For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

— II Timothy 4:3-4



Every single day of the week, 22 million of Oprah Winfrey’s TV followers tune in for inspiration and enlightenment.

In other words, Winfrey has taken on the role of the spiritual and moral leader for many in our nation. Some actually call her “the Billy Graham of the new millennium.”

How, you ask? For the first time in our national history, almost half of our national population has no affiliation with a church.

Enter Winfrey. Chris Altrock, minister of Highland Street Church of Christ in Memphis, who has written several articles on the spiritual rise of Oprah, says her ascent is anchored in the lack of religion for many Americans — even though 83 percent still say they are Christians.

“Our culture is changing, as churches are in decline and the bulk of a new generation is growing up outside of religion. People who have no religion relate to her,” Nelson said.

So what’s wrong with Oprah filling that void, her followers will ask? To me, the problem is where she may be leading.

Examine these, Oprah Winfrey’s words on:

God: “What I know is that God … nature … the Spirit … the universe … whatever title you wish to give him — or her — is always trying to help each one of us to be the best and do the best we can. Because I am so connected to the bigger picture of what God is, I realize I'm just a particle in the God chain. I see God as an ocean, and I'm a cup of water from that ocean.”

Jesus: “If what we are taught in orthodox religion — I mean I was raised a Baptist — if, in fact what we are taught when you go to church and you adore Jesus and praise Jesus ... means Jesus would have been the biggest egotist that ever lived, if that was his purpose in coming to the world to have people adore him and worship him and carry on about him as people do. One of the most important books I have ever read is Eri Butterworth's ‘Discover the Power Within You.’ In it he said: ‘Jesus did not come to teach us how divine he was, but to teach us that there is divinity within us.”

Salvation: “Does God care about your heart, or just whether you called his son Jesus?”

The Bible: “As I read more of Shirley MacLaine — about the crystals — what she says … it seems to me to say what the Bible has said for years. It’s just that many of us were brought up with a more restricted, limited vision of what the Bible said and meant.”

In my opinion, anyone putting more faith in Shirley MacLaine than the prophets should be placed under the most intense scrutiny — if not in the nearest mental health facility.

Now, read an excerpt from a book Oprah is endorsing as “the new light” in regard to God:

“Don't get attached to any one word. You can substitute 'Christ' for presence, if that is more meaningful to you. Christ is your God-essence or Self, as it is sometimes called in the East. The only difference between Christ and presence is that Christ refers to your indwelling divinity regardless of whether you are conscious of it or not, whereas presence means your awakened divinity or God-essence. YOU are God.”

Americans absolutely love celebrities. We idolize them — and because of the woeful lack of substance in our own lives, we raise them up to near God-like proportions.

Sadly, an unbelievable number of Americans simply have no anchor, no foundation in their lives to be a rudder in regard to the direction they follow. You combine star power with a message — any message — and you have the recipe for a powerful spiritual aphrodisiac.

People should be leery of anyone who calls as much attention to themselves as this woman. She has two magazines — each simply to explore what she likes and dislikes. Every time she acts in a spirit of charity, the cameras are there, rolling (see her show about giving money away).

“But she gave away 276 brand new cars to her audience members!” her defenders squeal at such criticism, ignoring the fact that Oprah didn’t pay for those cars — they were given away by General Motors through her as a commercial gimmick to promote a new car line.

Again, the spirit of “love” — according to Oprah (and the GM PR department).

It is my opinion that our Christian foundation as a nation has been the backbone of what has made ours the greatest nation in the history of mankind. We welcome all — but under the Christian pretenses held dear by our founding fathers.

Our character as a nation is under attack, for as more religions from afar dilute our character, too many question their faith in what they know to be right. And that is when we become vulnerable — as we are today.

On a recent show with new age panel Betty Eadie, Sophy Burnham and Dannion Brinkley, Oprah positively alluded to the book Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, stating in summary, “... one of the biggest mistakes humans make is to believe that there is only one way. Actually, there are many diverse paths leading to what you call ‘God.’”

When corrected by a Christian in the audience that Jesus said He was the only way, the panel lost its composure, coming unglued. Oprah reacted almost angrily, "There couldn't possibly be only one way ..."

You know, God already has a pretty popular book Himself. It might do Oprah well to read it.