Devotion: Obedience Or Betrayal Documentary Recap: Who Killed Michael Cooper?

It’s not wise to impose beliefs on someone and make them think that it is their obligation to follow that, as if that’s the word of God. The new documentary series, “Devotion: Obedience or Betrayal,” acts as an eye opener for people who put their faith on their religious leaders more than they put on themselves. The docu series focuses on Gloriavale, a closed community in New Zealand that is self-sufficient in terms of food, water and daily supplies but throughout the decades, it’s riddled with some serious allegations. The documentary series exposes both sides of the coin, i.e., perspectives of the outsiders like former Gloriavale member Gideon and the insiders. It shows us the downsides of absolute obedience, which is a practice in this controversial Christian community, often blurring the line between right and wrong.

What Made Gideon Leave Gloriavale?

Gideon’s father, Jonathan, has been a leading figure in the whole Gloriavale community and the former has seen the amount of respect he has gotten. However, Gideon has seen some downsides of the closed community and his world turns upside down after Jonathan faces serious charges from the police. When Jonathan gets charged for reportedly being a pedophile, it shakes Gideon’s faith. During his time at Gloriavale, Gideon has seen minors get assaulted and after his father gets charged for assault, he decides to leave with his children.

What Is Hopeful Christian’s Role In Gloriavale?

Neville Cooper has always claimed that he has found his true identity, faith and purpose after coming to Gloriavale at a very young age. With time, he founded the closed community, became the leading voice and the leader of all the members there, taking the alias of Hopeful Christian; they started to see him as a messenger of God. Tarawa, one of the former members of the community, recalls how Neville deprived all of them of free will. He manipulated everyone into believing God would never want any one to question anything. Since he manipulated children into believing that serving God through community service in Gloriavale – which is basically unpaid labor, gonna address it later – is the only way to book their seats in heaven.

What was Phil Cooper’s Turning Point?

Phil, one of Neville’s sons, is a proud man who’s pretty headstrong like his father. Just like how Neville had his own beliefs and he was ready to die to stand his ground, Phil grew up to be the same. Being Hopeful Christian’s son, he never bowed down to anyone and that’s why, he clashed with him a lot. In his childhood, Phil never got loved by his father since he was busy baptizing kids, reading them “God’s Will” and being a Father to the community. As Phil grew up, he understood that he was earning nothing – whatever money he earned, was taken by the community, leaving him with a couple of dollars or so. One day, Phil found his little son Israel getting punished at the dining hall because he had wetted the bed earlier. It was Neville’s decision and when Phil questioned him, he was told by his father that he is not worthy to point fingers at him. Phil could not take it anymore and decided that he would not tolerate such misbehavior anymore. As members of the community did not allow him to go with his kids and his wife, Sandra, was too devoted to Gloriavale, Phil had to abduct his children. He later kidnapped Sandra as well, but ultimately, she went back to the community. 

Why Did Neville Cooper Get Arrested?

Neville Cooper’s resume was riddled with allegations that ranged from sexual assault to explicit activities, which came as a surprise to many. According to reports, Neville had harassed and assaulted people in the name of putting them in order to serve God. He had reportedly engaged in indecent activities with minors. It was also reported that Neville assaulted Leanne’s sister, Yvette. For all these charges, Neville was sent to prison but he served only for a short time before getting out on bail.

Who Killed Michael Cooper?

Phil’s brother Michael faced extreme abuse and neglect from Neville. Both the brothers had to endure the pain of living without a mother after she died while they were just kids. At the age of sixteen, Michael wanted to leave Gloriavale but it was Neville who prevented that by emotionally blackmailing him. Neville manipulated Michael into thinking that it was him who brought darkness upon her mother’s life and he was a disgrace to the entire community. Nine years later, when Michael killed himself after the police arrested Neville, Nuns said that he did it out of grief. Actually, Michael was emotional – he could not handle the inner turmoil after he saw Neville getting charged with repeated counts of assault.

What Made Phil Go Back?

