John 8 tells the story of the adulterous woman who Jesus defended. She stood shamed and condemned by her community.  In this episode, we discuss how Jesus always moves toward the outcast to offer hope. He consistently moves away from those in power to be with the disempowered. This episode explores the impact of puritan values, rigid thinking, and shame based teaching in Christian culture. Our guest for this episode, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and owner of Friendswood Family Counseling, Rochelle Bridges, helps unpack the factors that lead to shame, the damaging impact shame has on mental and emotional health, and ways that we can combat the downward spiral of shame in ourselves and others.