The Christ in Prophecy Journal

According to Oprah: Reality


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Back in 2008, Oprah announced that she was going to start offering on her satellite radio program a year-long course entitled A Course in Miracles. What is it all about?

Dr. David Reagan and I recently had the pleasure of asking this question of James Walker, President of the ministry Watchman Fellowship based in Arlington, Texas. James is a former fourth generation Mormon who found the Lord Jesus Christ and since then has dedicated his life in trying to lead people out of the spiritual darkness of the cults. Experts on cults and false religions, his ministry has indexed nearly 1,200 religious organizations, cults, occultic groups, and controversial doctrinal practices to aid people in spiritual discernment.

James Walker

Is life just a dream?

James Walker: A Course in Miracles is a New Age foundational classic going back to the 1960’s actually. It was written by a woman named Helen Schucman who was a psychiatric practitioner. She was a clinical psychiatrist who heard a voice in her head. That voice identified itself as Jesus and said, “This is a course in miracles, please take notes.” And so, over the next few years she received dictated information, which is really channeling. This voice that was telling her “my name is Jesus” had her begin to take notes and from that up comes this book. This method of writing is similar to automatic writing, but it is a form of channeling. From this inner dictation she comes up with a thick book entitled A Course in Miracles. Marianne Williamson later writes a book called A Return to Love which is based on the principles found in A Course in Miracles. Although Helen Schucman died in the early 1980’s, her books has become a classic in New Age circles.

The teaching from Schucman’s spirit calling himself Jesus tells us that everything that we are seeing right now is actually a dream. It’s not here. There is no reality. We are actually sleeping safely in Heaven and all this that we are seeing right now is an illusion. This is another New Age teaching that is borrowed from an Eastern religion called Maya. The idea of Maya is that everything that we see is an illusion, and for many forms of New Age, once you understand that you can change reality by the powers of your mind. You can visualize or say the right words, speak into existence, or think the right thoughts like from the book The Secret, which is another book that Oprah pushes real hard. You can create your own reality. Well, that is all based on the idea that there is no independent, self-identified reality outside what we project from our minds. This is the core teaching found in this year-long course based on Eastern religions that Oprah put out for a whole year on her radio program.

Nathan Jones: Some of the teachings that she made her audience say every day, I just couldn’t believe how anyone could say them and still claim to be a Christian. She’ll say, “A slain Christ has no meaning,” and then the audience all repeats, “A slain Christ has no meaning.” She’ll say, “The journey to the cross should be the last useless journey.” Or how about this heretical statement, “Do not make the pathetic error of clinging to the old rugged cross.” Such blasphemous quotes go on and on like this, constantly attacking the Bible and Jesus’ divinity.

James Walker: Yes, this is not just some innocuous self-help book. This is an antithesis to Christianity. This is the very heart of sin. And again, this idea of Maya which orders you to reject the whole idea of sin, sickness and death, well we find the same teachings in cults like Christian Science. We find the same thing in the Unity School of Christianity. We find the same thing in the Church of Religious Science. All of this is part and parcel of New Age spirituality.

Jesus came to teach us that we are divine?

Nathan Jones: Eric Butterworth in one of his more popular books which Oprah promotes said, “Jesus did not come to teach us how divine he was, but to teach that divinity is within each of us.” That to me sounds like lie from the Garden of Eden, the first temptation.

Dr. Reagan: Oprah said of that statement that if Jesus did claim exclusive divinity, then He was the biggest egotist that ever lived.

James Walker: Yes, it really is always going to come back to Satan’s lies from the Garden of Eden. It’s an attack on the deity of Christ. It always comes back to the Garden of Eden with what the serpent told Eve, “You will not surely die.” This false promise of immortality is apart from the God of the Bible, claiming through reincarnation or whatever means that you are not going to really die.

Secondly, Satan promised your eyes are going to be opened. This is what the New Age calls Enlightenment. Immersed in this enlightened state the third lie comes as the kicker — that you will be as God.

Eric Butterworth was one of the most renowned teachers and philosophers in this area, calling it the Unity School of Christianity, which is a New Age religion. He died I think in 2003 or something like that, but he was one of the biggest teachers of the Unity School of Christianity and this whole idea of the New Age. He was one of Oprah’s mentors and she’s expressed appreciation for what he had to say.

So, what these New Age teachers like Butterworth are going to teach you is that you are God, but you just don’t know it yet. This parallels exactly what happened in the Garden of Eden with the temptation of Eve from the Serpent.