After the allegations regarding Gloriavale started spreading, years ago, a reporter named Melanie Reid went inside Gloriavale, bringing in footage that was never seen before. She exposed the community of putting children at risk, coercing men into labour without paying them, and most importantly, treating women terribly. Reid showed how women were meant to wear only feminine clothes, forced to stay inside their homes and nurture children because God wanted them to play “their roles.” During her time there, Reid also came across Sandra, who apparently had another baby after leaving Phil. While Phil was still living as a single father, Reid showed Phil a picture of his seventh child, Cherish, driving him crazy. Phil never wanted to let any of his children grow up in an environment like Gloriavale and struggled to get custody of Cherish. Currently, Cherish loves to live with her dad and Phil feels happier than ever to see her daughter everyday. Cherish has understood how the community tried to make her believe that Phil was a bad man and covered her in shrouds to keep her hidden. She understands the value of living away from the community but even to this day, Cherish has not moved on from her childhood trauma.

Why didn’t Jonathan allow Julia to see her siblings?

Jonathan has also been a master manipulator; when he saw that he cannot control Julia, his girl, he did not do much to stop her. Instead, when Julia came back to see her brothers in Gloriavale, he made her feel unwanted by saying her brothers despised her. Jonathan’s activities made Julia feel that she had done the worst sin in the history of mankind because leaving Gloriavale, no matter how much abuse she faced there, was a betrayal. Jonathan and leaders like them did not want the children, women and other people of the community to meet someone of their own who had made it out. They might start to long for the world outside and live their lives like those outsiders. 

Why Did Howard Temple Face Charges?

After Neville’s death, Howard Temple became the Overseeing Shepherd, the leader of the Gloriavale community. However, his tenure was short-lived as allegations of assaults poured in and Howard had to go to trial. Initially, he claimed to be not guilty but ultimately, he confessed., Howard sexually abused young girls while they were carrying out a service for him. These allegations were serious, but the government did not do much about Gloriavale, even after years of assault complaints pouring in.

What Does Brian Henry Want?

Brian Henry is one of the most hated figures among the Christians because of his animosity towards Gloriavale. Brian wants the people of Gloriavale to stay independently, away from the controlling hierarchies that exist in that community. He is against unpaid labour, deliberate manipulation in the name of God and controlling people’s lives by letting them think of the afterlife, which may not even be a thing. Brian has filed countless lawsuits because he wants the government to launch a full fledged investigation and see what is really going on in Gloriavale. 

Why Doesn’t Paul Valor Speak Up?

Paul Valor’s case is one of the worst possible things of manipulation in the name of religion. He has admitted in the documentary that he has faced all kinds of assault while growing up but still, why hasn’t he exposed the names of the perpetrators yet? Well, for years, Paul has been taught that if he has a problem with any member of the community, he must not contact law enforcement officers. Otherwise, outsiders will take advantage of the situation and break apart the one community that ardently serves God. This fear has made Paul think that he should not speak up against his perpetrators. That’s why, even when there’s been a chance to talk with mental health counselors, Paul has not visited the camp and his children, who have also faced assault, have done the same.

Gloriavale’s Fate Remains Uncertain As It Battles Allegations

Jonathan is easily one of the worst names in the history of Gloriavale, along with Neville and Howard, who have played with the trust of their own people. Peter, who’s one of the most respected members of the community, admits that he has committed a mistake by not reporting Jonathan to the police. But, through all these years, Peter has done nothing to drive him out of Gloriavale or contact law enforcement himself when the allegations regarding Jonathan were increasing. Apart from that, many proud Gloriavale members, who are women, say that they don’t believe in those assault allegations since they themselves never faced something like that. This mentality is a huge problem for the people of Gloriavale which has led them to accept Neville and Howard back as their leaders when they got out of jail. They are the ones who find themselves morally bound to let the perpetrators roam freely just because they spread the word of God and run the community. People like Reid, Merrah and Brian, whom they consider outsiders, are not trying to abolish Gloriavale; they want to help them understand what’s bad for them in the long run. Till this day, the community has lost support from the Bank of New Zealand; dairy supply chains and the meat processing companies have also stopped supporting them. Unless people of Gloriavale look way past the taboos, beliefs and manipulations that are holding them down from doing what’s right, they are bound to suffer.

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