The Gospel Of Oprah, The Dangers Of The New Age Movement.

[Veridicus]

[quote name='FreeSoul' post='1543440' date='May 26 2008, 12:55 PM']I agree, but this is semantics. She is not separating the statements. As when JPII said the problem with pornography is that it not that it goes too far, but [b]that it doesn't go far enough[/b]. In other words, Oprah is saying that Jesus did not JUST come to die on the cross. Oprah's error is that she did not express this sentiment more clearly.[/quote]

I don't think it is semantics. I don't think that your opinion of what her true sentiments are is an more valid than any of ours. I am sure you want to believe that she means the best, but I wouldn't be so sure that she does. We are not all arguing over [i]wording [/i]but the [i]substance [/i]of what she is saying. She says "Jesus didnt' come to die on the Cross but to show us how to do it...how to be...how to have the Christ Consciousness that he had. To show us the Christ Consciousness that he had and that that Consciousness abides with all of us. That's what I got." She didn't say [u]anything [/u]about salvation...she is spouting what appears to me to be a gnostic understanding of Christ's purpose in coming to Earth: to come share with us a divine knowledge and unite us in some sort of divine gnosis to his consciousness. She states, "this is about coming to find out what you [i]know [/i]for yourself...what you [i]feel [/i]for yourself. And that God in the essence of all consciousness isnt' something that you believe...God 'is.' And God is a feeling experience, not a believing experience." The bible states it simply that believing in Jesus is the way to eternal life. She further states, "If you religion and your God is about belief then it is not truly God." Reducing Christ's mission to a simply 'sharing in the Christ consciousness' just reeks of gnosticism to me. I'm sorry, I don't think its semantics and I think your arguments are putting claims into her words that simply ARE NOT there.

We may just have to agree to disagree...

Edited May 26, 2008 by Veridicus

[FreeSoul]

Christianity is broad enough that the United Church is recognized as Christian (not by all, but by many) and some members of the United Church debate whether to acknowledge the resurrection itself! Now Oprah is saying that it happened but for another purpose - and she is no longer Christian? I am assessing Oprah according to her own standards and beliefs for resurrection, which is why it is semantics - we are talking apples and oranges - a completely different understanding of who, what and why Christ is, and no this is not relativism.

She is neither a priest or representative of the Catholic Church. I do not think video important or relevant to us as Catholics outside of some political desire to influence the material world. So what if it is gnosticism (and it is)? Are there not Gnostic Christians? She and they may or may not be Christians according to the Catholic Church, but I don't understand why we are discussing this if she is not Catholic!

[kujo]

[quote name='FreeSoul' post='1543474' date='May 26 2008, 04:06 PM']She is neither a priest or representative of the Catholic Church. I do not think video important or relevant to us as Catholics outside of some political desire to influence the material world. So what if it is gnosticism (and it is)? Are there not Gnostic Christians? She and they may or may not be Christians according to the Catholic Church, but I don't understand why we are discussing this if she is not Catholic![/quote]

Dude, why wouldn't we be concerned about this incredibly-powerful woman pontificating on national television to her disciples--I mean [b]viewers[/b]-- about some bogus, hairbrained theological heresy? This isn't some bum on a street corner, but a multi-billionaire media sensation whose disciples--I mean [b]viewers[/b]-- listen to and follow her every word, who watch her shows, read her magazines and books, listen to her speeches, etc.

[FreeSoul]

I'm not concerned because she's not Catholic and so I'm not worried about her. Television is (and always has been) filled with heresies and apostaties or whatever. Why is Oprah now such a big deal? At least she is concerned with the welfare of people around her, no matter how misinformed! I'm not worried about Oprah any more than I am worried about MTV & Consumerism - a much more serious concern completely devoid of ANY acknowledgement of a spiritual search whatsoever - or the Dalai Lama, Prominent Imams or other faiths with successful followings.

My faith is in the Church, and my main concern is more with being a Catholic myself than if someone else (who hasn't even been baptized into the Church) is being one.

Period.