Dr. Reagan: This all reminds me of something that happened to me years ago back in the mid-80’s when I was speaking on cults at a conference in Denton, Texas. I had mentioned that the Unity Church is a cult and I gave some reasons why. Denton is a big college center with a couple of universities there and so lots of college students. After my talk, up came two girls who were incensed at me. They said, “How dare you call the Unity Church a cult! We are members of the Unity Church.” So, I asked, “Does your preacher ever preach from the Bible?” They answered, “Well, not really. They talk about philosophy and so forth. In fact, we got so upset about it that we went to our pastor and asked him to preach a sermon out of the Bible. He did.” One of the girls pulls out an envelope and she has the notes from the sermon on the back. She said, “This is the sermon that he preached last Sunday called ‘Why Jesus Believed in Reincarnation.'” I asked, “Very interesting, did he give any quotes?” She answered, “Oh, yes, he said you cannot go to Heaven unless you are born again.” This is the kind of deception that exists in these New Age teachings.

James Walker: Yes, absolutely. Oprah may be just one of the most visible signs of this transition from the traditional Christian worldview to New Age spirituality, but it is being repeated millions of times across our country. Oprah is its main leader.

Are there many ways to God?

Dr. Reagan: The ultimate apostasy it seems to me that all this leads to is one that she has mouthed herself regarding the question of whether there are many roads to God. Oprah made this comment, “There could not possibly be only one way to God. Does God really care about your heart or whether you call His Son Jesus?”

James Walker: That’s the problem of pluralism. You are always going to find that the false religions are going to say that there are many paths, many roads, many ways to whatever you call God. And, the truth of the matter is that’s a very appealing doctrine. If God came to me and said, “James, how would you like it to be?” Maybe I would vote that way, but God never asked me.

We are as Christ followers bound to go with what Christ Himself said. Jesus made it crystal clear when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life no one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14:6).

On my website at watchman.org, I have the video of Oprah actually saying that there could not possibly be one way to God. She gets all on that. Oprah has a little debate with a woman in the audience who claims Jesus is the only way and is just appalled with her. So, we are not misquoting Oprah. Oprah clearly teaches that there are many paths and many ways to whatever you call God. Go there and watch the video for yourself. You can also download our article “The Gospel According to Oprah” and we document the sources for where we are getting these quotes so you can follow up on the research as well.

The most important thing people can do to avoid being deceived is to be able to understand the Word of God in context, not bits and pieces here and there, to know the truth. The best way to recognize any counterfeit is by knowing the genuine, and the genuine is presented by God through His Word in the Old and New Testaments. That is our best defense in being able to recognize the cults — by knowing the genuine.

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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

13 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • Oprah is about as much a Christian as the Norway terrorist is.

    Dennis Prager (radio talk show host) said today that nearly all the media reports on the Norway terror attacks mention that the man who did the attack is a Christian (which is a lie).

    Yet at the same time, that same media leaves out the religion of the Muslim U.S. soldier planning to attack Fort Hood.

    As a Christian these days I'm always "feeling the hate". What I am about to say next may sound like exaggeration to some but I'm bing honest…

    It's starting to get to the point where, as a Christian, I think I'm beginning to realize, in a way via personal experience, how the Jews in Germany must have felt as the Nazis began to grow in power. I can sense the hatred out there and is makes me a bit nervous that things could escalate. I know it will for sure during the tribulation period, but I'm thinking we Christians may start facing some serious persecution prior to the Rapture. Now, I don't WANT that to happen – I'm not seeking martyrdom. But maybe before the Rapture, Christians may start to suffer real, tangible trials at the hands of Christian haters. (I'm speaking mainly about places like America where this, unitl now, would not have been seriously considered. I'm not talking about other places in the world where this is already happening.)

    Anyone else feeling that?

  • Billy, I think the same. We are going to begin to face real threats…and some probably from so-called friends. It is gonna get bad. But we have the blessed hope! Maranatha!

  • Interesting that on most Prophecy Forums and Ministry sites there is no mention of the current economic crisis here in the "good ole bankrupt U.S.A.". It is like they are slumbering and have no grip on current reality!

  • Oprah said "if Jesus did claim exclusive divinity, then He was the biggest egotist that ever lived."

    That's pretty amusing from someone who probably sits her buns down on a solid gold toilet seat.

