Parents' Guide to The Way Down

The unsettling docuseries chronicles how the late pastor and diet guru created a controversial ministry that combines biblical teachings with common-sense diet tips to build power and wealth. The Way Down discusses the way Gwen Shamblin, many of whom within the church referred to as a prophet, equated being thin with spiritual perfection, and rejected scientific explanations for weight gain in order to exploit her followers' fundamental religious beliefs for her own gains. It also explains how she preached her own version of Christianity, which rejects the foundational tenets for most Christian faiths, but created a place for her as a matriarch in a religious world led by men. But much of the series focuses on some of the many controversies that followed her and her husband, actor Joe Lara, until their deaths (the two died in a plane crash in May 2021), and details disturbing activities within the organization. It's subjective, and active members of the church are not interviewed (despite the efforts of producers). Nonetheless, The Way Down tells an intriguing story that shows how people's religious beliefs and personal vulnerabilities can be exploited in unexpected, consequential ways.