Restricting access to information is a common ploy of many "institutions" such as governments, PR agencies, and cults or religious groups. The information that is either restricted, hidden or discouraged is anything that would deter a member from believing what the group says is true.
The Assembly had/has recommended reading lists and I have heard Assembly leaders "discourage" various books or authors.
The Assembly discouraged close ties with unsaved family members for fear that a saint would be pulled away from the Assembly.
The Assembly discouraged people from being involved in other religious groups or going to other churches. Why? You might see the light of your freedom in Christ and your bondage to a manmade system that does not allow members to decide God's will for themselves.
The Assembly discouraged people from taking certain courses at university or working at certain jobs that had fundamental differences in ideas such as military or political work.
The Assembly discouraged people from being critical of the Assembly by labelling such people as "railers," etc. However, more than a few workers I had dealings with openly talked about the shortcomings of others and why certain people were not "good brothers" or "good sisters." Such people were not allowed to go on MTT Teams and were often barred from marriage in the Assembly. These rumors (supposedly the fact of "living in a fishbowl") helped to show who was good because they conformed and who was bad because they did not follow the dictates of the Assembly. Leaders had the right to criticize others but not vice versa. (On a few occasions, I brought up issues in certain people's lives and I was told never to do so again and that I did not have the right to do so anymore.) From what we have read, the worker's meeting and George himself made a habit of criticizing others that did not match up to the Assembly's supposed light. However, to criticize the Assembly was a major sin and to leave it is to fall away to something less than God's best, something less that includes shunning. Sadly, according to MM, this is still practiced in one of the old/new Assembly still exists. Such a tactic basically says that unless you are with us, you will be against us. Jesus spoke against this practice when there was a man casting out demons in his name but was not part of Jesus' following. We can only be for or against Jesus himself, not some manmade system of right and wrong.
To preserve the testimony, the old/new Assembly was guilty of trying to cover up problems or ignore them. One of the ways they deal with/dealt with problems was to "discourage contact" with former members who realize the truth of Galatians 5:1ff.
To leave a place that has basically ruled your life for years takes a lot of bravery because it means beginning a new life free of bondage. Bondage can be comfortable because you don't have to think--others will tell you what is right, true, how you should act and what you should believe. What a sad way to live. The "light" of the mind in bondage is darkness. It is also hard to give up old habits that come from deeply engrained beliefs. It is also difficult for leaders to give up the power and prestige they once had AND it is even more difficult for people who are so accustomed to be lead to suddenly start thinking and acting for themselves.
Basically, leaders should only be held partially responsible for the evils in the old Assembly because those in committed fellowship yielded their wills over to the leadership who were following a system of right and wrong imposed from Fullerton/the worker's meeting. To admit that and leave the Assembly is to be brave, honest and, at the end of the day, free of bondage.
But leaders are/were still guilty of covering up the sins of the Assembly because of the need to "preserve the testimony." Leaders are also guilty of hiding financial resources and, above all, fostering an environment that openly teaches that the Assembly is better than all other Christian gatherings. To teach that the Assembly "has the most spiritual light" and is the best place to fellowship implies that to leave is wrong. Such teaching is cultlike.
Basically, if old/new Assemblies still exist and still have this "us versus them" teaching then God help them escape from the darkness of spiritual pride! Nowhere in the Bible does it say one group is allowed to boast that it is better than others. If the old/new leaders have not repented openly and in practice that such exclusive, cultlike practice is wrong, then it is clear the Assembly system started by George will continue under new leadership. Very sad indeed.
In the Psalms it says we should not be like DONKEYS who need to be lead around by others. Thus, to leave the Assembly system that dictates God's will is to no longer be an ass. In another thread it talks about how the leadership/worker's meeting instituted a "no-earring rule" that most people blindling followed and accepted as God's will/or a godly example. Little did people realize at the time that most people in the Assembly had a very real nose ring inserted through their noses that "godly brethren" could yank at any time to get them to go a certain way or do what they want simply because it was labelled as "God's Will/What the Lord wants/a godly testimony." Thank God I am not the ass that I used to be.
