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This programme contains some
strong language and scenes which some
viewers may find upsetting.
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00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,880
This programme deals with Suicide
and Sexual Abuse
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I'm here to support you. OK?
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The purpose of this
is to support you
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00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:20,120
in the process of facing up
to what happened to you.
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It's about you telling me
your experience
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and me bringing my knowledge
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00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,200
and understanding of cults
and spiritual abuse.
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So, we're not debunking
personal faith.
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That's not what this is about.
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This is about debunking the cult
from a psychological perspective
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and how spirituality and faith
actually were used to control.
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All of us need to understand
the process
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of what we've been through
in order not to repeat it.
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I've seen it happen
with others who've left cults.
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They end up in a different cult.
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- How's that, Sarah?
- Yeah.
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How are you doing?
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It's hard.
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THEY CHANT
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THEY CHANT
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Jesus Christ is Lord!
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You must bring yourself
to a new commitment,
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and you shall know what it is to be
on fire for your Lord.
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Yes!
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When the Jesus Army
marches to war,
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their message is high pressure
and hardline -
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join the Army or be damned.
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WOMAN SPEAKS ITALIAN
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CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
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A Jesus...
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..Explosion!
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I want you.
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I want you.
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I want you to be mine.
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Surrender the middle part of you.
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The awful power of sin lurks there.
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Now, we give our genitals to Jesus.
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# Sound the trumpet of the gospel
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# Jesus Christ is Lord. #
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Bugbrooke
is an unpretentious
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Northamptonshire village,
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but the very English picture
painted by its local church
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and congregation has been challenged
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by a local group of
unorthodox Christians.
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WAILING
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They are talking
in different tongues now.
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That's the thing I never understood,
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because you can't speak another
language unless you're taught it.
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Singing.
Singing at the top of their voices.
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That's not being neighbourly, is it?
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It's clapping hands
and stamping feet.
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And in and out. In and out.
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You'd never think
it was a place of worship.
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Well, you've only got
to look at them
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to see what type of people
he's encouraging here.
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They're not the village people,
certainly.
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Back in the early '70s,
I had heard there was -
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inverted commas - "something going
on" at this place called Bugbrooke,
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which was a little village
near Northampton.
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The pastor of the chapel there
had established a church
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that was very, very different.
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WAILING
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It was a completely new form
of Christianity becoming visible,
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particularly in America
at the time...
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..all centred around
a much more vibrant form of worship.
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{\an8}There were people talking
in tongues there...
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{\an8}..and apparently they felt
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that they could actually feel God
inside of them.
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And I wanted to find out
if this was true or not.
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When I first started,
I mean, I just saw it as a...
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As a radical church, you know?
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{\an8}It seemed like a good idea,
I suppose.
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{\an8}I mean, in those days,
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{\an8}it was still quite a stigma
to be a single mum.
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I'd gone to some other churches
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and nobody'd sort of spoken to me
at all.
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But when I first went to the chapel,
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I'd got there a little bit late
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and they were already
worshipping inside.
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As I entered,
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I don't know what it was, whether
it was Jesus, but I just felt...
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..that this was where
I was supposed to be.
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WOMAN SINGS
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Come, my brothers and sisters
in the Lord.
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The fullness of Jesus
rightly belongs to us.
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# Thee has given me the wine
to make my heart rejoice
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# And the oil
to make my face to shine. #
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I'd heard a lot about this person,
Noel Stanton.
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But everybody was...
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..in awe of him.
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You're our brother and sister
in Jesus.
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You belong with us in the family
of the Lord.
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- Thank you.
- And that old world,
that old nature,
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and all the world that was attaching
to that old nature, now dies.
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Amen.
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Noel was conscripted into
the Navy.
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It was there that
he became a Christian.
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After that, he started running his
own stationery business in Bedford.
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But he also, at the same time,
became a lay pastor at Bugbrooke.
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{\an8}Noel, actually, for a long time
before the community started,
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{\an8}he was like
a conventional Christian.
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But then, in the late '60s,
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he was visited by God
and he received the Holy Spirit.
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It was very powerful.
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It really profoundly affected him.
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{\an8}It was Jesus, who said,
your heavenly father
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{\an8}will give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him.
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Will give?
Oh, yes, I've proved it.
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I proved it four and a half years
ago when I said,
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Father, according to
that word of Jesus,
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I ask you now to give me
the Holy Spirit.
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And in an overwhelming fashion,
he surely did.
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00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:04,640
When I encountered Noel
for the first time,
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he claimed that he was a prophet
speaking God's will.
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And he picked up his Bible
and started slapping it -
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"I'm fed up of this weak-kneed,
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00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:25,040
"namby-pamby Christianity
that's around us.
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"Don't be so measly and feeble."
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And then he said,
"Right, brethren, he said,
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"shall we make the earth tremble?"
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And everybody started to sing
with full voice.
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SINGING
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It really did feel as if the very
walls and ceiling were vibrating.
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00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:02,800
It felt thunderous...
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00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:09,080
..and by the end of the chorus,
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I had my hand up in the air
along with everybody else.
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00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:23,480
But of course,
I had no idea, really,
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that there was something extremely
manipulative about all of this,
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00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:34,240
because from now on, for all of us,
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it wasn't just a case
of going to church.
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It was a case of
belonging to church.
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So, one thing I'm just going to say,
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it's so important to really kind of
use this C-word.
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Call a cult, a cult. OK?
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00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:07,440
A cult exhibits great or excessive
devotion to some person,
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00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:09,440
idea or thing.
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Noel was, like, revered, weren't he?
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00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:28,920
- Yeah, yeah.
- So he's the person, Noel Stanton.
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00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:32,520
- Yeah...
- So it's...
- And we were devoted to him.
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- You were.
- In his message.
- Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
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00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:39,400
- That was a big focus, wasn't it?
That whole kind of...
- Discipleship.
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00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:41,880
Mmm. Discipleship, yeah.
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00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:45,040
I even had a photo of Noel
under my bed for ages.
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So, here we start ticking boxes.
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Dangerous leaders make
important decisions
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about converts' lives -
money, dress, personal possessions.
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They cut themselves off,
either geographically or socially.
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They perceive there's
only one way forward.
