Xymphora can still be worth reading on the rare occasions when he/she can stop talking about you-know-who. The most recent post offers a head's up on the Exclusive Brethren, a far-right Christian group which has slowly built up political power in Australia and New Zealand and is starting to make its presence known in the U.S.
Unmentioned by X is the name of the sect's most famous, or infamous, one-time adherent: Aleister Crowley. He was raised within the Plymouth Brethren, as they then styled themselves. Life within the sect was harsh: Christmas and its presents were forbidden, and heaven reserved for the unhappy few. Despite the sect's prohibitionist stance toward alcohol, paterfamlias Edward Crowley made a small fortune from Crowley's Ales (which, I believe, has ceased production).
According to an old story, Dad once told his son: "Do you know who the two bad kings are?" No, said little Alec. "Smo-king and drin-king," the father revealed.
"I know another bad king," said the boy. And he named this king. And got his mouth washed out with soap.
I've digressed, haven't I?
Despite the fact that they do not vote, the Exclusive Brethren funneled money to George W. Bush's campaign. They also helped to fund Senator Mel Martinez of Florida. Mel's the genius who thought that Terry Schiavo would prove a winning issue for the Republican party.
Let's keep on eye on these guys.
2 comments:
To be fair to the Plymouth Brethren, the Exclusive Brethren are a breakaway group. They fell out with each other in the 19th Century.
The Exclusive Brethren believe they should not have contact with the outside world, which is sinful. They ban television radio and the internet, although their leaders are quite happy to use email when it suits them. Oddly, they are OK with drinking, because one of their former leaders was rather fond of whiskey and so changed the rules.
The Exclusive Brethren spent well over a million dollars in New Zealand supporting the conservative party here, secretively of course. They have also tried to influence elections in Australia and Canada.
They are a nasty bunch and should be watched.
According to my notes, the Plymouth Brethren began as evangelical millenialists in the 1830's. It was one of them, Philip Gosse, who first came up with the notion post-Darwin that God had put the fossils in the rocks as a test of faith. And they were apparently well-known for their zaniness even at the time -- at any rate, there was a book published in 1879 by one T. Croskery titled "Plymouth-Brethrenism, a Refutation of its Principles and Doctrines."
But I hadn't known they still had surviving offshoots. Interesting.
Post a Comment