nothing is yet in its true form

For a long time, I have been extremely skeptical whenever people have told me that they were inspired by Oprah Winfrey. In my opinion, truly inspirational people don’t host talk shows. More than that, I believe that people are inspirational when who they are and what they believe leads them to great acts of compassion, love and sacrifice. To me, Oprah has never fit that description. James, talking about the source of people’s speech, asks the question, “Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water” (James 3:11-12). James hits a sensitive, but important point: If the source of our life isn’t God, then what comes out of us (whether word or deed) isn’t from God either. That is not to say that people who do not follow Christ cannot produce loving or compassionate acts, but it is safe to say that such good deeds will not be at their center.

Jesus even describes a similar scenario saying, “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23). Furthermore, John tells us how to sniff out the impostors reminding us that, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19). I would suggest that Oprah falls into this category almost perfectly.

Apparently, Oprah grew up in church and was nicknamed, “the Preacher,” because of how well she could recite verses from the Bible. Since 1986, Oprah has been broadcasting the Oprah Winfrey Show and has been inspiring people across the nation and around the world. Now she is a media mogul appearing in numerous films, publishing two magazines, co-authoring five books, updating her crazily popular Oprah.com, and let us not forget Oprah Winfrey’s The Big Give. Recently, Oprah launched an online class as part of her Oprah’s Book Club, on the book A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. Oprah’s website tells us that Eckhart Tolle, a graduate of the University of London, “is a contemporary spiritual teacher who is not aligned with any particular religion or tradition.” Not surprisingly, Oprah has aligned herself with a new age guru who is not a part of any particular religion. Oprah herself has always been a big fan of religious pluralism. On her show she was quoted as saying, “There are millions of ways to be a human being and many paths to what you call god.” In response to someone telling her that the only way is through Jesus, Oprah responded, “There couldn’t possibly be only one way.”

The website for Oprah’s class has some interesting things to say as well. Here is an excerpt:

My holiness is my salvation.

My mind is part of God. I am very holy

My salvation comes from me

Let me remember that there is no sin

Do not make the pathetic error of “cling to the old rugged cross.”

The only message of the crucifixion is that you can overcome the cross.

I’ve been told by many people that I am very blunt about some things, but in this case I think it is appropriate. This stuff the Oprah is putting out there is absolute nonsense. It is not backed up by anything other than the fact that it sounds very convenient. Oprah is using her fame to broadcast modern day gnosticism to the world. This notion that some secret knowledge is needed to transcend the suffering of this world is not only not Christian, it sets itself in opposition to Christianity. While Oprah’s charisma is undeniable, I must argue that I do not think she is a particularly caring individual. Caring individuals do not gather in millions of followers and teach them a way of life that is unable to deal with sin, death, and ultimately hell.

In his first epistle, John writes, “about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie just as it has taught you, abide in him” (1 John 2:26-27). John is writing about a situation that is so similar to “Oprah’s church”, it’s uncanny. He is telling us the same way he told the initial recipients of the letter, we do not need a special guru or guide to tell us the secrets of the universe. My prayer would be that God’s Word would be our guide, the Holy Spirit would be our teacher, and that the truth and glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ would be our chief concern.