From Log Cabin in Vermont, Couple Fights Reclusive Religious Sect

1. You’re born into it. No birth control and families are larger.Very few, if any, have joined in recent years.You could try going to one of their so called public meetings, but my guess is that they won’t let you in.

2. nobody joins this ”kooky conservative christian sect in the first place”-they are born into it-and with birth control banned, it is not uncommon for a breeding age woman to produce 10 or 12 children.In fact, if a woman goes too long without becoming pregnant-she can expect a visit from the ”priest” asking why.If she becomes depressed with the work overload ,pills are prescribed.In the past,it was alleged that husbands were advised to ”keep up the pressure on their wives until they almost cracked-then back off a bit”Many of the people who contribute to peebs.net are the people who escaped ,or refused to put up with this treatment.Its the only connection they have with other ex members,and the only people who understand

3. Um . . . splain me why these people joined this kooky conservative christian sect in the first place???

4. One would logically think a ”church”that openly preaches an ”utter hatred for the world” and demands its members live in ”separation”would also extend this doctrine to not receiving financial support from the taxpayers ”world” it so openly despises-not so!These are smart business people who have managed to avail themselves of every government grant and tax exemption possible,and there have been allegations of cycling business funds through their school system in order to obtain dollar for dollar government grants.And while they claim financial support for political parties favourable to them are ”only from a few concerned businessmen-nothing to do with the church”,there is at least one instance of a ”shell company” with no assets, inventory or sales that mysteriously emerged during an election campaign and was quietly shut down afterwards.Ex members tell of carrying large sums of cash across borders-but with the Exclusive Brethrens penchant for secrecy and not disclosing their finances-who really knows what goes on?The ONLY way information is being made public on this secretive group that some say is really a business organization masquerading under a church for tax purposes is by way of a public forum-Peebs.net.Is THAT why the real reason Exclusive Brethren are pursuing this legal action?Is THAT why there are harsh reprisals for anyone going ”outside”?One thing IS certain-anyone who thinks this case is merely about copywrite infringement is being very, very naive

5. The EB are trying to shut this site down – it is clear they do not like attention being brought upon their activities – they prefer to “fly under the radar” wherever possible. They say they just want to be left alone to live their lives in their way, but they still persecute former members and break up families and destroy lives – all to maintain extreme control of the remaining members and to hide the truth from them.I can see a light at the end of the tunnel – and I believe the Twinams and the website are its fuel.

6. I was born into the Exclusive Brethren (EB) in the 1960s in Australia.In about 1980 my family was ripped apart by a series of events – my father was wrongly accused of breaking a rule that forbade contact with a person who had earlier been ex-communicated from the EB. It took years before my father was allowed to return.During these years my father lived in a rented accommodation and was not permitted contact with my mother, myself and my brothers and sisters.This enforced separation is the key tenet that make the Brethren ‘Exclusive’ – they force families to turn their back on other members for fear of being ex-communicated themselves.Over these years I also became increasingly dis-enchanted with the EB. I was caught up in the enforced separation – I lived at home with my parents, but other members of my family were billeted out so they could not contact me and thereby keep attending the local EB assembly.Eventually I was moved into rented accommodation so the rest of my family could be re-united.I lived alone for many years – I put myself through university education and got a job. I still had no contact with my family for many years even though they lived close by. I felt completely alone and may as well have lived in a cave like a hermit. I was offered no support by my family and I was completely shunned by former friends in the local assembly.Other members of my family were also ex-communicated – for various reasons – they were also shunned my members of our family still “in” with the EB. And like me, they were left totally to their own devices – to make their own way in the world with no support. Their crime? – they couldn’t make sense or didn’t agree with the exclusiveness of the Brethren – they dared to question the “Elect Vessel” and his interpretation of the Holy Scriptures – they dared to want to pursue a career that required university training – they dared to lived their lives like “normal” members of the society – Then one day, I found a website founded by Dick Wyman – and I realised that I wasn’t alone – that other people were experiencing the same issues. Sadly, the EB had this website shut down. Not long after I found Peebs.net, and joined in the on-line community that has been able to thrive thanks to the efforts of Tim & Sally Twinam.The Peebs.net website offers a place where I and former members of this cult can find solace – we can share our experiences with others – and we can highlight our story in the hopes that “the walls will come tumbling down” someday soon. We all want to be re-united with family members still stuck “in” the EB – without the threats of them being ex-communicated also – without the emotional blackmail that is used to maintain their principle of separation.Peebs.net has also enabled me to be able to contact many friends and family members who over the years had also been ex-communicated. We are able to support each other physically and emotionally whenever required. A number of reunions have been held around the world that have also enabled people to re-connect with long-lost friends and relatives.Peebs.net also has a system where people who are thinking about leaving can make confidential contact with others for support – I wish this had been in place in the 1980s! Tragically, for a number of people it has come too late – the website includes a “memorial” where details of a number of suicides that have occurred because of how they have been treated. The website gives people one of the most important things in life – HOPE – for a better life and a safe future.The website enables us to also enjoy the lighter side of life – to share our experiences and new-found joys and freedoms that were previously off-limits. We can also celebrate our freedom to worship if we want to, and just as importantly to not be persecuted if we choose not to.We can celebrate our achievements too – many former members have been able to achieve goals and ambitions that were once out of reach.The Peebs.net website is a focal point for my life – to lose it would create a void that would not be filled by anything else. It represents so many things – it reinforces my soul and gives me purpose. It enables me to be heard and to know I am not alone in the fight against the EB cult. This website gives me hope that one day the remaining members of my family will also come to the realisation that they have been brainwashed and are living a life imprisoned and controlled by people who have forgotten what true Christianity is about.The EB are trying to shut this site down – it is clear they do not like attention being brought upon their activities – they prefer to “fly under the radar” wherever possible. They say they just want to be left alone to live their lives in their way, but they still persecute former members and break up families and destroy lives – all to maintain extreme control of the remaining members and to hide the truth from them.I can see a light at the end of the tunnel – and I believe the Twinams and the website are its fuel.

