Behind Closed
Doors
The Inside Story of
life in the Exclusive Brethren Church
by
Ngaire Thomas
Are
embittered ex-members and the media painting the wrong picture of the Exclusive
Brethren Church?
What is the REAL story?
Would anyone be able to join this exclusive group of strict fundamentalist
Christians?
What goes on in those mysterious windowless buildings?
This is an intriguing first hand account of one family's experience as the
author takes us behind closed doors, and gives us a glimpse of what life was
like growing up in an Exclusive Brethren community, and tells us in plain
non-judgemental style how hard it was for the family to eventually adapt to life
on the outside.
A Message from the Author
The
plea "Tell me a story", has been echoed down through the ages from children and
adults alike because storytelling is a useful way of conveying imagery of a
bygone era. Some of my early memories are from stories passed down from parents
and grandparents while others come from actual happenings and are etched forever
on my mind. No two people's memories are quite the same even between those who
were exposed to the same events that caused the memories. I don't expect others
to have exactly the same recollections of growing up Exclusive Brethren as I
remember it, but some of their experiences will be similar.
Although
some of this book is told in a story telling genre, it is not dramatized or
exaggerated. At times I have used a dialogue style of writing to help convey
the type of language used in this particular cultural environment. It is
written in the past tense because I left the Exclusive Brethren in 1974 and some
of their attitudes may have changed since then.
I wrote this book for many different reasons:
* Because everyone has the right to record and publish their personal memoirs
without fear of being censured or sued by wealthy groups or individuals.
* For the interest of future generations.
* Because I hope to break the cycle of fear and intimidation experienced by many
ex-Brethren.
* To record the history and evolution of a microcosmic part of society that had
it's beginnings in the early 1800s and is still strong today.
* To satisfy the curiosity of all those people who have asked me "What was it
like being an Exclusive Brethren?"
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Visit the new website of The Exclusive Brethren Christian Fellowship.The Only Site actually endorsed by the Exclusive Brethren. Read their personal explanation of :
Read their guidelines for:
Then either read my book or visit Peebs.Net where you can hear from the people who have actually been there. From there you are free to draw your own conclusions. |
