Quote
Archbishop Laud
I would suggest that Mr Black's background in the Exclusive Brethren explains much about what is wrong with Struthers... I think he imported most of their doctrines and forms of life straight into Struthers, which can, as a result, be classified as a a kind of Pentecostal Exclusive Brethren. Or rather Pentecostal Exclusive Sisterhood -- because brothers are very much in the background there.
Now that is interesting. I did not see the programme but I was thinking exactly the same earlier this week. I even had a look online to see what info there was about the exclusive brethren. As you say, much of it is very similar including the fact that they run their own schools to protect their children form bad influences. In the close brethren schools, this extends to not allowing access to the internet believing it all to be a bad influence. Since Cedars has taken the opposite approach, pupils will be exposed to more of the truth, so are less likely to continue to follow Struthers in the longer term.
That is good news but in terms of what we can do in a more proactive sense, I am not sure. The evidence is now so overwhelming that no-one could actually read it and defend Struthers, but most of the congregation are so isolated that they can largely just ignore it - or are so depressed that they don't care. I do feel sorry for those still trapped but I am not sure what we can do either individually or collectively.
If we do have any contact with current members, we can be at least be a bit more robust however! I have met a few over the years, and generally said something about what happened to me, but I would be a lot more forceful now, as the evidence is overwhelming and I am more and more seeing that they each have their own personal responsibility to make a decision in the light of that public evidence. I think that responsibility of the individuals is one thing that has been lacking until now, as we have largely (and correctly) focused on the leaders.
Seems to me that there is now absolute clarity that the leadership is damaging however and, while I am sure that more evidence will continue to come to light, no more is really needed to convince any rational person. The question to the individual members of the congregations them becomes not just "why don't the leaders do something about it?" it is "why don't YOU do something about it".
As has been said before, "For evil to abound, all it takes is good men(sic) to do nothing." Come on, members of the congregation in Struthers, you are meant to be not just good men and women, but the salt of the earth. You are responsible for your own actions, including avoiding contact with former members, refusing to read or investigate the factual accounts on this forum and giving your money to an organisation that systematically abuses people. Do you not believe that you will have to stand before God and account for all that one day? Do you really think it is good enough to say, "but the leaders told me..."
This started with reference to a TV programme about the Exclusive Brethern, and I want to close it with another film reference. I was watching a film about Hitler recently (called something like the man who fought Hitler - it was about a lawyer trying to challenge Hitler's rise to power) and it struck me that the Struthers approach is very similar to the one Hitler adopted - absolute authority, including authority to say black was white. There is no way that is the model in either the old or new testament.