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A bizarre, wealthy and dangerous sect
It is no surprise, says investigative reporter, Michael Bachelard, that the Exclusive Brethren, a well-heeled and secretive Christian sect, should have been the apple of the eye of "conservative and authoritarian politicians such as John Howard", the former Australian Prime Minister.They are all clean-cut and straight-laced; big on `family values' and women staying home to tend children and husband; frowning on abortion and homosexuality; frothing at the mouth about trade unions and the Greens; venerating small business and private schooling; rooting for wars on Iraq and `terrorism'.

The sect's "doctrine of separation", which keeps the Brethren excluded from the spiritually `contaminated' material world, has resulted in a suite of bizarre rules and prohibitions, including banning shorts and facial hair for men, banning university for everyone, forbidding Brethren dwellings from having shared walls with non-Brethren dwellings and proscribing radio and TV, computers and mobile phones, and fax machines and automatic garage-door openers.

Sheltering behind the ramparts of `religious freedom' is the sect's enforcement of discriminatory gender roles.A Brethren woman can not "put herself in a position of authority over a man" and, once married, can not seek paid work.The only job available for Brethren girls is telemarketing until it is time to procreate.

Under the latest `Elect Vessel' to head the sect, Bruce Hales, a Sydney accountant and furniture-supplier, the Exclusive Brethren have modernised somewhat but only in financial and tax law which gets as close a scrutiny as scripture.Coupled with political lobbying to seek special exemptions and privileges as a Church/charity, the Brethren have become extremely wealthy.

Gross annual turnover of the thousand Brethren family businesses in Australia is A$2.2 billion, structured as family trusts to pay only the 30% corporate tax rate and not the top 48.5% individual tax rate.Hales is one of the biggest individual property-owners on the planet with holdings estimated by one former Brethren member at A$4 billion.Through family income-splitting and family trusts, the Brethren avoid tax and also rort the public purse by claiming a range of social security payments.

Openness and transparency is greatly feared by the Brethren which retains tight control of its members through instilling fear of the outside world, indoctrination, coercion and intimidating its members with being `shut up' (placed under household solitary confinement) or being excommunicated and losing family contact for ideological deviation or infractions of rules.Criticism of the sect by former members, or journalists, is met with defamation writs and threats of hugely expensive legal action.

The human and economic sins of this dark but dangerous little sect are many and Bachelard has done well to bring them to light. ... Read more

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This is nonfiction commentary. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Australia in the War of 1939-1945, Behind the Exclusive Brethren, John Cotton's Birds of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales 1843-1849, Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918, Relation Du Voyage à La Recherche de La Pérouse, the Literature of Australian Birds, the Other Side of the Frontier, the Fatal Shore. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: Australia in the War of 19391945 is a 22 volume official history series covering Australia's involvement in the Second World War. The series was published by the Australian War Memorial between 1952 and 1977. Most volumes in the series were edited by Gavin Long, who also wrote three volumes in the series and the summary volume The Six Year War. In contrast to the Official History of Australia in the War of 19141918, this series has a greater focus on the war's impact upon domestic events, including volumes on operations of the Australian Government and contributions made by Australian industry and science. In addition, Australia in the War of 19391945 includes a series on the history of the Australian military's medical services, and the problems encountered by these services, during the war. Gavin Long in Lae, New Guinea in July 1944 while attached to the headquarters of New Guinea ForceIn April 1943 the Australian War Cabinet decided that plans should be made to write an official history of Australia's involvement in World War II. Gavin Long was appointed the general editor of the prospective series on the recommendation of C.E.W. Bean, the editor of the Official History of Australia in the War of 19141918, in January 1943 and presented a provisional plan of the series to the War Cabinet which approved it in July 1943. At this time it was envisioned that...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=5526379 ... Read more

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Chapters: Raven-Taylor-Hales Brethren, Dispensationalism, Exclusive Brethren, Darby Bible, Open Brethren, Gospel Hall Brethren, Christian Brethren of Malaysia, Kerala Brethren, Needed Truth Brethren, Father and Son, Indian Brethren, Emmaus Bible College, Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, Needed Truth Magazine, Loose Brethren, Plurality, the Local Church. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 121. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. The title, "The Brethren," is one that many of their number are comfortable with, in that the Bible designates all believers as "brethren." "Brethren assemblies" are commonly perceived as being divided into at least two branches, the "Open Brethren" and the "Exclusive Brethren." The Plymouth Brethren movement began in Dublin, around 1827, and soon spread from Ireland to Britain. The first English assembly was in Plymouth, where the movement became well known. Brethren assemblies diffused throughout Europe and beyond. Leonard Strong led the formation about 1836 of assemblies in British Guiana among the slaves. In the early years, those involved were largely unknown to one another, with no direct contact between the various groups. The two main but conflicting aspirations of the movement were to create a holy and pure fellowship on one hand, and to allow all Christians into fellowship on the other. Following decades of dissent, the expansion of Methodism and political revolutions in the United States and France, believers in the movement felt that the established Church of England had abandoned or distorted many of the ancient traditions of Christendom. To get away from the sectarianism of dissenters, people in the movemen...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=252299 ... Read more

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This is nonfiction commentary. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Books About John Howard, Behind the Exclusive Brethren, Silencing Dissent: How the Australian Government Is Controlling Public Opinion and Stifling Debate, Not Happy, John, All for Australia, the Times Will Suit Them, the Howard Paradox, Dark Victory, High and Dry, How to Argue With an Economist: Reopening Political Debate in Australia, God Under Howard, List of Books About John Howard. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: Behind the Exclusive Brethren: Politics Persuasion and Persecution is a non-fiction book by journalist and author Michael Bachelard about the group Exclusive Brethren, focusing on the sect in Australia. It was published in 2008 by Scribe Publications Pty Ltd. Bachelard first became interested in the organization while a journalist for The Age, after finding out that prior to the 2007 Australian federal election the Exclusive Brethren organization in Australia had close access to John Howard. He spent two years researching the group, focusing on its history, influence in Australia, and ties to the Liberal Party of Australia and to Howard. The book gives a historical background of the group's origins 200 years ago in Ireland under John Nelson Darby. Since 2002, Bruce Hales served as the international leader and "Elect Vessel" of the organization, which has 15,000 members in Australia and 43,000 total globally. The author describes the beliefs and practices and doctrine of the organization, including some of its more controversial methodology including excommunication of former members from their family still within the group. Daniel Hales, brother of the organization's worldwide leader Bruce Hales, described the book as part of a trend of what he said were lies told about his group by critics and disaf...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=25207078 ... Read more

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 Some of the happiest remembrances of my childhood are of days spent in a little Quaker colony on a high hill.
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Plymouth Brethren. Conservatism, Evangelicalism, OpenBrethren, Gospel Hall Brethren, Needed Truth Brethren,Exclusive Brethren, Raven-Taylor-Hales Brethren ... Read more