If your new neighbours are pleasant and friendly, in time you can politely ask them things. I understand they don't usually eat with non-Brethren so don't invite round for tea.

PS: This is interesting:

There are plenty of other documentaries and interviews on Youtube.

There were a few brethren kids in my primary school in the 80s. They girls all had long plaits and wore headscarves. They weren't allowed to go to assembly, watch tv or go on the computer. They stuck together and didn't really mIx with anyone else.

It is quite an exclusive religion. Not my cup of tea at all but - it's interesting, if somewhat dreary.

I've never actually known a member of a Brethren church.

@PermanentTemporary

I would say it's devaluing the concept of a cult to say that all religions are cults.

Not really. At some point at their beginning all religions were considered cults by larger religions. Christianty was considered a cult by both Jews and Romans. Islam was considered a cult by medieval Christians. Cult is a broad term that has been misused as a negative term in reguards to religious groups.

Cult
noun
noun: cult; plural noun: cults

1. a system of religious veneration and devotion directed towards a particular figure or object. "the cult of St Olaf"

@vdbfamily

So... it is very confusing. I should no all the history but forget most of it. There are open brethren and Plymouth brethren and they would be very traditional but not as'seperatist' as the current Plymouth Brethren Christian church' who are pretty much a cult to all intents and purposes. In 1970 there was a big conference up in Aberdeen and the then leader of the Plymouth Brethren James Taylor was found in bed with another man's wife who was naked. There was a huge split( when my parents left) and loads of people realised it had become cultural and this leader was an abusive alcoholic with a taste for other people's wives. The men seemed to consider it an honour to be asked to share their wives!!! It was desperately sad as families were just rolled apart. My mother never saw her sister again. My grab never saw her oldest daughter till the day she died. My aunty showed me a letter last month written in 1970 by her sister arranging to come and stay for the holidays. She never came.... never spoke to her again. Absolutely heartbreaking. So the little church I grew up in was formed from these half families who were quite broken and a bit scattered of the outside world. They had been taught to be suspicious of non brethren. Fortunately my family for involved in non denominational youth work and quickly discovered Christians from all sorts of churches who were not the devil incarnate!! There have been lots of changes since then and the rules are created now but Bruce Hales, ( the current man of God MOG) who lives in Australia, is a multi millionaire and takes it in because all brethren have to use the same IP for phones and computers and what they access is monitored and controlled and the money paid goes to MOG.He flies a private plane. The brethren are encouraged to drink heavily.... whisky... and I have known relatives leave who were alcoholic. There was a big move, because of their exclusiveness and cultlikeness, to have their charitable status removed in the UK and they were monitored for a year. This caused a rebranding where they produced a shiny website ( remember, previous members were excommunicated for using a computer!?) and renamed themselves The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church. They launched the Rapid relief Teams RRT who appear in times of flood s etc and h hand out good and drink. They lobbied parliament and offered to sing at events in parliament and sang contemporary songs with electric guitars etc( again....a few years ago that would have had you excommunicated) The biggest sign that they are a cult, apart from the money thing and the exclusivity, is the fact that you cannot leave without being excommunicated. I am in contact with people who could not stay within brethren or for thrown out for misdemeanours or disobedience of the roles. They lose their partners and children, their houses and jobs. Some commit suicide. If a 19 year old decided it was not for them they would have to say goodbye to their parents, siblings, friends, job etc etc. If a parent is caught out keeping in touch, they can be' shut up' where they are not allowed to church and the priests have to visit them and basically device ID they will be locked out or allowed to stay. Having said ALL that, the majority of families you meet will just be lively, family orientated, kind people who have never known any different and are brainwashed into thinking all the separation stuff is needed. There is so much I could say. As someone who has 7 cousins and numerous other relatives still stuck in this cult, I hope and pray that the power house will come tumbling down around Bruce Hales. There are ongoing lawsuits currently from previous members which I hope will be successful but he had endless plus of money to fight any claims. RE your neighbours specifically, the child sounds like he had SEN as that language would not be normal. I never heard swearing growing up other than at school. Some kids go to mainstream school but most are minibussed to PBCC schools. Happy to answer any questions.

And yet you still continue to be a homophobic fundamentalist.

