FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) — The leader of the Remnant Fellowship Church says critics and police are using a child abuse investigation into an 8-year-old's death to bring down her ministry.
Gwen Shamblin is known for diet books and the Weigh Down Workshop, a Christian diet program she created in 1986. The church that grew from that work was raided last month during investigation of Josef Smith's death.
Police are investigating the church's connection to Joseph and Sonya Smith, church members from Mableton, Ga., who are accused of child abuse in their son's death last year.
Shamblin said the death was accidental and the Smiths are being abused by law enforcement, anti-cult experts and the media. She said critics fooled former Remnant members into believing they were part of a cult.
"It's an unfortunate taking advantage of the tragic death of a child so they can whip Remnant Fellowship and Gwen Shamblin," Shamblin told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday.
Former Remnant members suggested to investigators and reporters that the Smiths abused their child because church teachings on discipline include corporal punishment.