Gwen Shamblin
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Gwen Shamblin is the American author of a fairly controversial book called The Weigh Down Diet (ISBN 0-385-49324-X) which was published in 1997 and sold over 400,000 copies. Since that time she has written Rise Above (ISBN 0-7852-6876-6) and a devotional book called Exodus (ISBN 1-892729-00-8). According to her website, Ms. Shamblin is a registered dietician with experience as a consulting registered dietitian and as an Instructor of Nutrition at Memphis State University. [1]
The controversy concerns her tendency to combine diet with religion. She teaches that there are two very different needs in each person; a need for food and an emotional need. According to Ms. Shamblin, people should only eat when they feel real, physical hunger and stop when full, and that they should use prayer and Bible reading to fill emotional needs. Overeating is equated with gluttony and is a sin. [2]
These principles were very well received within Christian churches. Some 17,000 churches used her materials to teach her faith based weight loss program in the late 80's and early 90's. The controversy arose when she began to teach that the doctrine of the trinity (that God exists in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) was not Biblical. Thomas Nelson publishers canceled publication of her book "Exodus", and many churches dropped her program. The Weigh Down Workshop's seminars still continue in thousands of locations around the world.[3]
Gwen is the pastor of a controversial and rapidly growing church based in Brentwood, Tennessee called Remnant Fellowship Churchwhich currently has over 120 locations worldwide. Ms. Shamblin is married and has two children. She lives in Brentwood, TN.[4].
