Oprah's Religion

Oprah has made a number of books bestsellers and among them are religious books that promote, essentially, reworked New Age religion.  When another of her books hits the bestsellers list, we get emails from Christians asking for point by point responses to each book because their friends are reading these books.  The ideas in these book are not new; they were popularized in the 60s and 70s and roundly responded to by Christian writers and scholars.  Old ideas come back wrapped up to look different, but behind the dressing there are no essential differences.  The ideas are recycled old ones, a westernized blend of Hinduism and Buddhism.  Doug Groothuis' book is the best single volume to get familiar with the New Age themes that repeat themselves on Oprah's bookshelf.

There are a couple of key themes that always surface in New Age rehash.  And it's handy to remember these as a starting point to evaluate any religious claims, especially those of the New Age variety.

First is the claim that this teaching is what Jesus really was here to teach us.  Bunk.  Jesus Himself said that His death and resurrection was the purpose of His life, that our decision about who He is is central to our relationship with Him, and that salvation was only through Him.  The New Agers have been trying to strip Jesus of most of what He Himself said for  years now so that they can use Him for credibility, a nice, wise teacher.  But you have to ignore most of what He actually taught in order to make that work.  Jesus own words make Christianity and any New Age teaching incompatible.

Second, these books/theologies always teach an impersonal Consciousness that we are a part of.  That's Hinduism.  Christianity is about a personal God who created us, a personal being to have a relationship with.  They merge creation and Creator; Christianity keeps the two distinct.  Jesus Himself said that He was God so God is not an impersonal force or indistinct consciousness to access or achieve.

This western blend of Buddhism and Hinduism in New Age wrappings has been growing in attraction to Americans for years because it gives people the significance of a religion without the obligations and demands that a personal God and the Bible make on them.  It's high on personal meaning and low on personal obligation.  Underneath it all, people are God's creatures and are sinners.  They're running from that fact.  The best thing to do is to use the Law and Jesus' own words, and let the Holy Spirit work on their heart and conscience.

Comments

[deborah]

Nice summary, Melinda. Thanks.

[Mo]

What is most horrifying to me is that some Christians actually seem positive to Oprah's teachings. Oprah has openly denied Christ. (video below) Christians have no business following anything she has to say.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwGLNbiw1gk

[will_a]

Thank you for putting up the link, Mo. It's very clear that Oprah is wrong in her thinking, but the Christians who were contesting her were not well-equipped to do so.

[Sam]

A lot of the newer New Age stuff takes advantage of popular ignorance of quantum physics. The Secret, for example, seems to muddle several different interpretations of quantum mechanics, and treat the as if they're all true. And then it commits the fallacy of composition by applying observations on the quantum level to the macro world we're all familiar with.

There's just a lot of really sloppy thinking in New Age literature. The worst can be found in Neale Donald Walsh's books. My name is a link to a critique of one of his books.

[ToNy]

That oprah video was funny. Yeah there’s a bunch of pop-spirituality on the Oprah book of the month club thing. It was her studio that also produced Tuesdays With Morrie. Which contains this freakin “little wave” story:

See, there's this little wave. And he's out there bobbing up and down and havin'a grand old time. You know, just enjoying the sunshine and the wind...Right. Until he sees...Until he sees the other waves. Yeah. He sees the other waves crashing into the shore, so he gets scared. And another wave sees him and... He's like, "Oh, my God. Look at what's gonna happen to me. And another wave says to him, "Why do you look so sad?" And the little waves says, "Because we're gonna crash. All us waves are gonna be nothin: Don't ya understand?" And the other wave says, "You don't understand. You're not a wave. You're part of the ocean."

EVERYTIME I HEAR THIS STORY I WANT TO KILL SOMEONE! What a complete load of bull! But most people will hear this and get a warm fuzzy feeling. It’s just another way of saying something like, “All the exclusive religions are false and when you die you will become one with the universe.”

blahhhh

whatevaaaaaa

[Aaron Snell]

Hey Tony, careful thinking sometimes makes for strange bedfellows...er, blogfellows... :)

[Louis Kuhelj]

ToNy
I never heard that wave story before, but I'm with you on that one. What a load of rubbish. Ain't it amazing what foolishness people buy into.