[kujo]

[quote name='FreeSoul' post='1543821' date='May 26 2008, 07:45 PM']I'm not concerned because she's not Catholic and so I'm not worried about her. Television is (and always has been) filled with heresies and apostaties or whatever. Why is Oprah now such a big deal? At least she is concerned with the welfare of people around her, no matter how misinformed! I'm not worried about Oprah any more than I am worried about MTV & Consumerism - a much more serious concern completely devoid of ANY acknowledgement of a spiritual search whatsoever - or the Dalai Lama, Prominent Imams or other faiths with successful followings.

My faith is in the Church, and my main concern is more with being a Catholic myself than if someone else (who hasn't even been baptized into the Church) is being one.

Period.[/quote]

Why am I concerned?

[quote]The Oprah Effect
THE $1.4 BILLION WOMAN INFLUENCES POP CULTURE, CREATES STARS, AND DRIVES ENTIRE INDUSTRIES. HERE'S HOW SHE DOES IT

Lisa Price was at a crossroads. By 2002, Carol's Daughter, the bath and beauty products business she had founded in her Brooklyn kitchen, had hit $2 million in sales. "We were trying to decide whether to scale back to keep control of costs or find investors to keep growing," she recalls, Twenty minutes later, the phone rang. It was a producer from The Oprah Winfrey Show asking Price to come on the program.

The effect of Price's appearance was astounding: the Carol's Daughter Web site nearly crashed from the high volume of orders that came in after Oprah raved about the products. "What it did was give us a stamp of approval," Price says. The company easily attracted new investors such as Jada Pinkett Smith, celebrity endorsements from Mary J. Blige and mass market distribution in stores like Sephora.

Such is the power of Oprah. She arguably holds more sway in making--or breaking--an individual (James Frey, anyone?), a business (Carol's Daughter and hundreds more), a book (too many to mention) or an industry (the beef brouhaha in 1998) than anyone, ever, in this country--and maybe even the world. She's our $1.4 billion woman--and that's just with her sprawling media empire. Factor in her ability to subtly endorse products without ever appearing in a commercial or an ad, and her economic impact magnifies. She has made her mark on the retail landscape, seemingly fueled the exponential growth of online shopping, transformed the book industry, made giving to charity a priority for millions, and exposed new audiences to Broadway. Consider this: If every one of her 49 million viewers and 2.4 million magazine readers bought just one Oprah-sanctioned item a month, for say $10, that would equal a whopping $6.168 billion a year pumped into America's economy. That's about how much Starbucks made last year, worldwide.

OPRAH'S INFLUENCE
On a seismic scale of impact, Ms. Winfrey is a 10, with aftershocks felt at both poles. This is how her influence stacks up:

TELEVISION
The Oprah Winfrey Show, now 20 years old, has been No. I for 19 seasons. Before Oprah decided to stop submitting the show for Emmy consideration, it won 35 Emmy Awards. It is her most popular showcase, and it's broadcast to 122 countries.

The show (Harpo Productions) is the platform for her business, Harpo, Inc., which has grown and diversified. Harpo, Inc., now includes Harpo Films (Beloved, Tuesdays With Morrie, Their Eyes Were Watching God), Harpo Radio (a $55 million deal with XM satellite radio for the new Oprah & Friends channel) and Harpo Print (O, The Oprah Magazine and O at Home with Hearst), as well as a deal with Oxygen Media and the Oxygen network.

BOOKS
In a 2004 study, Brigham Young University found that Winfrey's book club recommendations had a greater influence on book sales than anything else in the history of modern publishing. Says Sara Nelson, editor-in-chief of Publishers Weekly, "Oprah is getting people who were not particularly reading, to read."

It's her 59-and-counting book club picks that usually get the most press, but Oprah gets thousands of books moving in other ways. From April 2005 to April 2006,162 books got a plug on her show. Kerry McCloskey went on the show in early April 2006 touting her research on sex and passion as the best slim-down plan in her book, The Ultimate Sex Diet (True Courage Press). According to Nielsen Bookscan, the week after her appearance, McCloskey's book sales shot up 1,260 percent. Harville Hendrix, Ph.D., also got a lot of love when he appeared on the show twice in April 2006, pushing sales of his Getting the Love You Want (Owl Books) up 849 percent.

