More on Oprah
From my brothers and sisters in the Lord at Lighthouse Trails
Oprah: A Significant Platform for the New Age Movement
Oprah's current promotion of the DVD, The Secret, is not the only time she has promoted an author who turns to spirit guides for spiritual direction. Gary Zukav's book, The Seat of the Soul, has been one of her favorites for some time. But in Zukav's book, he talks about the non-physical guides he uses. These non-physical guides are referred to in the Bible as demons. Ray Yungen elaborates on Oprah's fascination with such spirituality:
Without question, the most influential practical mystic today is talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Her predominantly female audience, numbering in the tens of millions, looks to her as the source of spiritual inspiration-even more so than church, in many cases. I realize speaking critically of someone as warm and caring as Oprah might stir angry emotions in many of her viewers. Nonetheless, please keep in mind that with Oprah, as with the others I have written about, her obvious good qualities are not the issue here. While I might admire Oprah as a person, I am gravely concerned about what she promotes. Somewhere during her career, Oprah read a book titled Discover The Power Within You by Unity minister Eric Butterworth [another on her favorites list]. In line with Unity teaching, the book expounded on the Divinity of Man as perceived through mystical practice. Oprah embraced these views so earnestly that she advocated:
This book changed my perspective on life and religion. Eric Butterworth teaches that God isn't "up there." He exists inside each one of us, and it's up to us to seek the divine within. 1 Her talk show has launched many New Age authors into national super-stardom--authors such as Marianne Williamson [A Course in Miracles], Sarah Ban Breathnach, Iyanla Vanzant, and Cheryl Richardson.One such author propelled into prominence by Oprah, with regard to New Age teaching, is Gary Zukav. Zukav became a regular guest on the Oprah show following his first appearance in October of 1998. Afterwards, his book titled The Seat of the Soul became a constant fixture at the top of the New York Times bestseller list for an astounding two years! The Seat of the Soul, pure and simple, is a spiritual primer or manual for New Age thought. It has gained such popularity even though it lacks the elements that have traditionally attracted a wide readership (i.e., novels, biography, scandal, health, etc.). The book's basic message is, "Dwell in the company of your nonphysical Teachers and guides [spirit guides]."2 The Seat of the Soul has struck a resonant chord with an enormous number of people. The notion of nonphysical guides and teachers is now considered perfectly acceptable by a vast number in the reading public. When such a book is embraced by so many for so long it means the New Age is already here. Clearly, our society is not heading toward the cliff concerning New Age spirituality--we are already over it! Oprah's 2005 book, Live Your Best Life, highlights various areas of her philosophies. In the chapter on spirituality there is a story about Spiritual Energy. In it, there is a positive reference to a Reiki master who supports Oprah's view that "we [humanity] are all interrelated."3 This underlies Winfrey's spirituality, that ALL IS ONE. Despite her charming personal manner, there is little doubt her viewers and readers are still being fed a consistent diet of New Age spirituality. (Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing, 2nd ed., pp. 102-104) Now with Oprah's open zeal about The Secret, New Age philosophy (which so contradicts the gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ alone) will be further propelled into the lives of millions of Oprah viewers. Oprah Winfrey is what would be referred to as an Alice Bailey or New Age Christian. In actuality, such a term is an oxymoron and does not really exist, but as we move closer and closer to the day of the Lord, such deception is becoming more the norm rather than the exception. And now, with the current contemplative prayer movement (New Age in disguise) that has overtaken so much of Christendom, Alice Bailey (who coined the term New Age) may very well be right when she predicted that a new world order of enlightenment would come through the Christian church!
Oprah: A Significant Platform for the New Age Movement
Oprah's current promotion of the DVD, The Secret, is not the only time she has promoted an author who turns to spirit guides for spiritual direction. Gary Zukav's book, The Seat of the Soul, has been one of her favorites for some time. But in Zukav's book, he talks about the non-physical guides he uses. These non-physical guides are referred to in the Bible as demons. Ray Yungen elaborates on Oprah's fascination with such spirituality:
Without question, the most influential practical mystic today is talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Her predominantly female audience, numbering in the tens of millions, looks to her as the source of spiritual inspiration-even more so than church, in many cases. I realize speaking critically of someone as warm and caring as Oprah might stir angry emotions in many of her viewers. Nonetheless, please keep in mind that with Oprah, as with the others I have written about, her obvious good qualities are not the issue here. While I might admire Oprah as a person, I am gravely concerned about what she promotes. Somewhere during her career, Oprah read a book titled Discover The Power Within You by Unity minister Eric Butterworth [another on her favorites list]. In line with Unity teaching, the book expounded on the Divinity of Man as perceived through mystical practice. Oprah embraced these views so earnestly that she advocated:
This book changed my perspective on life and religion. Eric Butterworth teaches that God isn't "up there." He exists inside each one of us, and it's up to us to seek the divine within. 1 Her talk show has launched many New Age authors into national super-stardom--authors such as Marianne Williamson [A Course in Miracles], Sarah Ban Breathnach, Iyanla Vanzant, and Cheryl Richardson.One such author propelled into prominence by Oprah, with regard to New Age teaching, is Gary Zukav. Zukav became a regular guest on the Oprah show following his first appearance in October of 1998. Afterwards, his book titled The Seat of the Soul became a constant fixture at the top of the New York Times bestseller list for an astounding two years! The Seat of the Soul, pure and simple, is a spiritual primer or manual for New Age thought. It has gained such popularity even though it lacks the elements that have traditionally attracted a wide readership (i.e., novels, biography, scandal, health, etc.). The book's basic message is, "Dwell in the company of your nonphysical Teachers and guides [spirit guides]."2 The Seat of the Soul has struck a resonant chord with an enormous number of people. The notion of nonphysical guides and teachers is now considered perfectly acceptable by a vast number in the reading public. When such a book is embraced by so many for so long it means the New Age is already here. Clearly, our society is not heading toward the cliff concerning New Age spirituality--we are already over it! Oprah's 2005 book, Live Your Best Life, highlights various areas of her philosophies. In the chapter on spirituality there is a story about Spiritual Energy. In it, there is a positive reference to a Reiki master who supports Oprah's view that "we [humanity] are all interrelated."3 This underlies Winfrey's spirituality, that ALL IS ONE. Despite her charming personal manner, there is little doubt her viewers and readers are still being fed a consistent diet of New Age spirituality. (Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing, 2nd ed., pp. 102-104) Now with Oprah's open zeal about The Secret, New Age philosophy (which so contradicts the gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ alone) will be further propelled into the lives of millions of Oprah viewers. Oprah Winfrey is what would be referred to as an Alice Bailey or New Age Christian. In actuality, such a term is an oxymoron and does not really exist, but as we move closer and closer to the day of the Lord, such deception is becoming more the norm rather than the exception. And now, with the current contemplative prayer movement (New Age in disguise) that has overtaken so much of Christendom, Alice Bailey (who coined the term New Age) may very well be right when she predicted that a new world order of enlightenment would come through the Christian church!
posted by Tim Wirth | 10:55 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home