Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume. 33, Number 10. 8 July, 1970

"Children, keep yourselves from idols"

"Children, keep yourselves from idols"

It appears that the most sweeping changes have taken place during the last decade. Whether this is because I became more and more aware of them as I grew up during this period I am not quite sure, but I do not think this is the whole reason. During this period there has been much talk of the imminent coming of the Lord, which is now constantly referred to and kept in the minds of the hearers. This is intended to spur them on to changes in their ways for His pleasure and to ensure that they will not fail Him when the Second Coming is expected so soon.

This message has great psychological effects, although they do begin to wear thin when for Sunday after Sunday the Second Coming has been confidently predicted and no show. It provides a hope for getting out of awkward situations and creates a greater willingness to forego material pleasures. Members of the Brethren do not talk of the future. For them there is no future—only the immediate future which will soon be past. So why spurn the spiritual comfort of the Lord to waste one's energy in worldly pursuits when the end is so close? On the other hand, why not enjoy life while it lasts? Surely a question that it is up to the individual to decide how to answer. But, if one is a member of the Brethren, one does not even get the chance to consider this answer. Most members of the sect are simply carried around in circles on the "Exclusive" conveyor belt. They are surely the nearest creatures on earth to "the stuffed men, the hollow men".