It was revealed today that John Howard and several senior Cabinet Ministers have recently had meetings with members of the secretive Exclusive Brethren sect. Kevin Rudd has labelled the sect an "extremist cult" and called upon the Prime Minister to reveal what was discussed at the meetings.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22287969-2,00.html

The ultra-conservative Exclusive Brethren do not allow their members to vote, yet they have been exposed as having funded electoral advertising in both Australia and New Zealand, and are currently under AFP investigation for irregularities in campaign donations to the Liberal Party in the 2004 Federal election.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclusive_Brethren

John Howard, Peter Costello and Tony Abbott all claim that their meetings with Brethren leaders are above board.

I think that the privileged access this cult seems to have, to the Prime Minister and his most senior Ministers, is most definitely on the nose. What do others think?

Those who put the boot in to Rudd over his lap dance need to post here Rudd is a saint compared to this.
Howard a Christian? really John? this shameful sect breaks couples apart and is as near evil as any sect in the world.
John Howard must be desperate, to even think of meeting this grubby mob.
Surely each of us knows about the stolen family's this mob is involved in?
As bad as any group from any religion in the world the brethren should be barred from every members office.

I have no time for the religious beliefs of the Brethren but before criticising John Howard or anyone else for meeting with them could we look at a few facts?
The organisation is not illegal. It IS illegal to discriminate on the grounds of religion. The Prime Minister is required to be the PM of ALL Australians.
There are also other groups which exclude and excommunicate their members, some of whom also claim to be Christian. There are groups which deny medical treatment and whose children have died as a result.
There are many other groups which behave in ways that are unacceptable to others.
We have all met, sometimes knowingly and other times unknowingly, these people and received support from them.
To suggest that John Howard should not meet them is wrong. He could and would be equally criticised if he did not meet them.
I suggest the real problem here is that there may have been donations to a political party. Naturally the ALP objects as they did not receive the same funding - not that they seem to mind accepting funding from another group whose behaviour at times has been no better than that of the EB.
If Kevin Rudd thinks he can pick and choose those he wants to meet and represent then he is unfit to be Prime Minister - he has to represent all of us...even the people we dislike.

John_Howard meets with.... the EVIL Brethren ? welllll that's what Current Affair would have us believe....right ?

But is there possibly more to the 'high profile media stories' than meets the ears ?

BREAK UP FAMILIES....or... a particular man decides he wants to fool around with THREE women (besides his wife)... and after:

1/ Being advised by 'one on one' after which the person is either restored (and its the end of the matter) or stubborn and it is..

2/taken to a couple of witnesses whereupon the man realizes his mistake, repents, and is restored, or.. is stubborn and then..

3/The matter is taken to the Church (Elders) and if he repents, he is restored or.. if he is stubborn...

HE IS TREATED LIKE A TAX COLLECTOR AND SINNER....shock_horror

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+18:15-20 is the relevant passage.

Now,at point 3, along comes Current Affair and they are given a mildly biased one sided account of the saga........

Do any of you in the 'crowd before Pilate' have the full facts or are you just screaming with the mob CRUCIFY THEM...CRUCIFY THEM...(while_holding_your_torches)

If the EB or the XYZ cult/sect/2headed monster group decide to pay for advertising in support of a particular party.. it's THEIR business.

If...they contravene laws about political donations...its OUR business via_the_law.

Personally, while I don't exactly feel I need to rush out and join them, or would feel comfortable with some of their practices, (I love a cuppa after morning worship, they don't) in all my dealings with them I've found them

-Generous
-Loving/warm hearted
-Highly ethical
-Have families which seem to have an extra dose of respect and love in them.

So...if you want to crucify them.. by all means, but make sure its based on 'facts' and not just 'the convenient, politically useful' ones at that... ALLL of the facts.

Show me a a perfect church and I'll show you pigs flying. Who can doubt that in the context of 'a large number of people' there would not be noses out of joint, misunderstandings, disagreements.. I mean..after all... that NEVER happens in the political social arena we all inhabit...right?

special interest group gets special deal from pollie!

pollie gets support from special interest group!

what a surprise.

BOAZ,

So you support the Exclusive Brethren practice of disobeying family court orders (breaking the law) and of demanding the son shun the father or mother?