Hvergelmir ....I actually don't think you would find anyone IRL who would describe me as either of those things but at least now you have a bit of insight into the background I came from. I think I have traveled a long way since then and having 3 independently minded teenagers has kept me very grounded. There are probably many areas in which our opinions might diverge but that is good and healthy as living surrounded by people who agree with you is not good for any of its and does not challenge is. Peace to you.🙂

@vdbfamily

Hvergelmir ....I actually don't think you would find anyone IRL who would describe me as either of those things but at least now you have a bit of insight into the background I came from. I think I have traveled a long way since then and having 3 independently minded teenagers has kept me very grounded. There are probably many areas in which our opinions might diverge but that is good and healthy as living surrounded by people who agree with you is not good for any of its and does not challenge is. Peace to you.🙂

You have said plenty of times that you think homosexuality is wrong and that you are against marriage equality. So yes I would describe you as homophobic, just like the brethren.

I had a Christian brethren friend, she wore long skirts (but "normal" eg denim) long sleeved blouses, a wide hair band but otherwise normal clothes. I went to her house for dinner a few times and her family were lovely, so welcoming but she refused/wasn't allowed to come to mine. After a levels (3xa, when a was the top grade) she went to work in the family business, she was married within the year and babies followed. She seemed happy but you never know.

Her cousin rebelled and went to university, I met her because she was the year below me on my course by chance, her family disowned her because she had a non brethren boyfriend

Hvergelmir ... at the risk of detailing the thread completely I will just reply to your last comments. As a Christian, I try and live by the teaching of the Bible. This means I was celibate until married at 34 and had I not meet DH, would have remained single and celibate. That is because I think the Bible teaches that sex is for a man and woman in a married relationship. This means that I am no more anti gay than anti heterosexuals in unmarried relationships. The other very important point is that my beliefs are what I expect of myself. I am in no way expecting other people to follow those same rules. I do not petition to restrict other people rights. We have gay couples stay with us and they are as welcome and loved as any other of our friends and family. I have offered jobs to several gay people recently and that makes our team more representative and accessible to all. I am certainly not homophobic and strive in life to love and respect everyone equally so whilst it is easy for you to come on to MN and throw accusations at me, you don't know me from Adam and as I say, my friends and colleagues would disagree with you.

If you believe homosexuality is wrong you are homophobic. HTH.

Not if you go by the Oxford dictionary definition. I don't have a dislike of or prejudice against gay people.
Now....back to the thread maybe.

@vdbfamily

Not if you go by the Oxford dictionary definition. I don't have a dislike of or prejudice against gay people. Now....back to the thread maybe.

You must have a different dictionary than I do.

homophobic /ˌhɒməˈfəʊbɪk, ˌhəʊməˈfəʊbɪk/ adjective having or showing an extreme and irrational aversion to homosexuality and homosexual people

Although I never heard of a rational reason for not liking homosexuality.

I don't think this has derailed the thread at all. In fact - as per the original title of this thread, it tells you exactly what you need to know about the Brethren.

OP did you get a better look at the mystery sticks 😂

I wonder if I know you, Musicteachersussex. I wonder if we were on the same campus at the same time.

That would be interesting! I was at Hindhead

@MusicTeacherSussex

That would be interesting! I was at Hindhead

Me too!

I think I worked there few years later than after you left- but I'm glad to meet someone who knows about it! We probably knew some students and families in common, they're big enough families
And probably know staff members in common

No, I have not been able to do my stick inspection yet because they don't seem to have been out of the house for days, so I've not been able to get close enough to get a good look.

The car was even there on Sunday although the dcs don't seem to be at home and I haven't seen or heard them for days. It's all very strange.

Just looked out the back window and there's something going on with torches in their garden.

It's all very James Wan

Just asked about the sticks on a FB site for ex brethren. Only suggestion so far is that they are learning to play diggerido's to help assimilate when they get to Aus😂

@MusicTeacherSussex

It's all very James Wan

It really is all like a low budget Netflix film.

There is far more than I'm detailing on here, but I'm a bit worried about making all this too identifiable and it somehow cropping up in one of the organisation's searches. I really don't want to cause them any trouble either.

Main concern right now is them coming on to our property while we're out or in the night. We have already had issues with this and I'd posted a (polite) note asking them not to climb on the fence as it's not strong enough. I'd noticed a ball half hidden in the bushes at the bottom of the garden last night which I meant to go and retrieve this morning and throw over to make the point that I will do this, they don't need to help themselves. Just headed out to do it and it's gone. I'll ask the dcs when they're up and about, but they weren't out there that I noticed last night. The whole situation is unsettling.

@vdbfamily

Just asked about the sticks on a FB site for ex brethren. Only suggestion so far is that they are learning to play diggerido's to help assimilate when they get to Aus😂

I've just found a website where the actual strapline is "Stick with the Brethren"