Oprah and Jesus. The new age spiritual church?
Since I first wrote this article the frenzy surrounding Eckhart Tolle has died down; but new spiritual fads are always appearing. The latest thing has been the Mayan Calendar and talk of the world's end in 2012. Jesus warned that false prophets would come to deceive:
"For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time."
Within the church, Harold Camping is telling people the world will end on May 21st, 2011 even though Jesus said that, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36)
Jesus warned us ahead of time that people would be claiming to know this stuff. He's let us know that we shouldn't be taken in by it, even if we see signs and miracles that look very impressive.
The following article was written about Eckhart Tolle and Oprah's quest to know and share "spiritual truth", but it applies to the many variations of spiritual teachings that are so popular right now...
Many people in their desire to find God and the meaning of life have left traditional settings, and have sought out alternative paths to truth. A recent example of this is the teachings of Eckhart Tolle in his book, "The New Earth" made popular by Oprah.
I wanted to devote a page to spiritual seekers; those who are looking for God, the meaning of life, and things eternal. Maybe you've tuned into Oprah's show or watched her "New Earth" classes on the internet. Maybe you've read books by New Age authors such as Sylvia Browne, or learned about, "A Course in Miracles" from Marianne Williamson. Perhaps you're interested in "near death" experiences and the stories of those who claim to see a bright light. Maybe you've had your palm read, or gone to a psychic.
Well, I understand that search. I embraced all sorts of spiritual things in an all out quest for that "something more" that we all know is out there. I tried church, self help books, astrology, numerology, psychics, and even astral projection! The last place I thought I'd find the answer was Jesus. To me He was just about religion and rituals, and it all seemed rather boring. I was looking for life! Imagine my surprise then, when I found out that Jesus was what I was longing for the whole time, but I just didn't know it.
If you've looked around my site at all, read the words to my song, "Nice Little Church", or glanced at "my story" you already know that I see a big difference between having religion and having a relationship with Jesus.
It's not about being religious
What changed my life was when I realized that Jesus was right there wanting to have a relationship with me. It wasn't about "being religious" after all. It was deeply personal. And so began my eye opening journey to knowing Jesus personally. It literally was the best thing that ever happened to me, and continues to this day.
So, I'm thinking you're probably with me so far. I'm saying things that resonate! You're not looking for religion, you want something "real"... you want a relationship with the living God! But what happens if I mention "sin"? Are you still with me, or did that turn you off? It would have turned me off when I was seeking! In fact, it did turn me off. The idea of sin sounds so "churchy" and religious! But here's the thing; I had to come to Jesus on His terms, not mine. If I was searching for the truth, then I had to be willing to find out what Jesus said about things. And what was one of the first things He spoke to me about? My astrology! Who would think He would care about that?
Does God care about astrology?
You see, my brother was home one summer and he told me astrology was something God didn't want me doing. I thought, "Who are you to tell me that?" My brother was a Pastor, and in my mind it was, "Here we go, now I gotta hear this stuff." So I wasn't exactly open to hear what he had to say. The thing is, God was reaching down to me and I was getting the feeling that it wasn't just my brother trying to tell me something; God had something to tell me too.
You can read my whole story here, but let's just say I didn't meet Jesus in a church. It all began in my bedroom one day as I opened a bible and randomly looked at a verse. I couldn't believe what I was reading; God hated the practice of astrology! I couldn't believe that was in the bible. I didn't see any problem with astrology, but there it was, as plain as day in the bible. God said it was wrong. Could that really be the case? For the first time in my life I really stopped to ask myself, "Am I wrong about this?"
I couldn't ignore what I was reading. I came to the point where I had to make a decision. It was either "keep doing it" or "stop now". I got the strong feeling God was telling me the answer was to "stop now".
And I did. I admitted to God I was wrong about it, and so I stopped doing it, and began to seek God for truth. I had no clue at the time, but that's what the bible calls "repentance".
Here's where I might lose some of you, but I hope you'll stick with me to hear me out. I'm only telling you the truth of what happened to me, and I honestly believe if you're seeking, you should know about this.
I began to see that day, that if God is really God, He has the final say about everything, otherwise He's not really God is He? And if He has things to say about astrology and stuff like that, He may also have things to say about Himself. He didn't want me walking blind, making Him up in my own mind as I went along.