7. I was kicked out of the EB’s in 1980 and not contacted for 25 odd years by my family or any one else from in there. Peebs . net has become a lifeline for me since I came across it 3 years ago. I was there, now i’m here.

8. I cannot stress enough how important it is for the public to be made aware of the struggles all former members of the Exclusive Brethren go through once they are evicted, or leave voluntarily.It is so vital that Peebs.net remains open as I was once a member of the Exclusive Brethren. I have found a great support system within the members of Peebs.net. Without it, I doubt that I would have grown to be a more confident person, with a happier outlook on life.The tragic stories of fathers/mothers being separated from their children NEED to stop once and for all. The EB children need to be allowed to have a University education to be worthwhile citizens instead of having their talents suppressed.The Twinams need to win this fight!!

9. Truth is truth.It can be denied, argued with, fought against, analysed and ignored. But still truth remains.The Exclusive Brethren leadership have hired public relations experts, at great cost, to attempt to tell the world their version of “truth” – always reactively. In doing so they have highlighted their deceptive behaviours. The Exclusive Brethren leadership previously directly attempted to “spin” their stories to the media, only to find that their nonsense was quickly seen for what it is by independent people not under their influence.The Peebs.Net website portrays the truth as experienced by the individual authors – except for a thread that is specifically an important stress-relieving spoof of Exclusive Brethren behaviours. Many a true word spoken in jest!A common theme and apparent philosophy of the Peebs.Net website is, “The Truth Will Set You Free”.The leadership of the Exclusive Brethren fear just that, and are quite prepared to outlay huge amounts of tax payer subsidised funds to prevent publication of truth. Such apparently surplus funds would be better spent on charitable works, than trying to defend their rotten deception.

10. In 2004 I privately published a book called ‘Behind Closed Doors’, a book I had started writing several years earlier but had refrained from publishing during my late husband’s lifetime for fear of reprisals from the Exclusive Brethren. Within a few months of it being published it was discovered by Random House and a 2nd edition was published commercially in 2005. The Exclusive Brethren threatened to sue me for my autobiography but they did not proceed, no doubt because they knew I’d spoken only the truth and any lawsuit would make them look bad. Unfortunately my brother, who is still in fewllowship with the Exclusives, allegedly suffered a heart attack due to the pressure put on him by the Exclusives. I believe it was he who was given the job of bringing me to my knees. He contacted my oldest son and laid it on his conscience to disown his mother and encourage his brothers and sisters to do the same – we left the fellowship when my five children were very young so the Exclusive Brethren have no membership claims on them. Not content with that, he then started putting pressure on my two sisters to disown me and they are not in the fellowship either! My brother is not acting as an individual; his behaviour is governed by instructions from the leaders.When we first left the Exclusive Brethren in 1974 with our young family I would have done anything to have the support and friendship that the Peebs.net site has provided. For many years I felt loaded down with guilt for being the family member responsible for us being on the outside. I was so wicked, I had taken the ‘Pill’ for five years without my husband knowing and for that we had been withdrawn from and estranged from our families. Now I know that I’m not a wicked person but richly blessed to be on the outside.’Behind Closed Doors’, originally launched by peebs.net, gives the reader an overview of the Exclusive lifestyle and is written with love and compassion for the people I once walked with while uncovering many horrendous Brethren practices. A book that tells such a familiar story for all of us who have left but keeps the reader glued to its pages to the end, unbelieving that such cruel behaviour can be got away with in our modern times. This is not meant to be an advertisement, just a heartfelt understanding of what it will mean if the Exclusive Brethren succeed in shutting down our lifeline, peebs.net.

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