Yes, and a fear that keeps people trapped in eternal spiritual darkness. Yet God in His mercy is drawing some out, and for that we praise and thank Him. Let me know how the meeting goes. Blessings
So we just came home from that meeting, and it was a real eye-opener for sure.
Gloriavale is not really Christian. Their theology is that you must obey God to get salvation, and their elders are the mouthpiece of God, so you have to obey the elders to be saved. The elders have set a million ridiculous rules (there's an entire book on exactly what knitting patterns you're allowed to use and not allowed to use for instance), and all have to be obeyed or your soul is at risk. There are Christians there, it is possible to find Christ there, but only by reading between the lines. One man related how one of the most defining moments in his journey was when he realised he was not actually a Christian - once he truly accepted Jesus, he started a series of changes in his theological understanding that resulted in him being excommunicated.
Also, they're not patriarchal. The women are all in head coverings, the community is led by men, it all looks patriarchal - but it is actually almost the exact opposite. Women are not taught to respect their husbands, and the nuclear family is not important. They are taught very strongly that the community comes first, family second. The children are in daycare from an early age, both parents are working. But the father is not really providing for the family, because of the communist system, whatever he does doesn't actually change their living conditions at all. So he's really just there to impregnate his wife. The women are not taught to respect him in any way. Also, they have arranged marriages, and many of the women are much older than their husbands - e.g. 5 years older - so they're marrying men they have viewed as children for most of their lives. But all this is by design - because they are taught to respect and obey the elders. The women see the elders as real men, real authority figures who actually hear from God.
So what is happening right now is that many men are leaving or being kicked out, either as teenagers (before marriage) or after marriage. But the women, being different personality-wise and being raised differently, are not leaving as readily. So many men are leaving - and their wives are left inside. They then have to persuade their wives to follow them. Their wives are in the position of being told by their husband (who they don't respect) "follow me, it's far better out here, and you won't go to hell". While the elders (who they have respected all their lives) tell them "if you leave and follow him you'll go to hell". They are told to abandon their husbands (completely contrary to scripture). It's very, very difficult for these women to decide to follow their husbands. Some do, and some do not. So families are broken up.
But the group gets lots of government subsidies for every child who stays. They run schools (that receive state funding), and get subsidies for each child that are intended for the parents but get taken by the cult (we have a very socialist taxation system). So they do everything they can to keep those women there, as that means keeping the children there, and that keeps the money flowing in. Very perverse.
There were allegations that there is sexual abuse and infidelity going on also, which is facilitated by the close communal living conditions. People mentioned marital unfaithfulness, paedophilia, and children who are known or suspected abusers of other children. And when infidelity is discovered, the women get the blame, the men get off basically scott-free. I must stress these were allegations raised in the meeting today in various conversations, I cannot confirm their truth, I'm just sharing what we heard tonight.
The reason they think they will go to hell if they leave is that everybody, by the age of 18, is expected to sign a contract that they will live in this community and obey the elders for the rest of their lives. One of the key provisions of this is that it is a vow before God, and they sign that if they break it they will lose their salvation. Because disobeying the elders is disobeying God, and wilfully disobeying God is deliberate sin. So it makes sense in a twisted way.
It's very sad because there are a lot of positive things about community, and this could be a great community. There's nothing fundamentally evil about having a commune, it is a legitimate interpretation of New Testament principles. This was truly started with good intentions.
But Satan has perverted it in order to discredit conservative Christians. I believe this group will be tolerated officially for many years, until its perversions are well "exposed" and publicised, and all conservative Christians are stained with it by the media. Then they will finally be shut down using overbearing law changes that make it more difficult for all conservative Christians. If they didn't serve such a purpose, they would have been shut down years ago (there's enough allegations of sexual abuse and legally questionable financial and contractual practices that they could probably be shut down today, if the government truly had a mind to, the fact they are allowed to operate indicates they serve a purpose).