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All of that is weird.
It's really weird.
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- That was Noel.
- Yeah.
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He was exactly that, basically.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, it's fucking weird.
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The Lord has told us
to move into our community,
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to divide our possessions.
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Living in separate houses?
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Yes, but belonging to one another
as a true family.
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Loving one another,
caring for one another,
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sharing with one another -
that's the way.
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It's blessed.
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It's powerful.
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It's working.
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It's beautiful.
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In an attempt to return
to the lifestyle
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practised by the early church,
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a small nucleus of people
have given their homes
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00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:04,800
and all personal wealth
to the new community.
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The money given in
by all the members
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has been used to buy properties
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where community members
live together.
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{\an8}Do you actually miss the privacy
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{\an8}that having your own home
would give you?
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00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:27,520
Oh, no, not really.
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We find that we have any privacy
that we need.
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{\an8}When I moved in
to New Creation Farm,
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{\an8}there was this real hum
of excitement.
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And almost immediately,
everything seemed...
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..different.
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My mum, she was trying to live
in a way
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{\an8}that she thought was the way
God wanted us to live our lives.
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And in a way, I get it.
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00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:14,800
To begin with, Mags,
she was full of beans.
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Little bundle of joy, she was.
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{\an8}This pretty farmhouse is home
for about 20 community members.
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{\an8}Parents, children, single people
all live under the same roof.
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There was loads about Sheepfold
I loved.
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00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:38,240
As kids, it was an amazing place.
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There was just fields that we could
all go and run and play in,
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00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:45,080
and we used to go and pick
gooseberries together.
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00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:51,680
So it wasn't only bad stuff.
There was really cool stuff as well.
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00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:57,440
When you went into the community,
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you're giving up
your earthly aspirations, really.
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00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:07,360
You know, we would be living
as the early Christians did.
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00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:10,520
So you shared things
and had everything in common.
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00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:14,080
You just distributed them
as people had need.
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00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:16,960
Sounds totally innocent, doesn't it?
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00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:24,360
To begin with,
everything seemed wonderful.
199
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I just felt such a peace,
200
00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:33,560
and obviously it attracted
quite a lot of young people.
201
00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:37,000
They all greeted me as "bro".
202
00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,720
"Hi, bro.
It's lovely to have you here."
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00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:43,080
I feel the same place as you, bro.
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- I really do love you.
- Bless you. I love you.
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It's like, if you know you're going
to live with someone for eternity...
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00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:52,960
- Yeah.
- ..if you know that...
- ..forever...
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00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:55,600
..they're going to be loving you
for eternity,
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00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:57,120
then you might as well just...
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00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:59,560
..just start,
just start realising that now.
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00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:06,920
To describe it as an idyllic,
dreamy kind of atmosphere
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00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:09,520
is absolutely spot-on.
212
00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:14,280
It's almost like going on a trip.
213
00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:17,680
The whole vision
and the whole idea was one
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00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:21,240
that was very separate
from the world.
215
00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:24,400
It was genuinely 100%
like a fairy tale.
216
00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:26,080
It was just beautiful.
217
00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:39,360
Mags and me and Mum moved in
when I was about eight.
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00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:42,680
I was so excited.
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00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:47,160
Sheepfold was like this huge house.
220
00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:51,360
Honestly, I just thought this was
like being a princess in a castle.
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00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:54,000
There were lots of other families
moving in as well,
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00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:57,280
so we got kids to play with
all the time.
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00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:01,880
But the first thing
that I remember really well,
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00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:03,560
we'd moved all our stuff,
and I was like,
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00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:05,960
"Oh, Mum, where are all my toys?"
226
00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:11,520
Cos I'd got this... You know,
I was quite obsessed with my dolls
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00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:16,320
and my rather nice little
doll's house that I had.
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00:17:16,320 --> 00:17:23,080
And... And Mum said, "Well, I've
given all your toys away because
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00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:26,240
"we don't have toys
in the community."
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00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:27,840
They're just gone.
231
00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:30,280
They hadn't... You know,
there was no warning, no nothing.
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00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:31,600
They're just gone.
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00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:34,440
I mean, for me,
it wasn't anything weird
234
00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:36,880
cos it was all I ever knew.
235
00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,480
But there was loads of it
that was really not...
236
00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:44,600
Whatever normal is, it's, like,
far from normal.
237
00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:57,640
{\an8}We moved in just before
my eighth birthday.
238
00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:02,160
{\an8}My parents wanted
to be around other Christians
239
00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:08,120
{\an8}where we can all grow up together
in a morally conscious environment,
240
00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:13,120
committing everything that we had,
as a family, to the church.
241
00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:18,200
And you don't understand that
as a child.
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00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:25,400
We moved into the house next door,
by a couple of fields,
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00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:26,800
to where Noel lived.
244
00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:34,360
So we were very tightly overseen
by Noel.
245
00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:37,440
You could feel his influence,
actually.
246
00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:39,120
He didn't need to be there.
247
00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,960
He used to preach a lot
about spiritual family.
248
00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:46,160
That was what was important,
not the natural family -
249
00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:48,040
because the natural family,
250
00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:51,920
I suppose, were your link
to your old self.
251
00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:54,800
And that was a big no-no.
252
00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:06,720
So you didn't have
family time, really.
253
00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:10,400
You didn't just have time
with your mum.
254
00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:16,600
It's a very extreme environment
to grow up in.
255
00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:21,320
It was dangerous, actually,
when you think about it.
256
00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:29,280
You know, as a child,
it's stripping a person away
257
00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:32,440
from everything you need as support.
258
00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,600
- That's so true. Like...
- Yeah?
259
00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:39,040
Yeah, my mum wasn't around,
260
00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:42,440
so it was cutting you off
from family and not...
261
00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:44,280
And the family being the church
262
00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:47,920
rather than being me, my mum
and my sister.
263
00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:50,800
Cor, it's hot.
264
00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:52,840
I never used to like tea
when I was little.
265
00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:54,880
But Jesus makes you less fussy,
doesn't he?
266
00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:56,440
He does, I know.
267
00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,400
The leadership
of the community is all male.
268
00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:01,920
An Elder lives
in each community home
269
00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:05,760
and all problems and decisions
are shared with him.
