A Course in Miracles
Gettin’ your groove on and makin’ yo “Va-jay-jay” smile with Oprah…
I’d be willing to bet Oprah’s Jesus laughs a lot, like the picture above, and he is rich too. Anyone who watches Oprah, a woman I find likable BTW, knows she is big into New Age religious concepts, freedom of choice for women - from self-cultivation to killing their unborn children - just don’t mutilate the “Va-jay-jay” by female circumcision. Spirituality, philosophy, life, is all about fulfilling the self with Oprah. That is not to deny she does much good with her charities and kindnesses to strangers, not to mention the political career of elitist presidential candidate, Barack Obama.
The point is, Oprah does a lot of good, she also promotes some crazy New Age religious ideas, along with her women’s sexuality courses her shows sometimes become. I’ve come across a couple of blogs that pretty much rip Oprah to shreds because of her New Age spirituality, as well as her continual self-promotion through her magazine, and the financial power she wields. One blogspot suggested she could be the anti-Christ. (Which is what I think made Jesus laugh in the picture above.)
False doctrine in your own neighborhood.
Bigger news is that she is corrupting America with her new series based upon “A Course In Miracles” - the popular pop-psyche/New Age/cult spirituality thing that has been around for years. (I remember reading that a Trappist monk I knew was using Marianne Williamson’s books and loved the spirituality he found there - that and Centering Prayer turned me off to Trappists ever since.)
Anyway - I’ve gotten emails about this, bloggers and Christian websites have written about it, that Oprah is doing this ant-Christian spirituality series on her radio show. A friend contacted Snopes to see what they knew about it. They responded that essentially Oprah’s promotion of the “Course” is really a personal thing on her part and that the ACIM program has been a best seller for a long time; some people like it, some don’t, - although people are free to not listen to the program.
I think Christians, especially Catholics, have more important things to worry about than a television personality’s accommodation of New Age Christianity. Catholics ought to be far more alarmed by dissident parishes teaching erroneous doctrine, invalid baptisms, the secularization of Catholic education, and - oh boy - bishops and priests and women religious who teach the same crap as Oprah. How stupid are we, anyway?
To read the Snopes piece, go here.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
I can attest to being pretty stupid “back in the day” when I (unaware of it at the time, of course) sucked up all there was about self-fulfillment, feeling good, actualization, etc. It all starts when you start being accommodating to others - with good intentions (love your neighbor, right?) - and being tolerant of this & that so as not to judge (judge not, right?), but you *may* end up buying too much into the culture-at-large and sacrificing not only your ideals, but your integrity, virtue, and your faith. That’s what happened to me. Until one day I got knocked upside the head with a 2×4 (read: addiction, hitting rock bottom) and got on my knees & started praying and honoring God again to help/save me. Now I’m hyper-vigilant about what I read, view, discuss … you name it. Yes, we can be pretty stupid as my personal experience attests. And it can all start with seemingly innocuous stuff. Of course evil will not show its real face. It appears as light, so as to deceive. I agree with you that Oprah is likeable, and I HOPE she’s not the anti-Christ. How would we really know? All we can do is pray for her and all the dissidents, along with and for each other who try to remain faithful to Mother Church. Forget Oprah. I’m staying close to the Sacraments.
March 6th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
I also wonder what Stedman thinks about this …
March 6th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Oprah blows.
Anyway, this is for you…
http://thecrescat.blogspot.com/2008/03/not-to-everyones-liki ng.html
March 6th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Did you read Fr. Groeschel’s book, “The Still, Small Voice”? He discusses “A Course in Miracles” in it. He knew one of the founders of the movement; wrote about the effects of it on her life over time. Frightening.
March 6th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I can remember when Oprah was just a reporter for a local TV news channel here in Baltimore. She had big hair and an attitude even then.
March 6th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I
Am
Sick
of
Oprah.
I just covered this New Age quackery of hers. I need time to convalesce.
March 6th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Tom - I completely forgot you did a piece on her too!
March 6th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
I don’t think Oprah is the anti-Christ. I think that title belongs to Obama.
Other things I believe:
That Obama is not Muslim…nor is he Christian (given his recent statement about the Sermon on the Mount…case in point.) I think Obama and Oprah are perfectly suited for each other.
