The American Idol is. . .Oprah!
February 16, 2009 by Standing on Truth
Filed under Culture
Something in our human nature longs for someone to look up to. Kids write book reports on their heros. Adults buy gadgets, books, or apparel from athletes, movie stars, or other famous people simply because they sponsor or endorse a product.
Oprah is everywhere. . .magazine covers, tabloids, discussion groups, book clubs, and even cable news websites. CNN has a link to Oprah’s website on their front page. MSNBC has a sponsor link called “Oprah’s Flat Stomach Rule.” Type in “Oprah” for a Google search and it will yield 22 million hits.
She has made big names of Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Eckhert Tolle, and made barely known authors hundreds of thousands of dollars simply by having them as a part of her Book Club. Some even say that she, at least moderately, influenced the presidential election this past November, all because she threw her name (and money) behind Barack Obama.
Is this too much power for one human to have? She has “experts” on everything and an opinion on it all as well. Shouldn’t we know the worldview from which she operates before we blindly follow her? We are idolizing another person to the point that we buy what she buys, wear what she wears, eat what she eats, read what she reads, and now, the most dangerous part, we are worshipping what she worships.
Do we really know what we are doing, and who we are following? Shouldn’t we compare everything we allow into our minds and hearts to what God’s Word says and see if it matches, and when it doesn’t, stay far away from it? Much of what Oprah teaches from her stage is steeped heavily in the New Age Movement.
Oprah frequently uses words like “force” to describe God and has shows that help the viewer connect to their higher or awakened self. Her guests have included authors such as Eckhart Tolle and Marianne Williamson, both of whom teach philosophies in stark contrast to biblical truth; her show teaching the principles behind “The Secret” (law of attraction) last year was one of her most popular; and probably the most clear evidence that Oprah is misled is found in this You Tube video taken at one of her shows. In this clip, she denies that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. “Jesus can’t be the only way!” she says, but just as an audience member points out, just because Oprah says He can’t be the only way, doesn’t mean He isn’t.
2 Peter 2:1 “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.”
The sad truth is that many, many Americans, looking for truth and purpose and something (or someone) to believe in, are believing her. Let’s be careful out there. Let’s protect our minds from falsehood and be on guard against being deceived in a way that brings “swift destruction.”
(For further reading on Oprah’s religious beliefs and philosophies, go to www.watchman.org and read “The Gospel According to Oprah” or check out Erwin Lutzer’s book, Oprah, Miracles, and the New Earth: A Critique)
