There are a couple of You Tube video clips making their
rounds on the Internet that have aroused a lot of
attention lately. I know this because they keep showing
up in my email inbox from readers of this column.
I’ve
seen two versions – both of which reveal celebrity talk
show host, Oprah Winfrey, denying the exclusivity of
Jesus Christ as the only way to God – going so far as to
tell members of her studio audience:
“There couldn’t possibly be just one way.”
The
clip I’d like to focus on,
Oprah Denies Christ
– obviously taken from an
earlier episode of Oprah, shows her challenging a couple
of audience members’ faith in Christ – recalling author
Daniel Quinn and apparently a character from one of
his books – more specifically, a gorilla, as saying:
In
light of the now sacred theory of evolution and all of
the people throughout history she could quote to make
her case, I find it curious that she chose to cite a
simian, as if to suggest primates have a better
understanding of humanity than do homo sapiens.
I
did, however, find it encouraging that two members of
Oprah’s audience spoke up and took exception to her
heretical views. It requires no small degree of faith
and courage to stand up to someone so powerful and
popular, while they are surrounded by adoring fans, and
tell them they’re wrong.
What
surprised me initially was that Harpo Productions had
not edited them out of the prerecorded telecast. But
then, the two ladies really only expressed an opinion,
didn’t they? – A common mistake among Christians today
that is not always viewed as objectionable by the
secular media – especially where the consensus process
is at work and the herd mentality rules.
However, had one of those women
actually quoted Jesus
Christ as having said, “I am they way, the truth and
the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me,”
they could have then asked Oprah, who claims to believe
in Jesus, if He was lying. Unfortunately, it appeared to
have been left as a mere exchange of opinions where
absolute truth dissipated into the murky realm of
feminized chitchat. In that type of superficial
atmosphere, whomever receives the most applause, wins.
That’s consensus.
This
is what happens when we endeavor to share feelings,
speculation and personal experiences instead of God’s
Word. In doing so, we unwittingly reduce it to just
another human opinion – which plays right into the
trained facilitator’s trap.
This
is how biblically illiterate Christians today are
gradually and carefully being led astray from true faith
in Christ – even in their own churches – through their
feelings and opinions – their egos and experiences – by
pragmatism and consensus – always seeking
Results & Relationships – a self-damning religion
that has no absolute truth – no accountability and no
authority figure to answer to for our actions.
What
is the New Age all about?
It
is the Gospel of Me – the divinity of self.
It
is about setting aside the Word of God for everyone’s
“felt needs” – the very thing the church growth movement
and its leaders have been teaching Christians to entice
the lost to church with for years.
Claiming they were schooling us on how to evangelize
more effectively – they were, in reality, teaching us to
set aside the Whole Counsel of God, in all its offence,
and instead lure “seekers” to the great consensus we
call church for processing – to share our feelings,
emotions, appetites, experiences and imaginations with
one another rather than God’s Word – all with a “love”
that is ignorant of and apathetic toward sin and
obedience – requiring nothing of participants but
participation.
It’s
like leading an alcoholic down the aisle on Sunday
morning with a bottle of Jack Daniels and calling it
repentance and faith.
If
you break it all down, the New Age is, at its core, just
spiritual narcissism – cloaked in charity, compassion
and unity.
Remember this next time you see celebrities, authors,
books, movies and commercials promoting The New
Earth – The Secret – The Shift
and The Moses Code.
Do
you see a pattern here?
It’s
about the acquisition of special powers, hidden secrets,
divine knowledge, a deeper understanding and saving the
world from intolerance with good deeds, good friends and
good intentions. How is this different from Harry
Potter?
Training, you see, begins as a child.
So,
where does it all lead?
It
leads to the same place Lucifer was headed when he said,
in all his pride: “I will ascend into heaven, I will
exalt my throne above the stars of God” – that
wicked one who seduced Eve into taking of the forbidden
fruit by telling her: “your eyes shall be opened,
and ye shall be as gods.”
After all – the New Age is about discovering the divine
within oneself, is it not?
In a
nutshell, the New Age and its New Spirituality promises
to help you find God in everyone and everything,
including yourself, with or without Jesus Christ.
But
unfortunately for the millions of misguided viewers and
listeners tuning into Oprah for spiritual guidance,
that’s not what the Bible teaches:
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is
none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved.” – Acts 4:12