270
00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:10,320
Elders are to be found in
all our houses and our households.
271
00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:12,280
They are to be shepherds
of the flock of Christ.
272
00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:14,600
They are the ministers
of the flock of Christ.
273
00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:25,680
{\an8}But in any situation,
living together in a house,
274
00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:28,400
{\an8}you have got to have people
who sort out things.
275
00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:33,800
I was initially made what's called
a leading serving brother, LSB,
276
00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:36,520
which always amused me because of
my electronics background.
277
00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:40,840
In electronics, LSB stands
for Least Significant Bit.
278
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,240
So, all right,
there's something of a need
279
00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:48,720
for humility in being called an LSB.
Sort of...
280
00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:50,280
It clicked with me.
281
00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:03,040
It's easy to see only the rules.
282
00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:08,360
But in the early days,
Noel had very much a vision
283
00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:11,320
for being God's people.
284
00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,240
If Noel had a particular topic
285
00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:23,680
that he was speaking about
that week,
286
00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:27,000
everybody, every brother
would be on that thing -
287
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,920
"No sugar. No-one's to have sugar.
Sugar's the devil,"
288
00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:34,240
and not being able to refrain
from doing something's the devil.
289
00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,520
And you have to be able
to control yourself.
290
00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:38,520
So, no sugar, anybody.
291
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:42,800
One of the things we realised was
we didn't want to have large amounts
292
00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:45,640
of bits and pieces
and we didn't want to get distracted
293
00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:46,960
by things like television.
294
00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,760
So we didn't have televisions
and we didn't have radios.
295
00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:52,040
A packed lunch is worldly.
296
00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:55,480
Wearing fashionable clothes
is worldly.
297
00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:58,720
A bag of crisps - how worldly.
298
00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:03,640
And worldly stuff wasn't
to be included or invited in,
299
00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:06,560
because that was inviting
the devil in,
300
00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:09,400
literally inviting the devil in.
301
00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:20,320
The battle is between Satan and God,
Satan and Jesus.
302
00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:23,720
What do you mean?
303
00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,880
I mean, Satan is working
in everybody who's not...not...
304
00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:28,720
Is working in the world.
305
00:22:30,120 --> 00:22:32,840
And...and...and...
I mean, you can tell.
306
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:34,640
Just look at the state of the place.
307
00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:43,280
Every single night,
you're sat in a room like this.
308
00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:45,440
Somebody would be playing guitar,
309
00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:48,840
somebody else would be speaking
in tongues,
310
00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:53,320
and there would be people
who looked possessed.
311
00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:55,200
And I remember these brothers
312
00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:58,280
all coming in and, like,
laying hands on them.
313
00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:02,280
Everybody speaking in tongues
really loud
314
00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:05,800
and Noel yelling, "The devil!"
315
00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:12,440
Exorcisms were quite frequent.
316
00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:15,680
Noel was one of these people
who would quite easily
317
00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:18,640
sort of point out a demon
in somebody.
318
00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:21,400
People would throw up.
319
00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:23,480
Some people would convulse
on the floor.
320
00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:25,520
You don't know what it is
321
00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:29,360
and you're trying to rationalise it
as a child.
322
00:23:39,360 --> 00:23:45,440
One day, I was drawing stick people
with willies and boobs.
323
00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:47,080
I have no idea why.
324
00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:49,800
It's just something you do
as a child sometimes.
325
00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:52,880
And it was deemed that
I had an unclean spirit.
326
00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:55,920
And...
327
00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:58,080
- How old were you?
- Seven.
328
00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:06,680
I can remember it clearly.
329
00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:13,000
The elder of our household,
he used to put his hand...
330
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:16,320
My head used to fit perfectly
into his hand,
331
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:20,440
and he just used to sort of
push down on it so I couldn't move.
332
00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:24,840
It was really frightening.
333
00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:32,440
I don't actually want to talk
about that too much.
334
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:42,200
What is an introject?
335
00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:47,080
An introject is a belief
or behaviour
336
00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:49,880
which you've taken into yourself
337
00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:53,800
that remains sitting
in your psychological system
338
00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:58,520
like a lump of unchewed
and undigested food in your gut.
339
00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:04,200
My thing that stuck with me
is I'm possessed -
340
00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:06,720
you know, that I've got
a demonic spirit in me.
341
00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,400
I'm the devil
that's taking everybody's eye off
342
00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:11,080
what they should be
concentrating on.
343
00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:16,360
And, you know,
that needs to be taken out of me.
344
00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:22,360
How dare they tell a little girl
that she's possessed?
345
00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:24,240
How dare they tell any of you?
346
00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:30,120
That introject is still stuck
in your stomach undigested,
347
00:25:30,120 --> 00:25:31,800
poisoning you.
348
00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:32,960
And I think we need to go,
349
00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:36,960
"I haven't got a demon.
They were controlling me.
350
00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:40,480
"They were abusing me
by telling me these things."
351
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:54,240
For many people, the control
and living in conformity
352
00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:58,480
with the rules was
incredibly difficult.
353
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:05,200
I shared a room at the farm
with a guy called Steve,
354
00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:10,680
{\an8}who would stay up till the early
hours of the morning reading.
355
00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:14,400
Reading was considered to be
a bit of a heady,
356
00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:17,160
individualistic pursuit,
357
00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:23,000
and I heard him arguing with Noel
on a couple of occasions.
358
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:25,960
I heard raised voices,
359
00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:29,320
and I came out of my room
to see what was going on,
360
00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:32,240
and Noel was stood
by his bedroom door,
361
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:35,360
calling for Steve to come back,
362
00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:40,080
but Steve just put his hand up
dismissively in the air
363
00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:41,640
and marched off.
364
00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:50,200
But it's indicative in this case
of somebody who was unhappy.
365
00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:54,520
I know that because
he told me about it.
366
00:26:56,880 --> 00:27:01,240
And it proved to be Steve's
last night with us, actually.
367
00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:09,200
{\an8}Somebody rang and told me that
368
00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:13,840
{\an8}his body had been found
on the railway track
369
00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:18,440
{\an8}and that he was knocked over
by a train.
370
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:21,040
So, I immediately asked if...
