Oprah & Eckhart Tolle's: New Earth

change font size:

“Oprah& Eckhart Tolle’s: New Earth”
Acts 17:11

Open with 8 minute video clip
[“Mega Church Of Oprah.” available at www.carringtonsteele.citymax.com/page/page/5776487.htm]

Oprah Winfrey is a one-woman entertainment empire and her influence extends around the world. The “Oprah Winfrey Show” has remained the number one talk show on US television for 21 seasons and is now seen in over 132 countries around the world. In addition to her TV show she has her own production company (Harpo), her own magazine, (O Magazine), and soon she will have her own network, in 2009 the Discovery Health Channel will become OWN (The Oprah Winfrey Network). She reaches more people in a day than most preachers can even dream of reaching in a lifetime.
Oprah Winfrey is without a doubt one of the most popular and influential women in the world today (Barna says she has a 83% favorability rating among born-again believers). One of the things that has made her so popular is that she uses her fame and influence for the betterment of others. As one of the richest women in the world, she has given away billions of dollars to various charities. She has built an academy in South Africa for disadvantaged girls, began the Angel Network and Christmas kindness to name just a few of the things she has done.
Oprah has very commendably aimed the direction of her show to provide information and encourage people to evaluate and improve their lives.
But as was observed in a 2002 article in Christianity Today called "The Church of O," as odd as it may sound, Oprah has emerged as an influential spiritual leader. "Since 1994, when she abandoned traditional talk-show fare for more edifying content, and 1998, when she began ’Change Your Life TV’, Oprah’s most significant role has become that of spiritual leader. To her audience of more than 22 million mostly female viewers, she has become a postmodern priestess—an icon of church-free spirituality.” [LaTonya Taylor. “The Church of O.” Christianity Today. April 1, 2002]
And while we may admire Oprah as a communicator and a humanitarian we must reserve strong reservations about her as a theologian. Oprah name is actually the misspelling of the bible character Orpah, the daughter-in-law of Naomi, mentioned in Ruth 1:14.
Because while she is doing all of these good things Oprah has been drifting further and further out to the fringes of “New Age” belief and many her fans have faithfully followed her there. There doesn’t seem to be anything that Oprah will not believe except the truth. Through a succession of guest with eclectic religious ties, such as Gary Zuhav, Marianne Williamson, and Deepak Chopra, Oprah’s show presents all religions as equally valid paths to God.
Oprah retains membership in Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago (where Barack Obama is a member) and although hardly what I would consider a bulwark of conserve-ative theology the former pastor Jeremiah Wright has said of Oprah’s beliefs, “She has broken with the traditional faith, she now has this sort of God is everywhere, God is in me, I don’t need to go to church, I don’t need to be a part of a body of believers, I can mediate, I can do positive thinking’ spirituality. It’s a strange gospel. It has nothing to do with the church Jesus Christ founded!” [Ibid. “The Church of O.”]
Beginning in January she ... next page »