>>520971409 (OP)
The goal of gaining new believers is to find which story resonates. They throw out several and hope one sticks. Fear and shame are the main engines of Christian faith. Ask why someone avoids breaking a biblical rule, and it usually comes down to terror of eternal fire or guilt over being told they are sinful by nature. The system depends on people feeling unworthy so that obedience feels like redemption. Shame is reinforced by labeling normal human behaviors like curiosity, desire, or self expression as wrong. Even basic instincts are treated as moral failures to keep people in a state of guilt that the faith itself claims to cure. That image of hellfire comes from ancient flat earth ideas where people saw lava rise from the ground and assumed hell was a pit of fire below us.
Historically, Christianity’s focus on the “weak and weary” comes from its roots as a religion for the poor, the sick, and the oppressed in the Roman Empire. The message of salvation and forgiveness appealed to those with little power or hope, offering belonging and meaning in harsh conditions. Over time, that focus evolved into outreach toward the vulnerable and suffering, sometimes out of compassion, sometimes as a strategy for conversion. The pattern remains: those struggling most are often the most receptive to promises of relief and redemption.