371
00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:24,360
I said,
"Oh, has he committed suicide?"
372
00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:31,040
And... And I was told I shouldn't be
thinking such thoughts,
373
00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:34,960
because of course
he hadn't committed suicide.
374
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:37,840
It had just been
a terrible accident.
375
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:44,840
This was the public statement,
if you like, from the community.
376
00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:52,800
Although the coroner
now says that there is no evidence
377
00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:54,920
to support criticism of the sect,
378
00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:56,880
his concern was based on
the fact that,
379
00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,360
in addition to
Stephen's gruesome death,
380
00:27:59,360 --> 00:28:02,240
there was an unusual coincidence
of another death
381
00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:04,960
in unusual circumstances
18 months ago.
382
00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:08,960
In this case, another member of
the sect was found lying naked
383
00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:12,560
in the garden in December,
and he died from exposure.
384
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:19,040
Well, it was gut-wrenching.
385
00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:22,600
The initial thought was,
he's gone somewhere praying
386
00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:24,720
and nothing to worry about.
387
00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:29,800
I don't think anybody knows
what happened or why it happened.
388
00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:36,240
The circumstances of both deaths
are just a mystery...
389
00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:41,080
..which raises questions, really.
390
00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:44,720
The New Creation Christian community
391
00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,400
has aroused its fair share
of criticism.
392
00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:49,160
There's a natural suspicion
of any such
393
00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:51,800
highly committed
and insular group of people
394
00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,760
who claim to have found
the true way to God.
395
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:57,400
Such ecstasy must surely
have a flaw.
396
00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:00,920
Very, very gradually,
through the years,
397
00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:06,480
he has increased his evangelism
until it became aggressive.
398
00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:08,440
And that's when I skipped out.
399
00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:10,160
I know what goes on.
400
00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:28,920
Community members have bought
an old hotel
401
00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:32,120
and some of the county's
more elegant homes.
402
00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:36,320
The community uses the skills of
its members in several businesses.
403
00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:38,720
A company called Scano
does all the building work
404
00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:40,400
on community properties.
405
00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:44,400
There's a chain of health food shops
called The House of Goodness Ltd.
406
00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:49,880
We were growing really fast
at that point.
407
00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:55,880
Various articles were made about us
because we were something unusual.
408
00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:59,080
But of course, the fear of
the unknown, I think,
409
00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:00,720
is very, very real.
410
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:03,640
I see a cult.
411
00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:05,760
I know they're saying
all the time
412
00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:08,360
that they're not a cult,
but I do see a cult,
413
00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:10,960
an enclosed cult which exists
for itself.
414
00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:17,400
I mean, there are people
who want to dub us a cult,
415
00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:19,560
but we are very orthodox.
416
00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:22,040
We're a church.
We're a genuine Christian church.
417
00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:24,360
As the Evangelical Alliance
have said,
418
00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:26,720
we are a genuine Christian church.
419
00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:33,360
Yes, Noel was a very dominating
character.
420
00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:37,480
However, I'm against Jesus
Fellowship being called a cult.
421
00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:41,040
After all, it sprang out of
the Baptist church,
422
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:45,480
and the Baptist church...nationally
has got a structure.
423
00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:48,240
We are people of
historic Christianity.
424
00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,920
We recognise, and
churches in general recognise,
425
00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:57,080
that we belong to the Church of
Christ throughout the world.
426
00:30:57,080 --> 00:31:00,800
And... And therefore, of course,
we completely deny any suggestion
427
00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:05,160
that we are a cult in the way
the word is now accepted.
428
00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:07,320
Our good does get evil spoken of.
429
00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:10,360
There are false allegations
and the like,
430
00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:12,840
but we believe our testimony
will win through.
431
00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:24,480
Oh, God, I have
so many, many sins.
432
00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:29,680
But listen, if we confess our sin...
433
00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:33,320
God, here are my many, many,
many sins.
434
00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:37,440
But, God, I don't want the things
of the world any more.
435
00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:44,000
You must bring yourself
to a new commitment to Jesus.
436
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:47,400
You must be 100% his.
437
00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:01,800
At that point, the thing
that developed very interestingly
438
00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:03,560
was that...
439
00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:13,400
..celibacy became more and more
something which Noel encouraged.
440
00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:18,160
He said that in the world
in general,
441
00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:21,360
there was far too much intimacy.
442
00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:27,480
Surrender the middle part
of you.
443
00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:35,600
Many of us here will have to accept
444
00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:42,520
that an awful power of sin
lurked there.
445
00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:44,520
But now...
446
00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:48,920
..we give our genitals to Jesus.
447
00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:55,200
When I became celibate...
448
00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:59,600
{\an8}..I was one of the earlier people
to commit to that.
449
00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:04,840
{\an8}And it was just presented
as an option.
450
00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:08,800
And then it grew into
something else.
451
00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:13,240
It did become the foundation
for Noel, in a way.
452
00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:17,840
And so it was a kind of a tick box
453
00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:21,120
for brothers to get elevated
up the ranks.
454
00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:26,160
In my case, I was 24.
455
00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:31,120
I had this experience...with a girl
I was going out with,
456
00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:33,400
before I joined the church.
457
00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:37,920
It wasn't a great relationship,
really.
458
00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:45,040
So, you know, I wasn't an
experienced exponent of, you know...
459
00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:51,200
I was probably
in my early 20s.
460
00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:56,560
In fact, I'm a peculiarity,
461
00:33:56,560 --> 00:33:59,880
having basically joined
the community
462
00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:03,800
when I was 18 and being
so introverted before I was 18,
463
00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:05,960
I've never had a girlfriend.
464
00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:10,120
So here I am, 65 years old,
and I've never had a girlfriend.
465
00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:11,160
Right.
466
00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:16,160
You know, which in many ways
must make me a bit unique,
467
00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:21,920
but that is me. And I am what
God has made me in that sense.
468
00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:28,840
And of course, Noel himself
was a single celibate.
469
00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:35,800
Celibacy was for life.
470
00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:39,920
But it wasn't just a case
of holiness.
471
00:34:41,240 --> 00:34:43,480
It went beyond that.
472
00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:46,640
It was far more...
