OPRAH ON NEW AGE CRUSADE

A few months ago I received an email reporting that Oprah Winfrey was about to engage in a year long endeavor in a NEW AGE course called A COURSE IN MIRACLES. It seems that XM Satellite Radio reporter, Marianne Williamson, was going to be taking listeners of the Oprah and Friends radio program through this course in a one year study beginning January 1, 2008.


According to a Word Press blog entitled Simplicity in Christ "on 11/09/07 Herescope posted an article by former New Age follower Warren Smith entitled Oprah and Friends to Teach Course on New Age Christ. In that article Smith presented significant concerns about Oprah & Friends teaching this New Age Course in Miracles. Many years ago he was a devoted student of A Course in Miracles and he discovered that the teachings of the Course - supposedly “new revelation” channeled from “Jesus” - were diametrically opposed to the teachings of the true Jesus Christ of the Bible. He came to understand that the “Jesus” of A Course in Miracles was one of the false christs that the real Jesus warned His followers to watch out for:

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (Matthew 24:3-5)"

In addition, Oprah has also given great credence to the new age book THE SECRET**, by Rhonda Byrne. Again, quoting from the aforementioned blog:

Rhonda Byrne, the author of The Secret, is a disciple of a couple named Jerry and Esther Hicks. In the Acknowledgements of The Secret, Byrne thanked the Hicks and the teachings of Abraham. Abraham is a group of spirit guides that Esther Hicks channels for guidance on spiritual issues…
The Secret is pure undisguised metaphysics and is the total manifestation of what the apostle Paul describes as seducing spirits (Abraham) and doctrines of devils (The Secret)…
The premise of this is that we all have a divine essence within us [the Word/Faith god-man, ed.], and we just need to get in touch with it. In other words, as panentheists teach, God is in all of creation, including all human beings, and once a person becomes aware of this, there are no limits to what he can achieve.


In the following video, Oprah says that she sang the song “I Surrender All”. Her surrender to the “savior”, part of The Secret, was what propelled her into starring in the movie “The Color Purple”. The “savior” Oprah is referring to is not Jesus Christ. She does not believe that Jesus is the Way to God — The Secret is what works for her.





“The Secret” is rooted in the biggest lie “you shall be as gods”, uttered by satan himself in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:5). Seducing spirits, lovers of self, doctrines of demons, winds of doctrine - all those are described in the Bible as a portend of the last days, the days before Jesus’ imminent return. Be aware of the times as Jesus admonished in Mark 13 - watch and pray.

New Age was very popular during the 70's and 80's and then you didn't hear much about it for a while. But it is making a comeback and being more readily accepted and embraced than ever before. It is crucial that as believers we be aware of this false doctrine, especially when popular talk show hosts and other celebrities such as Oprah are making it sound so believable to those who are unaware of its dangers. I used to teach a lot about the New Age when it went around the first time. The scary thing about it was that it was not something you could tie up in a neat little package and say THIS is New Age. It comes in many different forms and many different packages. It is a lie from pit of Hell and many are being deceived. As believers we must know that TRUTH so that we will not be misled and so we can help those...such as our children, our grandchildren, our friends, our co-workers....who may be easily led astray.

**Dr. Henry Cloud, co-author of the renowned Boundaries series, has written a Christian alternative to this book, entitled The Secret Things of God: Unlocking the Treasures Reserved for You, Howard Books/2007.