MAGAZINES
O, The Oprah Magazine was the most successful magazine launch in publishing history: It has a circulation of 2.4 million, it reaches 16.3 million total readers each month, and it's now avail able in a South African edition. Her magazines are also a lush outlet of product love, lining the coffers of thousands of vendors and retailers. Each issue of O features celebrities and experts and books and products that just ache to be purchased. The spring 2006 issue of 0 at Home, for example, showcased 71 products in one story.

PRODUCT PICKS
She doesn't do traditional endorsements. You'll never see Oprah's name on sneakers or clothes. Instead, her interest is in spreading her passions. Oprah likes to promote what she thinks is important and useful. We follow--and spend in droves. "She influences the purchase of 20 to 25 percent of all goods. I think Oprah is actually underestimated," says Michael Silverstein, coauthor of Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the New Consumer (Portfolio). Oprah's product bacchanal hits its pinnacle with "Oprah's Favorite Things--The Holiday Edition." This list of items has included everything from Burberry coats to computers and chocolate.

For every several thousand of Oprah "blessings," a few turn out not so rosy. Though her 2005 audience giveaway of brand-new Pontiac G6's was trumpeted as the epitome of successful product placement, the automotive press was not all convinced. "It was great for Oprah, but I didn't see much on Pontiac. I didn't hear her say, 'This is a Pontiac kind of day,'" said Lincoln Merrihew, managing director of automotive practice at Compete Inc., in WardsAuto.com.

Still, for most vendors, there is nothing like an Oprah blessing, says Rob Walker, the consumer columnist for The New York Times Magazine. "If you have a product, there's no better environment to be in than on Oprah. You're being treated as almost a religious artifact," he says. Large retailers, such as Sony, see a nice jump in sales, but Oprah also picks small vendors like Pamela Fitzpatrick. Her $39.99 tub of oatmeal raisin cookie dough from Chicago's gourmet grocery fox & Obel was Chosen as a Favorite Thing for holiday 2005. "It was really like winning the Academy Award," Fitzpatrick says, adding that the first 220 sales came 45 minutes into the show. They then sold around 600 tubs in the first two weeks after the show aired, and over the holidays they sold three times that many.

PHILANTHROPY
Oprah's desire to help those in need has been a lifeline to many charities and nonprofits. The Reverend Gloria White-Hammond, chairperson of the Million Voices for Darfur campaign, was certainly pleased. "Oprah's impact on the Save Darfur Coalition's effort was nothing short of tremendous," she says. According to the Coalition, donations went up 1,200 percent in the three days after Oprah highlighted their efforts on her show, and 1,600 percent more donors signed up in the same time. Translation: Many lives were saved in Darfur.

What seems to bolster her featured charities and retailers most is the limitless resource that is oprah.com. "When Oprah does something, there is an immediate 'click' impact," says Heather Dougherty, senior analyst at Nielsen//Net Ratings. For example, take the month that the Save the Darfur Coalition was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show. According to Dougherty, oprah.com had 2.2 million unique visitors. "She has a very deep site. The deeper the site, the better the engagement," Dougherty says. "Other comparable sites are so small [number of visitors], we don't measure them."

F.O.O.'S (FRIENDS OF OPRAH)
Oprah's protégés serve both as brand extensions and as a fire under her seat. Dr. Phil's success has been its own phenomenon--he now has the second-highest-rated talk show and eight best-selling books, is the new spokesperson for Match.com, and has prime-time TV specials and the Dr. Phil Foundation. Others who've benefited include her crowned boy wonder, interior designer Nate Berkus, with his own home line at Linens 'N Things; Bob Greene, Oprah's personal trainer and fitness guru; Suze Orman money diva; Mehmet Oz, M.D., health guru; and her two newest additions, Robin Smith, love and relationship psychologist, and Rachael Ray, the smiley TV chef (whose new show is produced by Harpo Productions) and magazine powerhouse in her own right. And, of course, there's Gayle King--Oprah's BFF and editor-at-large of O, The Oprah Magazine, who, at press time, was still churning in the rumor mill as a possible cohost to join ABC talkfest The View.