473
00:34:48,760 --> 00:34:52,680
..to do with the control of people.
474
00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:57,480
And in fact, from now on,
475
00:34:57,480 --> 00:35:00,400
relationships between brothers
and sisters would be something
476
00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:04,560
that was entirely monitored
and regulated.
477
00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:22,440
It got to the point
where within the household,
478
00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:23,960
men would sleep down one end
of the house,
479
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:25,960
women would sleep at the other end,
480
00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:30,640
and generally,
men and women didn't fraternise.
481
00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:34,080
It's almost like there was
a complete vacuum there
482
00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:36,560
with regards
to anything of a sexual nature.
483
00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:43,320
And I think that was
a projection from Noel, actually.
484
00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:45,720
In a sexual sense,
485
00:35:45,720 --> 00:35:53,720
he was an incredibly mixed up,
insecure person.
486
00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:58,680
I myself encountered Noel
487
00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:03,680
either in his underclothes
or just wearing a bath towel...
488
00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:11,720
..and having younger brothers
sat next to him on the bed,
489
00:36:11,720 --> 00:36:13,720
which I thought was...
490
00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:19,000
It unsettled me.
491
00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:23,960
Looking back, I can say...
492
00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:28,960
..he was struggling, I think,
with his sexuality.
493
00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:36,800
And perhaps, you know, he was
fighting against those tendencies.
494
00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:42,680
How that came out at the time,
it was obvious.
495
00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:45,360
Anger.
496
00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:03,480
I remember he used to work himself
up into these massive rants
497
00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:06,680
where he used to,
like, rage at everybody.
498
00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:12,280
More and more, Noel absolutely
hit the roof.
499
00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:16,720
He used to get so irate,
500
00:37:16,720 --> 00:37:22,160
and for some reason,
it was often at young people.
501
00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:28,240
I just remember
every single night...
502
00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:34,880
..Noel ranting, sweating, ranting
and telling you about hell's fire,
503
00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:40,200
and "If you allow the children
to be swept away..."
504
00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:43,400
Sometimes he'd shout so hard
that the veins on his neck
505
00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:47,120
would just stand out.
It was horrific.
506
00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:49,360
You know, he just hated us.
507
00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:57,200
And as time went past...
508
00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:02,960
..the way in which children
in the community were treated
509
00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:07,640
became more and more extreme.
510
00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:19,880
In all of the households,
birch sticks were kept hidden.
511
00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:24,440
But we all knew where they were.
512
00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:32,320
It was preached that you spare
the rod and spoil the child.
513
00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:38,040
I do remember a lot of roddings -
514
00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:40,280
maybe not as many as Mags.
515
00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:43,120
You know, my sister,
she was rodded from the age of two.
516
00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:48,520
How often were you
disciplined? Do you remember?
517
00:38:51,240 --> 00:38:52,960
I reckon every day.
518
00:38:55,040 --> 00:38:56,640
Or almost every day.
519
00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:01,840
All of the children were rodded.
520
00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:05,680
You would get disciplined
because somebody,
521
00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:09,040
a brother, there, has decided
522
00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:11,720
that something you've just done
was defiant.
523
00:39:11,720 --> 00:39:14,880
That's what I remember hearing
a lot, that I was being defiant.
524
00:39:17,560 --> 00:39:21,240
One particular occasion,
we're in the bedroom,
525
00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:27,320
and Mum was...
Mum was disciplining Mags.
526
00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:30,960
She was about two and she was
whacking her with a stick.
527
00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:34,000
And Magsie was just screaming
and screaming and screaming,
528
00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:38,320
and I just... So I, like,
buried myself under the covers,
529
00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:42,280
like, covered my ears and, like,
ruffled my feet to make noise
530
00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:45,680
with the bedsheets
to try and block out
531
00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:49,520
the sound of this screaming baby.
532
00:39:56,200 --> 00:39:58,440
I mean, it wasn't...
533
00:39:58,440 --> 00:40:01,880
I don't know,
it's difficult, really.
534
00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:04,360
I mean, when you've got
everybody together,
535
00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:07,720
you know, and everyone's looking,
you know, you...
536
00:40:07,720 --> 00:40:10,040
It's... It's difficult.
537
00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:14,560
Because I was a single mum
and had no husband...
538
00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:19,840
..everybody - all the brothers -
thought it was their place
539
00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:24,040
to point out to me what they thought
my child
540
00:40:24,040 --> 00:40:25,720
should or shouldn't be doing.
541
00:40:25,720 --> 00:40:30,080
I mean, the Elders would take
decisions for my children, you know.
542
00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:33,040
And I found that really difficult.
543
00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:37,360
How do you feel,
sort of overall,
544
00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:40,240
it's affected your relationship
with your mum?
545
00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:43,920
Erm...
546
00:40:45,240 --> 00:40:52,160
I haven't really ever spoken to her
about how it made me feel.
547
00:40:54,400 --> 00:40:57,360
It's like the elephant in the room
that you never talk about.
548
00:40:57,360 --> 00:41:00,360
You just sort of
politely skirt around,
549
00:41:00,360 --> 00:41:06,360
but you kind of feel like
you wanted to be more protected.
550
00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:16,640
I'd never been in any doubt
that my mum really loves me.
551
00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:18,360
And she's a good person.
552
00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:21,880
And she... Of course, she was
doing it because she thought it was
553
00:41:21,880 --> 00:41:23,200
the right thing to do.
554
00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:25,320
But the bit that gives me rage
555
00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:28,760
is the bit that's, like,
"That was your choice."
556
00:41:28,760 --> 00:41:31,560
I didn't choose any of this shit.
557
00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:34,080
Children were anybody's.
558
00:41:34,080 --> 00:41:36,240
Sorry. They were anybody's.
559
00:41:36,240 --> 00:41:38,640
We were open to whoever, and that...
560
00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:42,400
As horrible as a pill that is
for our parents to swallow,
561
00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:43,600
that's the facts.
562
00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:46,720
It's tricky...
563
00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:51,600
..but the key
to successful brainwashing
564
00:41:51,600 --> 00:41:54,000
is to keep the subject unaware
565
00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:57,520
that they're being manipulated
and controlled.
