preview

Gloriavale Have Been Located In The West Coast Of New Zealand

Decent Essays

Gloriavale have been located in the West Coast of New Zealand since the 1990s, since then in recent times it has been the cause of much speculation in the media for its “cult like” tendencies and questionable practices. However the leaders and members of this seemingly humble community deny these allegations. Gloriavale are “The Christian community” who believe “ the nature of mankind is not to do good, but to do evil.” and that when the time comes for “God to end the world in eternal fire every person who has ever been born will stand before God and be judged according to how they lived their life.” I chose Gloriavale because their set of beliefs and way of life is interesting and different from my own. I find it hard to understand why …show more content…

There is Neville Cooper the main leader then there are three senior “shepherds” and “servant” leaders on a council of 16 leaders in total. They lead by consensus which means each one of the 16 leaders comes to an agreement and settles. The leaders are in charge of everything that goes on inside this isolated community; the clothing, the meals, the work/labor, the marriages, the upbringing of the children including education, the contact between each member,
Gloriavale families are large with up to 30+ babies born each year in this small Christian community, This keeps the population at Gloriavale “young and keen”. A controversial side to the community is the mindset that 12 year old girls are considered able to birth children. The communities main source of income is the dairy farm they maintain this sustains the community and gives work to the men. Members of the community are sourced from around the world and this community is ever expanding even more so now due to its exposure on television.

Gloriavale attempt to live by the bible literally. This may seem like they are simply fulfilling the words and teachings of God which should, from a religious standpoint be a good thing however they compare how they live with the first Christian Church. In today 's society this is unimaginable as the Christians back in Jesus’ time lived a sustainable life style which isn 't a reality anymore today. And the parallels are evident; The hard labour lifestyle, the simple

Get Access