Oprah's Religion

Is Neo-Gnosticism -- no longer Christianity:

Watch this video and see the apostocized Oprah attack the weakened faith of a woman who is genuinely having pangs of conscience over the false doctrine that the has been reading in Eckhart Tolle's book (endorsed by Oprah and now #2 on Amazon):



Pray for this young woman and all others who are being deceived by this New Age, Neo-Gnostic darkness that masquerades as light.


The timing of the TV show, at least in the Chicago area -- Oprah’s home turf -- has a whiff of morning service. It’s an hour-long ritual each weekday at 9 AM., adding up to a lot more pulpit time per week than the average pastor enjoys, and in front of a lot bigger congregation. (Oprah herself used to attend a large Chicago church -- Trinity United Church of Christ, pastored by Jeremiah Wright. But according to Wright’s secretary, Janet Moore, Oprah hasn’t attended in 12 years.)

Alburt Mohler once again does a fine job of analyzing the situation:

The Church of Oprah Winfrey--A New American Religion?
Tuesday, November 29, 2005

....Marcia Z. Nelson sees Oprah as a major American religious leader. In The Gospel According to Oprah, Nelson presents her as the symbol and catalyst for a new American religion. "Oprah Winfrey, talk show host, film producer, and philanthropist, is not ordained. She is neither preacher nor religious professional. Yet her multimedia empire, built over two decades, has given her the scope and stature of an influential leader. Oprah has a prominent pulpit from which to preach," Nelson insists. Oprah's television audience of ten million (according to Nielsen ratings) and her magazine readership of 2.7 million together represent a massive media phenomenon. As Nelson explains, "Oprah's whole enterprise, which includes many media that provide platforms for her gospel as well as sources of income, is vast." Nelson's book represents an effort to understand Oprah Winfrey as an exemplar and prophetess of a new form of American religion. In reality, Oprah is probably best understood as a
highly-talented representative of the religion of positive thinking that has
shaped American culture for at least the last two centuries. In this role, Oprah
continues and extends a line of religious thought that replaces the transcendent
with the temporal and looks for fulfillment and success as the goods of a
satisfying life.
Marcia Z. Nelson is a writer who covers religions and spirituality. Watching "The Oprah Show" is, Nelson insists, something like attending a worship service. "Go to this house of worship and sit down for an inspiring hour that will engage you and give you a lift," Nelson encourages. "An hour-long show five days a week adds up to a lot more pulpit time per week than the average pastor enjoys, and Oprah commands a lot bigger congregation."
Nelson is candid in dealing with the way Oprah repackages spirituality. "She translates what religions would term transcendent into something that is inspiring but secular. She would call it a vision of possibilities. She has tried to develop her own unique language, which means talking about values in a secular and inclusive sense in a religiously pluralistic country."
The Oprah phenomenon is based in self-disclosure, confession, testimony, and talk--lots and lots of talk. Episodes of "The Oprah Show" often deal with abuse, frustration, and the search for fulfillment. Guests are routinely encouraged to confess their wrongdoing, claim their promise, and move into a new phase of their lives, empowered and encouraged by Oprah and the experience of sharing their inner lives with millions of television viewers. In this sense, Oprah's television show promises something like a secular catharsis--complete with Oprah's validation of their problems, their desires, and their self-analysis.
Oprah Winfrey's approach to life centers in self-analysis and positive thinking. Of course, material abundance also plays a part. "Oprah believes in abundance, a concept not generally associated with religion," Nelson acknowledges. "A lot of people think of religion as requiring asceticism and poverty--giving up goods, denying personal desires. And for good reason." By offering a seemingly endless array of product recommendations and endorsements, and by filling her magazine with advertisements for expensive products and services, Oprah clearly associates the good life with material fulfillment.
In keeping with the theme of positive thinking, and with the ideology of spiritual movements of this kind, Oprah's secularized spirituality includes few rules or moral judgments. "Oprah is famously nonjudgmental and empathetic," Nelson explains. When Oprah refers to God, she is clear to insist that this means no specific god and entails no particular theological commitments. In other words, "God is acknowledged as necessary, but the language doesn't insist on that. It's soft sell."
As Nelson understands the Oprah phenomenon, forgiveness is at the center of Oprah's message. Nevertheless, Oprah offers forgiveness without atonement. Confession of inadequacy is presented as a sufficient remedy for sin and wrongdoing. God is effectively out of the picture as lawgiver or judge, and there is no room for the cross of Christ as atonement for sin.
"Oprah's 'New Age' talk about spirit was part of her ongoing, ever evolving attempt to find the right words for teachings she learned through religion,"

New York University professor Paul Vitz once observed, "Contemporary psychology is a form of secular humanism based on the rejection of God and the worship of the self." In her substitution of psychology for theology, Oprah has become a high priestess and icon of the psychologization of American society. When she features prominent New Age figures on her television show, she helps to mainstream New Age influences and philosophies among millions of Americans. Her substitution of spirituality for biblical Christianity, her promotion of forgiveness without atonement, and her references to a god "without labels" puts her at the epicenter of a seismic cultural earthquake.

Oprah's newly-packaged positive-thinking spirituality is tailor-made for the empty souls of our postmodern age. She promises meaning without truth, acceptance without judgment, and fulfillment without self-denial. Marcia Z. Nelson is certainly right about one thing--Oprah Winfrey's "congregation" cannot be ignored.

I am hoping to review an e-book on the Oprah Religion phenomenon. It is sufficient to know for now that her spiritual leaders are nothing more than repackaged Gnostics and Buddhists. Consider the danger.

UPDATE: Oprah now declares, "We are God"