566
00:41:57,520 --> 00:42:01,520
I've used the analogy of the frog
in boiling water.
567
00:42:01,520 --> 00:42:04,600
You know, a frog,
if you heat it up... It's horrible,
568
00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:07,520
but if you heat it up slowly,
569
00:42:07,520 --> 00:42:11,200
it doesn't know it's being heated up
and boiled alive.
570
00:42:11,200 --> 00:42:14,440
And I think there is an element
of that happening.
571
00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:19,080
So, to your parents,
the punishment is justified
572
00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:23,240
as being necessary
to cleanse this so-called sin.
573
00:42:23,240 --> 00:42:26,920
The doctrine is more important
than the individual's wellbeing.
574
00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:34,840
What Noel Stanton
seems to have created
575
00:42:34,840 --> 00:42:36,920
is a state within a state,
576
00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:39,640
an apparently benevolent
totalitarian system,
577
00:42:39,640 --> 00:42:42,160
where the interests of
the individual are subjugated
578
00:42:42,160 --> 00:42:43,880
to the interests of the majority.
579
00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:59,360
All their businesses have grown out
of their community needs.
580
00:42:59,360 --> 00:43:01,160
There's a builders merchants
and a plumbing
581
00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:03,560
and decorating business
which service their houses.
582
00:43:06,600 --> 00:43:10,320
There's a firm of solicitors
and a doctors' surgery of five GPs.
583
00:43:14,200 --> 00:43:18,680
In their heyday, those businesses
were regularly turning in profits.
584
00:43:19,920 --> 00:43:24,200
And so that was giving us
a very, very good financial base
585
00:43:24,200 --> 00:43:25,960
on which to work.
586
00:43:28,160 --> 00:43:32,240
I pray for sales
and I get my prayers answered,
587
00:43:32,240 --> 00:43:34,360
and so do the rest of the staff.
588
00:43:36,240 --> 00:43:39,000
I believe God loves us
and I believe he wants to help us.
589
00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:56,160
In the '80s,
there was a big expansion.
590
00:43:59,600 --> 00:44:03,160
And I think the power,
if you have power...
591
00:44:03,160 --> 00:44:04,920
There's that saying, isn't there?
592
00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:07,120
You know, all power corrupts.
I think it does.
593
00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:09,440
I am a Christian with power.
594
00:44:10,840 --> 00:44:17,760
And I think as time went by,
there were more and more controls.
595
00:44:20,760 --> 00:44:24,720
With Noel, it was the natural
progression of his personality,
596
00:44:24,720 --> 00:44:29,960
which was sort of like
controlling bullying, maybe.
597
00:44:29,960 --> 00:44:32,840
And so, in that name
that's above every other name,
598
00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:36,120
the name of Jesus Christ
who is Lord,
599
00:44:36,120 --> 00:44:37,960
now we baptise you.
600
00:44:37,960 --> 00:44:40,600
Jesus is Lord!
601
00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:42,160
CROWD WHISTLES
602
00:44:50,840 --> 00:44:54,600
Tonight, we talk to members of
Britain's foremost religious sect.
603
00:44:54,600 --> 00:44:56,120
Are they here to give salvation
604
00:44:56,120 --> 00:44:59,960
or has their operation an altogether
more sinister feel?
605
00:44:59,960 --> 00:45:03,200
{\an8}John Everett, you were involved
for five years,
606
00:45:03,200 --> 00:45:06,680
{\an8}and then you left and suffered
a nervous breakdown, didn't you?
607
00:45:07,960 --> 00:45:13,320
I left the community
because I had grown to believe
608
00:45:13,320 --> 00:45:16,240
that they were
exhibiting characteristics
609
00:45:16,240 --> 00:45:19,480
which I began to associate
with cultishness.
610
00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:25,960
Let your voices be raised
in praise to the Lord!
611
00:45:29,160 --> 00:45:34,640
There were several key factors
involved with my decision to leave.
612
00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:42,160
There was the whole business
of having one man at the helm
613
00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:44,600
with so much authority.
614
00:45:46,560 --> 00:45:53,040
Of course, the way in which children
in the community were treated.
615
00:45:53,040 --> 00:45:58,120
And as time passed,
I became really angry.
616
00:45:59,880 --> 00:46:02,360
And at that point, I thought...
617
00:46:04,040 --> 00:46:08,600
.."I need... For the sake of people
who might be drawn in,
618
00:46:08,600 --> 00:46:14,280
"I need to make known
what I know about the community."
619
00:46:17,600 --> 00:46:21,920
So, in the first instance,
I wrote quite a long manuscript.
620
00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:26,640
It was actually picked up
by the Baptist Union
621
00:46:26,640 --> 00:46:30,320
and the Evangelical Alliance,
622
00:46:30,320 --> 00:46:33,320
and I had meetings with them.
623
00:46:33,320 --> 00:46:35,520
I think there's a real issue
624
00:46:35,520 --> 00:46:39,480
about the way the church
was being administered.
625
00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:43,280
{\an8}There was an unhealthy emphasis
on celibacy.
626
00:46:43,280 --> 00:46:46,600
There was a concern
that children may be being put
627
00:46:46,600 --> 00:46:49,680
in a more pressured situation
than was helpful
628
00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:52,400
and that an excessive discipline
might be being used.
629
00:47:05,720 --> 00:47:08,840
When people spoke to the press...
630
00:47:08,840 --> 00:47:12,440
Yeah, I mean, it was, um...
It was...
631
00:47:12,440 --> 00:47:15,000
That was relatively full-on.
632
00:47:17,040 --> 00:47:19,600
Let him die. Crucify him!
633
00:47:20,840 --> 00:47:24,800
The Judas word would get mentioned
quite a bit.
634
00:47:27,920 --> 00:47:35,800
And so I was the first formal
excommunicant of the community.
635
00:47:35,800 --> 00:47:40,000
Nobody was allowed to talk to me
or have anything to do with me,
636
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:43,080
because I'd become the enemy.
637
00:47:48,480 --> 00:47:51,320
Erm... All right, yes.
To be able to say
638
00:47:51,320 --> 00:47:54,400
"We're part of the Evangelical
Alliance" was helpful.