[Santiago]

"It's high on personal meaning and low on personal obligation."

I agree that that's what followers of this false spirituality believe, however, I would hold that the truth is actually opposite. It's personally meaningless because it's based on a false ideology. However, the obligations are pretty steep. The lie is that this system of belief allows one to do what one wants. However, if you pay attention to Oprah, you can tell that there is a morality that must be adhered to in order for you to be considered "enlightened" or whatever the term of the day is for inclusion in this ostensibly "all-inclusive" religion. (It's obviously more exclusive than Oprah would have you believe.)

[Erica]

its funny how she is rude to God..jus dumb..

[Jess]

Santiago is right about the element of personal obligation. I'm reading Tolle's book "The New Earth" and I also read The Secret. It's ALL about works and personal responsibility - what you must do to become "enlightened", or what you must to do get a positive result from the Universe's Law of Attraction. In my opinion it sheds a great deal of light on all of the "good things" that Oprah does. She's not doing them out of the goodness of her heart - she's expecting a reward. Whether it be a positive return from the Universe (as the Secret promises) or brining the world one step closer to enlightenment (as A New Earth promises), her charity is not altruistic. Christians need to think critically enough to be able to say "yes, she does good things, but WHY does she do them?" I have talked to far too many Christians who refuse to judge Oprah since she's such a "good person." I don't know Oprah, or these authors personally, but I believe we can judge their works. They are decieved and are decieving others, and as Christians we should be astute enough to look deeper than the "Angel Network" and see what else is at work in our midst. Tolle's book is very smart and well-written, rife with scriptural references and biblical principles - yet it's comletely non-Christian. We need to be discerning enough to be able to explain to others why just because someone does good things, or quotes scripture, or invokes the name of Jesus, it doesn't mean they represent the God of the Bible.

[Jared]

its basically upsetting. she is making a mockery of Christianity. well i suppose a great amout of people do, but since oprah is such a huge name, the impact is rediculous. something like a million plus people following this nonsense.. "taking god out of the box" lady, God is not a figure in a box. Christ is Lord, and you can not in any way put your own theology around it. His word is love, and His word is Christian. to get a better understanding release from all your vain books and personal goals and dive into it, you might find something. word of advice oprah, look into ecclesiastes. Solomon went threw a similar journey, only he didnt drag down the united states with him...whatever. oprah, your a joke. im not here to judge, but your life is a prime example of sin.

[RENEA]

OK I watched this & I was infuriated by the fact so many people believe there is only "one way" "one god". So are those non-believers damned because they believe in themselves their own strengths, I think not.
I am not a devil worshiper but I'm not gonna follow the cult of Christianity.
Really why does everyone think that Mary was a virgin? Who's says that Mary & Joseph couldn't have had a normal baby like the rest of us, but he just had a healing spirit & intelligent soul. Why couldn't Jesus of married Mary & had a family.
What is so wrong with others beliefs? Why does there have to be a heaven? Why can't we follow the light? Who says the bible is the only way? If everything else is a cult who says Christianity isn't? Who or what gives us the right to judge or is the bible itself a hypocrite. Judge not yet thee be judged. Harm non, but don't you harm people by saying they are not going the right way. It's a very contradicting religion Christianity.
If you believe in living a healthy, descent life then what is wrong with being good not evil, not altering yourself with drugs for a better mood or trying to forget the wrong you let into your life. Being closed minded and judgmental do we really want to seep to that level?
Be true to yourself, that's the only one you see when you look in the mirror, if you're happy with yourself and love yourself, then life is good!!

[Brittany Morris]

I think Oprah is full of her self. Yes she has a lot of material things but in Mal. 3 the Lord said you will see who are my children and it is been reveal. Some may have thought that Oprah was a believer but the Lord will not have his children confuse Oprah needs to get off that high horse and come to the Lord. Yes you have natural but don't forget about spiritual. For remember Bothers And Sisters God have given as everything conserning (natural)life and godliness(spiritual).