  • If I said any of the comments quoted in this article, I would be so condemned in my heart I could not bear it. How sad that someone that was raised as a child to know the Bible can turn so far away from it.

    C~in Salem

  • *IF*…Oprah was saved as a child…then according to the doctrine of ETERNAL SECURITY, and in spite of her denial of Jesus, she remains saved.

    Romans 10:13 for "WHOEVER will call on the Name of The Lord WILL be saved."

    Kept by the Triune God.

    Kept by The Father
    Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
    4. just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before ]Him. In love
    5.He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
    6.In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace…

    Kept by The Son
    1John2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. AND IF ANYONE SINS, we have an ADVOCATE with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

    John6:37 "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out
    38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
    39 "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I LOSE NOTHING, but raise it up on the last day.
    40 "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him WILL have ETERNAL LIFE, and I Myself WILL raise him up on the last day."

    Kept by the Holy Spirit
    Ephesians1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also BELIEVED, you were SEALED in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
    14. who is given as a PLEDGE of our INHERITANCE, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.

    (Sealed in at the very moment of Salvation; very plain in the Greek)

    *IF*… saved, just as Oprah’s many ‘good works’ isn’t evidence she is saved, neither are her ‘bad works’ evidence she is not saved. The Father looks upon the perfect Righteousness of Jesus Christ that He exchanges for our un-righteousness. All her ‘good deeds’, are as ‘filthy rags’ to a Holy God and will be burned at the Bema Seat of Christ as ‘hay, wood and stubble.

    *IF*… Oprah, as a child, with childlike faith, trusted in Jesus to save her from sin, Jesus would have accepted her into His Body, given her a new born human spirit, filled her with The Holy Spirit …around 40 to 50 things at least, would have happened to her as a direct result of putting her faith in Jesus.

    Cont.

  • Cont.

    *IF*…Oprah WAS, saved, then she remains saved. Her denial of Christ, the Bridegroom, is to be un-faithful to him, an act of betrayal akin to the ‘adultery’ of Israel to her Husband Jehovah. They are separated, divorced even… has God forsaken Israel because of it…? God forbid! How can Christ dismember His Body and ‘cut out’ a sinner He has given Eternal Life to?

    *IF*…Oprah is saved. Then who can judge her rebellion against Christ?

    Romans 8:33-34 Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also INTERCEDES for us.

    As Jesus ever lives to make intercession for the saints – and the Father always hears His Son; could He fail in this ministry?

    Romans8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

    *IF*…Oprah was saved as a child? Then there is an inheritance of God laid up for her in heaven which is His free gift of Salvation given with only one condition, and that to believe in His Son to save – whatever!

    However! Unless she overcomes and repents before her physical death, or the Rapture; to confesses her sins for cleansing to restore fellowship with The Father…

    1John1:9 IF we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

    Then she will lose out on the inheritance of Christ given as a reward at the Bema for applying God’s Word in her life and dying to self. While all sin is paid for, the consequences are that she cannot be a joint-heir with Christ during His Millennial rule.

    (No I do not support Nancy Missler’s theory) :

    Maranatha!
    Sue

  • Part of being saved is accepting that Jesus is the Son of God and only Savior (Jn. 3:16; 14:6; Rom. 10:9-10) – something Oprah denies. By her own admission then, she doesn't have even the basic knowledge that demons have concerning God and so be saved.

    If Oprah was saved as a kid, then as a child of God He would go after the lost sheep (Matt. 18:12-13). We're still waiting for that to happen.

    "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." – Hebrews 11:6

  • Hello Nathan

    Yes indeed; and all your verses are open to the ‘possibility’ Oprah could have been saved from a child, who understood as a child, that He ‘existed’.
    Of such is the kingdom of God.

    Certainly the adult Oprah is horribly deceived and deceiving others in turn. God’s Omniscience took this into account when building His ‘Tower’ of Salvation –not so much as half a brick short. To cover ALL sin; He paid the full price.

    I am not trying to insist that she IS saved – just that from the character of God and His Word, there is no reason why not.

    Heb 11:6 Salvation comes by God’s Grace through a single act of faith and sealed into the double fisted grip of the Father and Son by The Holy Spirit. Until we are saved through faith there is no way to please God.

    Those who diligently seek Him in His Word, will be rewarded with blessings in life and at the Bema after. Those who don’t – won’t. Smokin’ – but safe.