Taking God as He is
What I came to realize is that even though Jesus isn't all about the manmade religious stuff that I so often see in churches; He also isn't about most of the so called spiritual mysteries that so many people write books about and claim special knowledge of. If I want to know who God is, and I really want to follow Jesus, I need to see what He has to say about Himself. I can't just make Him out to be what I want Him to be. It's not enough for me to think of Him as I imagine Him, I need to take Him as He is. And that's what I did that summer. I took Jesus as He is, and put away my own ideas about Him.
Someone told me recently, "I like to think of God as..." But what if what we like to think of Him as, isn't really who He is? That's what I hear Oprah saying when she talks about spiritual things; she has her own ideas of who He is and what He's like. I honestly think she has good intentions, (so please understand what I'm saying), but is it enough to just have our own idea of who God is? It would be like me telling Oprah that I'm a 47 year old male with short hair, and then she went on TV and told everybody I'm a 28 year old female with thick long dreadlocks! Okay, that's you inventing me in your own imagination, because what you just said about me isn't even close to being true! And that's what people do with God. He tells us who He is in the bible, and we turn around and say He's something completely opposite!
That's what I used to do with God. I had my own ideas about Him. I never stopped to ask myself, "Is this what He's really like?"
So someone might listen to my song, "Nice Little Church" and say, "Right on! I don't need this religious junk. I'm bored with it all." Well, so am I! But it doesn't change the fact that if I say I believe in Jesus I have to take Him as He is. I can't just make up my own version of Him. My goal is to be a seeker of the truth. That means I'm going to avoid the churches that have gone off track and are no longer teaching the truth. It also means I will stay clear of authors, TV shows and radio personalities who come to teach me spiritual things, unless they come with the truth. Jesus claimed to be the embodiment of truth, and I believe that. He said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me."
This is why my heart breaks for Oprah, Tolle, and so many others. I've heard Oprah say she's a Christian, and then deny the very things Jesus said about Himself. (He said He's the only way to heaven, but Oprah says there's many ways to heaven; that the world's too big for there to be just one way.) I think Jesus knows who He is, and what He said! Who am I to contradict Him?
Sin
Another example of this is the subject of sin. I totally understand that people don't like the word. Who wants to talk about sin? But can I have a real relationship with Jesus and avoid facing it? No, because the whole reason He came was to take away sin. What am I going to do with that fact? I can try to do a "Jesus Makeover" but it doesn't change anything. It's still Him under that makeover, and to deal with sin is why He said He came into the world.
Many churches have realized that sin is an unpopular subject. To make people feel better about church they avoid talking about it. They're willing to sacrifice truth in order to draw more people. Many of these churches are very popular because they make people feel good and tell people what they want to hear. The bible warned about this saying that the time would come when people would no longer care about hearing the truth, instead they would gather teachers around them who would tell them things that they wanted to hear, rather than needed to hear. The bible warns us to be careful. If a church cares more about making people feel comfortable than they do about speaking God's truth, I don't want any part of it.
But then there's also other "spiritual teachers" who come claiming to offer the way to enlightenment and spiritual understanding. People flock to them seeking the truth, but I've noticed that they too avoid talking about sin, and in almost every case they directly contradict Jesus who claimed to be the truth!
I noticed right away after I came to Jesus that psychics didn't really believe in Him on the same terms I had come to believe in Him. As far as they were concerned, Jesus just came to teach us how to love one another and be a good example for us to follow. So many spiritual seekers feel the same; they don't want to talk about Him dying to take away sin. They'd rather talk about Him being a road to enlightenment.
That's what Tolle's book, "A New Earth", is suppose to be all about; finding oneness with God and the universe, finding the real meaning of life and your purpose for existence. I listened to Oprah having a conversation with Eckhart Tolle as they discussed these things, and it all sounded so spiritual. The only problem was they were saying the opposite of what Jesus taught! (Jesus said He was the only way to God, Oprah said He couldn't be.)
Does it make sense to ignore what Jesus taught? Can we actually contradict the very things Jesus said about Himself, and still claim to follow Him? I wouldn't be too happy if my friends went around telling people the opposite of what I had really said. It would kind of hurt the relationship. In fact, if it kept up long enough there probably wouldn't be a relationship! Do we really think Jesus doesn't care if we misrepresent Him?