639
00:47:54,400 --> 00:47:57,800
We did want to maintain
what connections we could
640
00:47:57,800 --> 00:47:59,920
with other Christian organisations.
641
00:48:02,480 --> 00:48:05,680
But, you know, internally,
642
00:48:05,680 --> 00:48:08,560
I think our desire was far more
to be acknowledged by God
643
00:48:08,560 --> 00:48:11,200
than to be acknowledged by
human organisations.
644
00:48:13,160 --> 00:48:16,800
Do not trust in the weakness
of man.
645
00:48:16,800 --> 00:48:19,480
We're in a fight, persecuted.
646
00:48:20,800 --> 00:48:27,840
Will you take Jesus into
the kind of church that he desires?
647
00:48:29,040 --> 00:48:30,840
Will you? Dare you?
648
00:48:32,200 --> 00:48:35,880
And so the Jesus Army was formed.
649
00:48:35,880 --> 00:48:37,560
Blow the trumpet.
650
00:48:38,600 --> 00:48:41,600
Move on. Advance!
651
00:48:42,960 --> 00:48:44,640
Join the fight.
652
00:48:45,880 --> 00:48:48,000
When the Jesus Army
marches to war,
653
00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:50,120
their battle is for hearts
and minds
654
00:48:50,120 --> 00:48:53,920
and their message is high pressure
and hardline -
655
00:48:53,920 --> 00:48:55,840
join the Army or be damned.
656
00:49:04,000 --> 00:49:07,400
We're looking for a new Britain,
a new Britain morally.
657
00:49:07,400 --> 00:49:10,000
You see, we live in a nation
where there's all sorts
658
00:49:10,000 --> 00:49:12,200
of sexual permissive problems
and the like,
659
00:49:12,200 --> 00:49:14,760
every kind of moral problem.
660
00:49:14,760 --> 00:49:16,760
When Jesus Army came in...
661
00:49:18,640 --> 00:49:21,080
..there was this element
of kind of...
662
00:49:21,080 --> 00:49:25,720
How do you say this in a nice way?
"Up yours to the establishment."
663
00:49:25,720 --> 00:49:28,520
Just let the spirit fall upon you.
664
00:49:32,960 --> 00:49:34,840
In the name of Jesus...
665
00:49:34,840 --> 00:49:37,080
..of self-destruction and suicide...
666
00:49:37,080 --> 00:49:39,320
..we find you in the powerful blood
of the lamb.
667
00:49:39,320 --> 00:49:41,520
# Glory
668
00:49:41,520 --> 00:49:44,120
# Glory in the highest... #
669
00:49:51,440 --> 00:49:53,200
Let's be revolutionaries.
670
00:49:53,200 --> 00:49:55,320
We've got to promote
the Christian gospel
671
00:49:55,320 --> 00:49:57,640
in a fairly militant form today.
672
00:49:57,640 --> 00:49:59,840
After all, evil is on the march.
673
00:49:59,840 --> 00:50:02,440
Today, the debate surrounding
one of the most active
674
00:50:02,440 --> 00:50:04,680
new religious groups,
the Jesus Army...
675
00:50:04,680 --> 00:50:06,760
To some, they're a dangerous cult.
676
00:50:06,760 --> 00:50:10,320
To others, they're a radical
movement which changes lives.
677
00:50:12,320 --> 00:50:17,160
This Jesus Army is something that...
Well, frankly, it disgusts me.
678
00:50:18,480 --> 00:50:20,840
These Rambo jackets,
679
00:50:20,840 --> 00:50:24,200
the uniform they have chosen
is the uniform of force.
680
00:50:25,480 --> 00:50:29,760
The Jesus Army was, in one sense,
deliberately promoted
681
00:50:29,760 --> 00:50:32,840
as being up front, in your face.
682
00:50:34,040 --> 00:50:35,720
But one of the aspects, I think,
683
00:50:35,720 --> 00:50:39,120
of the Jesus Army manifesto
was to go where others don't go...
684
00:50:40,680 --> 00:50:43,800
..reaching those right
on the outskirts of society,
685
00:50:43,800 --> 00:50:48,680
whether it be drug addicts...or
those homeless.
686
00:50:48,680 --> 00:50:53,760
You know, reaching out into
various of...the gay situations
687
00:50:53,760 --> 00:50:56,200
and things like that
at times as well.
688
00:51:07,320 --> 00:51:10,920
Father, I just pray
that you will work powerfully
689
00:51:10,920 --> 00:51:15,560
to show them that there...is sin
within them, Lord God.
690
00:51:15,560 --> 00:51:18,160
Cause them to come to this bus,
Lord Jesus,
691
00:51:18,160 --> 00:51:21,440
cause them to find out what's going
on inside them right now, Lord.
692
00:51:21,440 --> 00:51:25,000
Cause them to find out why they're
so uncomfortable, Lord Jesus.
693
00:51:32,160 --> 00:51:34,160
I was probably about 13 or 14
694
00:51:34,160 --> 00:51:36,880
the first time I was
told to go evangelising.
695
00:51:38,880 --> 00:51:41,440
I felt a lot of pressure, actually.
696
00:51:41,440 --> 00:51:46,000
It was drummed into us that this was
the only way to gain redemption,
697
00:51:46,000 --> 00:51:47,240
to go to heaven.
698
00:51:48,400 --> 00:51:51,280
And sometimes it could be
quite scary
699
00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:55,120
because you'd get people
who were off their heads.
700
00:51:55,120 --> 00:51:58,040
- It really was the lion's den...
- SHE LAUGHS
701
00:51:58,040 --> 00:51:59,680
..particularly for children.
702
00:52:02,040 --> 00:52:03,480
Can't even walk straight.
703
00:52:07,640 --> 00:52:08,960
Is it safe?
704
00:52:12,840 --> 00:52:15,120
Lord Jesus. Jesus...
705
00:52:16,680 --> 00:52:19,280
It's great to be able to have
the resources,
706
00:52:19,280 --> 00:52:21,880
to be able to... Doing something
that actually changed people,
707
00:52:21,880 --> 00:52:24,520
that actually helped
people directly.
708
00:52:24,520 --> 00:52:26,640
You've only got one life to live.
Go for it.
