Is anything excluded?
They’re notorious. They’re Ridiculous. They’re Inhuman. Who Are ‘They’?
The Exclusive Brethren. Who won’t eat with family members unless they tow the Exclusive line. Who won’t join professional associations. Who won’t even let their kids learn to use computers.
To be strictly accurate, not all Exclusive Brethren behave like this. There are — more or less — a Heinz handful of 57 varieties. The ones who’ve been hitting the headlines are the Taylor party of Exclusives. They made the mistake of believing that one man — their leader — was infallible. (So it was more or less inevitable that they got themselves into all sorts of daftness and bizarre inhumanity.)
The theology originally underlying their world-view was that they must withdraw themselves not only from evil but from contact with anybody who was involved with what they thought of as evil. Rather like never kissing somebody who’s friendly with a friend of an AIDS sufferer. And very different from Jesus, who was bad-mouthed by religious people because he ate (drank too) with people who were no better than they should be.
But there’s one thing you can say for the Exclusives. Even the Taylorite ones. They do believe there should be some discernable difference between the life-style of Christians and “unbelievers”. That’s not a popular view today.
The Methodists have recently discontinued their veto on gambling and drinking. The other denominations did the same long ago. A little flutter on the 3.30? Why not ?
Half pissed on Saturday night? No problem. You name it. Christians do it. With an apparently clear conscience.
Divorce? Why ever not — everybody can make a mistake. Join the army and make a living by shooting, gassing, incinerating other human beings? Sure, we agree they’re made in God’s image. But that’s what makes it OK. After all, they’ll go to heaven after we’ve killed them.
Is there actually anything that modern Christians really draw the line at? (Apart of course from cruelty to animals or using CFCs.) Say what you like about the Exclusive Brethren, they have their principles. And they stick by them. Call it old-fashioned. Narrow minded. But isn’t there something refreshingly honest about these simple people who actually have the gall to believe that their faith should challenge the standards of the world they inhabit? And who live by their beliefs. Even if the cost is high?
I hold no brief for Taylor Party Exclusives. As I recall, the original Jim Taylor used to conduct Bible readings with a bottle of whisky in one hand and a Bible (J N Darby translation) in the other. To be honest, I find that somewhat OTT. Especially as he insisted all the other Brethren had to drink whisky as well “to show they weren’t in bondage”. (Metaphorical of course. No SM that I know of.)
All the same, and joking apart: isn’t it time some of the “normal” Christians agreed to draw the line somewhere? Anywhere? Didn’t Christians ought to be different?
Peter Cousins is editor of Third Way magazine, and a member of Belmont Chapel, Exeter.