Shame and Baby Christians

I was starting to get worried about you! Please take care of yourself!!!

As for the person you were blogging about, the baby Christian who's been led astray into prosperity gospel heresy... take into account that she very likely has not ever been exposed to good teaching. It takes discernment to find a good preacher, and a *lot* of Christians are not up for the "hard work" of just reading the Bible for themselves.

Immediately I knew what your friend meant about shame being used. Yes, shame is used in prison conversions etc, but in this case shame was used as a stick with prosperity as the carrot (remember she's likely never heard good teaching). The woman was probably thinking something of the, "I shamed myself by being pregnant before I was married, but God will not only cleanse my sins, He'll make me prosperous and I can expunge my shame in the public eye with riches". How tempting would that be? Oh MY.

Even in non-prosperity churches, "wear my shame" isn't exactly screamed from the mountaintops. (Oddly, my preacher has started to get into it a bit - but the Holy Spirit has always spoken loudly through Pastor Mike). Respectability is a draw. We all want that, to be thought good people by our neighbors and friends. For centuries now, church membership has been a part of that "respectibility" quotient.

The "babe" in question... has she accepted Jesus as her Savior, or is she just there going through the motions? Is she drinking milk laced with chocolate syrup or pure soda? (Sugar here being the prosperity gospel - it's not good for you, but is it here an additive or the whole meal?). Eventually, if she gets a good teacher, she will learn to get rid of the sugar. And it will likely be as wrenching as it is for us in the physical realm. :/ Is there a relationship to Jesus - even if she thinks the Heavenly Daddy is just there to bring her fuzzy teddy bears? That, you see, is my question about the folks led astray by prosperity gospels. Are they tiny babies in a nursery, being kept tiny sugarcrazed babies by their earstwhile shepherds - or are they only in it for the money? (Likely mixed).

You and I were started on whole foods while we yet sipped our milk. Churches that feed their "infants" that well are few and far between now - and even the churches that do offer meat must chivvy their sheep into that growth. Remember the lesson of D and her elderly ladies, kept infants for sixty years.

Hugs!