But I digress…
A Course in Miracles is bunk, and if there was a “spirit” it sure wasn’t Jesus!
Most people who hear voices are put on medication. Unless they have some kind of New Age advice, then they are put on TV.
March 6th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
“Most people who hear voices are put on medication. Unless they have some kind of New Age advice, then they are put on TV.”
Julie! That is quotable!
March 6th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
I bet Oprah and Obama gave each other that book “The Secret” for Christmas.
My step-daughter read it and asked if I’d like to borrow it. I said “thanks but I’ll stick to my bible.”
We had a patient a few days ago who told me that the author willed her eyesight to improve to the point that she didn’t need glasses anymore. Yeah, ok….
March 6th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Julie, I agree with Terry,
“Most people who hear voices are put on medication. Unless they have some kind of New Age advice, then they are put on TV.”
very quotable!
Oprah is just always looking for new subjects to “sell” her show–just another money maker–but, if she truly believes in Jesus, making money while twisting His truths–I don’t think Jesus is going to be very happy with her for leading people into grave error.
March 6th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I dabbled a lot in the New Age in the 70s. But someone, and it has to have been my guardian angel, kept me from going all the way.
I took a couple of yoga/meditation courses at the Center on NE University, but my “mantra” always ended up being “Jesus” or something else that was very Christian.
I kept running across “The Course in Miracles” and “Urantia” in the bookstores, but I never purchased them. I did read “Dianetics”, the bible of Scientology.
I did purchase books on Tibetan and other religious beliefs, but I also became interested in St Therese of Lisieux, John of the Cross, “The Imitation of Christ”, “The Way of a Pilgrim”, the Philokalia (early Eastern Orthodox writings) and other Christian subjects in addition to books on Merton, Centering Prayer and other less Christian things.
Thank you Guardian Angel! (I should give him a name). I’m back in the Roman Catholic Church and that’s exactly where I want to be. But I couldn’t have done it without your help.
March 7th, 2008 at 8:00 am
That “laughing Jesus” picture is VERY creepy! It makes poor Jesus look like an insane cult leader–and the people in the background look like extras from “Night of the Living Dead”. Just. No.
March 7th, 2008 at 8:06 am
Ray,
I’m glad your Guardian Angel was so persistant with you!
March 7th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Georgette - this is the least creepiest laughing jesus I could find - all I can think of is the scripture:
“The fool lifts up his head in laughter.”
March 8th, 2008 at 4:48 am
Terr–
I did a google image search and I see what you mean! Man, some REALLY scary images!!!
There were a couple of sweet ones of Jesus laughing where he looks more natural (without that cult-leader gleam in the eye!).
http://www.fbcvr.org/images/library/jesus_laughing_3.jpg
I like that one–the context of his laughing actually makes sense since laughter and children just naturally go together, as in this one, too:
http://www.stagnesscottsbluff.com/images/web%20art/Jesus%20L aughing/Jesus06.JPG
And, how about this one — rather funny in a weird, psychedelic Disney-fied sort of way: http://sporkinthedrawer.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/bud dyjesus41418.jpg
March 8th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I LMAO at Georgette’s comment becuase I thought the same thing right after I said: well, at least Jesus has sand in his hair so that’s pretty authentic. LOL!
Oprah/Obama, Obama/Oprah-remember David Letterman’s Uma/Oprah thing for the Oscars a few years ago?
Seriously, you are right that Catholics have more to worry about in our own house than what Oprah says. However, Oprah wields tremendous influence in society-like it or not-I think that is why some people are concerned. Pop culture has more sway than Jesus. It’s sad.
March 8th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
A Course in Miracles is absolutely satanic. It was written in the ’60s by a med school professor who claimed that it was dictated by Jesus Christ. Its content ranges from the utterly nonsensical to the blatantly anti-Scriptural. It may well have been dictated, but not by Jesus Christ.
March 9th, 2008 at 6:12 am
I think that laughing Jesus is laughing both because he is not Jesus, but the evil spirit that wrote “A course in miracles” and all the creepy people behind him are Stepford wives ready to jump on a spaceship.