709
00:52:26,640 --> 00:52:28,920
- Come on.
- We'll look after you.
710
00:52:28,920 --> 00:52:31,640
Just get on with it.
711
00:52:31,640 --> 00:52:35,520
I don't think there was
any kind of randomness in it.
712
00:52:35,520 --> 00:52:39,520
I think with Noel,
everything was a tool
713
00:52:39,520 --> 00:52:43,600
that was...used for a purpose.
714
00:52:58,560 --> 00:53:01,160
It's been
a good night's work.
715
00:53:01,160 --> 00:53:04,240
Three people are travelling back
to the farm for the weekend.
716
00:53:12,760 --> 00:53:16,120
Steve from London, picked him up
last night from Leicester Square.
717
00:53:16,120 --> 00:53:18,520
We don't know much about his
background, only that he's homeless.
718
00:53:18,520 --> 00:53:21,760
We've missed you, Steve. Good to
see you. Are you glad to be here?
719
00:53:21,760 --> 00:53:23,320
Yeah, sure am.
720
00:53:23,320 --> 00:53:25,320
We haven't got too many rules here.
721
00:53:25,320 --> 00:53:27,720
LAUGHTER
722
00:53:25,320 --> 00:53:27,720
No!
723
00:53:29,400 --> 00:53:32,560
Probably one or two,
but not many.
724
00:53:32,560 --> 00:53:39,120
We just want to be like Jesus
and move in peace and love.
725
00:53:39,120 --> 00:53:40,240
We believe...
726
00:53:40,240 --> 00:53:44,680
We believe in Jesus Christ
as our Saviour.
727
00:53:46,680 --> 00:53:49,560
I think, by then,
Noel had realised that we needed
728
00:53:49,560 --> 00:53:53,160
to kind of make ourselves some sort
of charity or organisation
729
00:53:53,160 --> 00:53:55,720
to help support people.
730
00:53:55,720 --> 00:53:59,720
So then, people say, "Well,
look at all the good that he did."
731
00:54:01,400 --> 00:54:04,720
You can't... You can't weigh it up
like that.
732
00:54:04,720 --> 00:54:07,560
A lot of good does not outweigh
a whole load of bad.
733
00:54:48,160 --> 00:54:50,920
Your strength and your grace
and your healing power...
734
00:54:50,920 --> 00:54:52,440
THEY SPEAK IN TONGUES
735
00:54:59,840 --> 00:55:01,840
My best friend -
she had a really hard time
736
00:55:01,840 --> 00:55:04,800
at this new community house,
Battlecentre.
737
00:55:07,320 --> 00:55:09,440
She was very unhappy.
738
00:55:09,440 --> 00:55:13,440
I remember her saying
how depressed she was,
739
00:55:13,440 --> 00:55:15,960
how she hated her life,
how difficult it was.
740
00:55:18,480 --> 00:55:20,480
I used to go and visit sometimes.
741
00:55:23,800 --> 00:55:27,240
This Elder - he didn't seem to mind
that I was there.
742
00:55:29,600 --> 00:55:33,280
He would use me as a lookout,
so that I could warn him
743
00:55:33,280 --> 00:55:35,000
if anybody in the community house
744
00:55:35,000 --> 00:55:37,640
was coming into the room
or passing by.
745
00:55:39,480 --> 00:55:43,720
He took her down into the cellar
746
00:55:43,720 --> 00:55:47,520
and he would touch her,
try and hug her, and...
747
00:55:47,520 --> 00:55:49,680
I mean, I didn't
actually try and watch
748
00:55:49,680 --> 00:55:51,400
because I was supposed to be
the lookout,
749
00:55:51,400 --> 00:55:54,200
but you can't help yourself
but watch.
750
00:55:56,520 --> 00:55:59,120
We were 12 and 13 at the time.
751
00:56:04,160 --> 00:56:08,040
One day, my dad approached me
and told me that...
752
00:56:10,200 --> 00:56:12,520
..my best friend had tried
to commit suicide.
753
00:56:16,360 --> 00:56:17,960
I felt ashamed.
754
00:56:19,400 --> 00:56:21,080
I felt ashamed of
what he'd done to her.
755
00:56:21,080 --> 00:56:23,840
I felt ashamed
that I hadn't told anybody already.
756
00:56:26,800 --> 00:56:28,760
So the next day,
my dad arranged for me
757
00:56:28,760 --> 00:56:31,760
to tell the Elder of our household.
758
00:56:34,480 --> 00:56:36,240
They would report back to Noel.
759
00:56:40,280 --> 00:56:42,720
Noel was just adamant
I was a traitor
760
00:56:42,720 --> 00:56:46,160
and I was in collaboration
with my best friend.
761
00:56:50,280 --> 00:56:52,040
And our voices...
762
00:56:54,040 --> 00:56:55,720
..what have they said?
763
00:56:57,200 --> 00:56:59,040
What damage have they done?
764
00:57:00,760 --> 00:57:04,280
What lies have they told?
765
00:57:04,280 --> 00:57:06,840
What gossip has come from them?
766
00:57:22,440 --> 00:57:25,520
The brothers,
they still didn't believe me.
767
00:57:25,520 --> 00:57:27,760
Men come and stand
right at the front of the stage
768
00:57:27,760 --> 00:57:31,160
and just stand there
and pray against me and curse me.
769
00:57:33,560 --> 00:57:35,760
I was an abomination, basically.
770
00:57:40,240 --> 00:57:43,040
We're Jesus Revolutionaries.
771
00:57:43,040 --> 00:57:45,000
Now, part of this Jesus revolution
772
00:57:45,000 --> 00:57:48,280
is showing everyone
that the Christian faith,
773
00:57:48,280 --> 00:57:52,600
the living Christian faith,
is a faith of real joy.
774
00:57:53,680 --> 00:57:58,280
You simply have to surrender
and receive.
775
00:58:00,520 --> 00:58:02,920
Well, of course,
she was not the only one.
776
00:58:04,600 --> 00:58:06,920
What happened next was horrifying.
777
00:58:08,320 --> 00:58:12,440
I later found out, actually,
most of my peers had been abused.
778
00:58:15,840 --> 00:58:18,600
These people, they thought
they were above the law.
63296
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