"Goodbye, Beloved Brethren"

You may well remember around the activities of the Exclusive Brethren meetings convened in Aberdeen in the summer of 1970, presided over by James Taylor Junior, referred to as "Big Jim."

The blasphemous nature of the meetings held that year on the 24th/25th July as recorded on the tapes that were to become known as the" Aberdeen tapes;" the principal evidence regarding those awful scenes, that beggar belief. There were further incidents that one would not care to speak of for fear of defiling others.

When the above book was published, it appears that a universal operation, quickly devised by the Exclusives, was put into practice to obtain every copy of the book and to destroy it forthwith. The colossal effort smoothly and swiftly proved to be highly successful. 

I managed to obtain an ex-library copy of the book in very poor condition, and after reading it I subsequently sold it on-line. Since then I felt it was a necessary addition to my Brethren history collection, and I sought to purchase a replacement.  Times without number I searched the "web" without any success. there did not appear to be any copies for sale in the world. Either all copies had been destroyed, or those who were in possession of one were not happy to sell it how ever inflated the price offered.

A few days ago I learned that someone had two copies and wanted to give one away! He/she gave it to one of the first contacts who wanted to add it to a particular exhibition. The owner of the two copies was overwhelmed by the number of requests! I can only think he/she was quite unaware of its rarity.

Today I received a copy that I had tentatively tried to buy. It is in really good condition, and appears to be the a copy that belonged to F.F. Bruce! My long and  painstaking search has found its fruition, but it is bitter-sweet, just glancing through some pages deeply disgusts me, and offends my soul's sensitivities. But it is only a "document" in the diverse and complex history of the Brethren Movement.

The book "Goodbye, Beloved Brethren" was written by a journalist, Norman Adams, who spent over ten years investigating and writing about the activities of the Brethren in North-East Scotland. It was published in 1972.