A real relationship with Jesus
So late in the summer of 1984, I decided to take Jesus at His word. I actually read the bible to see what He had to say. I stopped making up my own version of Him and started to learn who He really is. I left my imaginary ideas of Him, in order to have a real relationship with Him.
And you know what? The real Jesus is better than the fantasy Jesus. Sure, He talks about my sin, forgiveness, repenting, love, grace and mercy, obeying Him, and things like that. He even talks about hell. Sure, He gets on my case when I'm going the wrong direction, and He won't stop until I get back on the right path. Yes, He expects things from me; even my Mom and Dad did that. (Doesn't God have the right to expect things from us since He's the Creator of the universe?) He loves me way too much to just let me go my dull headed way. But He also showers me with love, and actually lets me have a real relationship with Him! The creator of the universe wants me to know Him, just like He knows me.
God offers us a living, breathing relationship with Jesus, but on His terms. Based in reality, not fiction.
Why I wrote "Nice Little Church"
In a nutshell, I still believe it's all about relationship and not manmade religion and rituals. That's why my song "Nice Little Church" speaks plainly about the lack of life in so many churches. It talks about being spiritually hungry, and not being fed the truth of God's Word. It confronts the lie that going to church makes you alright with God, and gives you a ticket to heaven. This is not what God intended His church to be like, and the church needs to wake up to that fact. The bible tells us the church of the living God is to be "the pillar and foundation of the truth".
Final conclusions
So where do we go from here? For one, I can't follow Tolle or any other person who directly contradicts Jesus. No matter how good their teachings sound, I believe Jesus tells the truth, and is the truth. If you will not follow what Jesus taught, I will not follow you.
In addition, I will not be a part of a church that is avoiding following Jesus, or tries to dress Him up in ways that make Him more appealing to people. He is who He is, He taught what He taught; we either take Him, or we leave Him. Jesus will not allow us to do a makeover on Him. If we are really seeking the truth, we should accept the fact that the bible teaches that Jesus is "the rock of offense." Not that Jesus came to be offensive, but that what He taught will be unacceptable to many people, and they will be offended because of that. The church needs to return to proclaiming the truth, and quit worrying about what people think.
What about church?
This in an important subject and I've devoted a page to it here. (There are many preconceptions about church, and maybe going to this page will bring a fresh perspective.)
The bible as your starting place
The best thing that I can suggest is that if you're seeking spiritual truth, you pick up a bible that is easy for you to understand. They come in various translations and there is probably at least one that you will find to be very easy to read.
Start with the New Testament and read that first. Many people think the bible needs to be read like a book, (starting at the beginning and reading to the end.) That's not the case. The New Testament is actually a collection of letters that have been put in one book. They were written to help the early Christians, and were usually passed around to the various groups of Christians that would get together in a city or region. (It would be like if I wrote an email about God and my friends passed it around for all my other friends to read. The difference here being that these letters are considered, "the Word of God", and are what the bible calls "God breathed".)
Since they are individual letters you can read them just like you would an email. You can skip around and read each one when you'd like. (When I started out, I would just put a check mark in the index so I could remember which ones I'd read.)
If you are seeking spiritual truth it is very important that you do this. Most people have never actually read the bible. How can you know if what Oprah and Tolle and others are telling you is the truth, if you've never actually read what Jesus had to say? How do you even know if I'm telling you the truth, if you've never read the bible for yourself?
You may be thinking, "That sounds pretty hard, I could never understand the bible." I know exactly how you feel, I didn't think I could either, but you'll be surprised at just how much you will understand with the Holy Spirit's help! That's why I say go to a Christian bookstore if there's one around, and try reading a few versions until you find one that's easy for you to read, or just ask at the counter what they'd recommend. And then before you read it, ask God to help you to understand it. You'll be amazed at how God helps you!
The bible is important because it gives you the truth. When you start to read it and understand what it says, it makes it much easier to figure out what the truth is. Whether it's Eckhart Tolle, Oprah, the church down the block, a bible study group or a cult, you need to know if what they're teaching is the truth. The bible is the ultimate source for finding the truth.
If this has spoken to you, please consider reading my page about "eternal life". You can find the link here.
Thanks for taking the time to read what I've written. I hope this has helped you on your spiritual journey.