Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume. 33, Number 10. 8 July, 1970
"Pure, holy and undefiled"
"Pure, holy and undefiled"
The Exclusives did not see themselves as arrogant in cutting themselves off in this way, or even cruel when it came to breaking up families where one parent or child did not belong to the sect. God decreed that they were to be "pure, holy and undefiled", and submission was based not so much upon the hope of the after-life being propitious or of immediate reward but in the amazing fear instilled into people of the wrath of God, were they to disobey His commands. This fear formed the basis under which most edicts were obeyed, and caused people to go through great financial straits, convinced all the while that they were doing the only right thing. There was also a certain amount of fear of ostracism from the sect (wherein could be found one's only real earthly friends), if one did not conform.
The withdrawal of lawyers from, the Bar, chemists from the Pharmaceutical Association, lecturers from universities and teachers from schools, workers from trade unions and many others from their relatives and neighbours gave the Exclusive Brethren a great feeling not of intellectual, but of spiritual and material satisfaction—healthy in mind, healthy in body. As their worldly brothers rejected attempts at conversion, the doors of the Church were closed to the world, and only a few open-air campaigners remain.
The departure of any individual from the Brethren is regarded as a very serious moral venture, which the sect does its utmost to prevent. They attempt to forestall this by holding lengthy addresses to the sect, aimed primarily at its teen-age members, warning them of all the dangers and pitfalls of a world they have never known. Almost all forms of culture come under this category and are regarded as evil.