    The ‘lost sheep’ being found is still a possibility, as with the Prodigal son, there is no time limit indicted. How long it takes has no meaning in the light of Eternity. The woman who lost the coin kept sweeping until she found it. The Good Shepherd will keep seeking until the sheep is found.

    Thank you for allowing me a ‘voice’.
    God bless you dear bro.
    Sue
    x

  • Hello Billy
    *IF* Oprah was never saved, then her unbelief is certainly sending her to hell… until she is dead, or the Rapture occurs while in a state of unbelief; then she will send herself to hell by not believing in Christ as His atonement paid for ALL the sin in the world.

    As she had an early Biblical upbringing, we cannot be certain that at one moment in time she did accept Jesus to save her from sin as a child,and receive Eternal Life, like I did.

    I wasn't always this perfect, don't ya know 😉

  • Hello Billy

    It’s thanks to your challenges that I am forced back into prayerful study. That isn’t an understatement; without you I would become stale and forgetful. While I understand it is best to back off and agree to differ in a fellowship; without the stimulus you give me I remain on my own with no purpose – and you are so forthright, I really like that.

    Looking at 1Cor.6:1-11 again with a fine toothcomb; it has been thrilling – truly, no flannel. I had a great week-end with The Lord as a result. I’m not going to push it, but genuinely thought you would find the following interesting? The word ‘un-righteous’ doesn’t equal ‘un-believer’, its there to see in the English, but the Greek grammar makes it really plain. An unbeliever cannot ever be ‘righteous’; only a believer has the option to be ‘righteous’ by abiding in Christ in the new nature, or to behave ‘un-righteously’ by choosing the ‘old nature’ of ‘self’ instead. The majority of Corinthians were behaving this way. Some, a few of them, had been vile out of Christ, but these few were washed and clean by Salvation and choosing to keep it that way. Their brethren were instead behaving just like the unsaved.

    ‘Inheriting’ the kingdom does not equal ‘entering’ the kingdom. There is God’s inheritance for ALL believers which is salvation/ justification – a ‘gift’. Then there is Christ’s inheritance/sanctification – a ‘reward’ for those who ‘suffer’ with Christ which the ‘gold, silver and precious stones’ which is by ‘sanctification’. These are works we are to do in Christ. The way the English is punctuated, it makes heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, the same thing. But they are separate and not synonymous terms.

    Cont.

  • Cont.

    To understand what a difference punctuation can make (there was none in the original Hebrew and Greek) I found this example useful. Punctuate the following. A woman without her man is nothing.

    A woman may punctuate this as “A woman, without her, man is nothing”.

    A man may punctuate this as “A woman, without her man, is nothing”

    Where the commas are placed totally changes the sense.

    N.K.J. Romans 8:17 ‘and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him’

    The N.K.J. translators have added an Em dash in the punctuation. The NAS has heirs of God, with ‘joint heirs of Christ’ set off by comma’s which makes it seem as if heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ are synonymous terms. Some Theologians say that one of the things we all share with Christ is ‘heir-ship’ from the second we are saved. This view gives the wrong idea about ‘inheritance’ which is based on faulty punctuation.

    ‘Joint heirs’ is followed by a condition – ‘IF indeed we SUFFER with Him. R.C. would have us believe we have to suffer for our salvation; but Salvation is based on FAITH alone through Christ alone; it is a free gift and NOT based on suffering. This suffering is an addition …

    The punctuation should be translated thusly – ‘IF children then heirs heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ IF indeed we suffer with Him. The comma comes after ‘God’.

    NKJ “…and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

    Correct “…and if children then heirs heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ IF indeed we suffer with Him,…”

    1Peter1:7 is just one example to show that we will suffer if we follow God’s word obediently: “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

    It also refers to the fire at the Bema seat of Christ; that will burn up our works done in the flesh of ‘hay, wood and stubble’. Only ‘gold, silver and precious stones’ which are a result of the furnace of affliction as a result of not only reading or listening to God’s Word, but applying it and really ‘hearing’ The Word and acting on it obediently. ALL believers inherit as heirs of God – salvation; not all are to be ‘heirs with Christ’ – rewards.

    That’s as short as I could be to ‘state my case’; so I shall stop now and say God bless you Billy, and thank you for not being a ‘yes man’, your challenges have really blessed me. I am not expecting you to agree with me, but at least you now know where I am coming from.

    God bless you my dear brother.
    Sue
    x

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