ETC., ETC., ETC.
What's left? Ah yes, Broadway. Ms. Winfrey's producer credit for Alice Walker's The Color Purple on Broadway surely had something to do with its outrageous opening ticket sales--S16 million in two months--and possibly its 11 Tony nominations. But, more than the bursting moneybags and accolades for the show (this in a business with a 75 percent failure rate), what's significant is, as with her book club, Ms. Winfrey has brought new audiences to Broadway.

With every venture, Oprah somehow finds more to do, more needs to fill, and more ways to make and use her money--and her power. The Live Your Best Life speaking tour and on line multimedia workshop is a standing-room-only event every year. She's released a six-disc DVD set of her Twentieth Anniversary Celebration with all proceeds going to the Angel Network, her charitable foundation that has raised $50 million in five years and $10 million for Hurricane Katrina victims. And in October 2005 she launched a Child Predator Watch List that has captured four sexual predators and has rewarded those who located them with $100,000. It is undeniable. Oprah has the Midas touch.

So what will Her Highness turn into gold next? We're all watching.

*Based on our $6.168 billion estimate.

THE BIG O HOW INFLUENTIAL IS SHE? LET US COUNT THE WAYS…

IF OPRAH WERE… A NATION her 51.4 million weekly viewers and magazine readers would equal more than the population of Canada (33 million), Spain (40.3 million) or Argentina (39.9 million).

IF OPRAH WERE… A PILE OF GOLD she'd be equal to 24,000 14-karat gold bars.

IF OPRAH WERE… BLING she'd be eight times the equivalent of 373 100-karat pear-shaped, flawless diamonds (the most expensive ever sold).

cnnmoney.com reported in January that Oprah ranked second only to Google as the biggest brand newsmaker of 2006. Behind Ms. Winfrey were Amazon, eBay and iPod.

IF OPRAH WERE… A NATIONAL ECONOMY what she'd pump into the U.S. economy would be slightly more than the GDP of the Bahamas.*

By: Ulrich, Carmen Wong, Essence, Oct2006[/quote]

Source: Essence Magazine

This is no ordinary woman, but a person with tremendous influence. Think how amazing it would be if she became Catholic, or at least a bland Christian instead of this New Age C.rap?

Edited May 26, 2008 by kujo

[Alycin]

I used to watch Oprah every day.

[kujo]

[quote name='Alycin' post='1543838' date='May 26 2008, 07:55 PM']I used to watch Oprah every day.

[/quote]

Heretic!

[Alycin]

I think this thread is utterly ridiculous.

[Galloglasses]

Guys, guys, guys, save the heretical Witch burnings for Friday the Thirteenth, for tradition's sake.

Guess we're lucky hardly anyone in Ireland watches Oprah.

Actually I don't watch too much TV.

Stupid internets, sucking out my life-force.

Also, to those less familiar with Gnosticism, (IE, those guys who haven't dived into the thread yet), Gnostics, at the base level try to REDUCE God to Man's level, and treat Him more or less like something that should be used, not Obeyed. And elevating Man to God's status. Its the western way of worshipping yourself. Thats essentially what the theology boils down to and is woefully heretical. Protestantism is bad enough, but, dang, we really don't need this poison in the world.

By the way, she would either be a quasi-Christian New age sprinkler, or a scientologist.
I think we got the less dangerous of the two possible Oprahs.

Edited May 26, 2008 by Galloglasses

[Apotheoun]

I don't have a facebook account so I can't see the video.

[FreeSoul]

If you judge people, you have no time to love them - Mother Theresa

I am glad that Oprah is powerful, she is a testament to many people who have gone through sexual abuse. I am glad that she is successful and spending time saying that she spouts 'new age c.rap' is not something that I would choose to say either to her face or behind her back. She is not obliged to be faithful to the Catholic Church.

I have to say that if I was Oprah and people all around calling themselves Catholic were speaking about me the way that people on this board are speaking, simply because I followed my own spiritual path, I might consider the merits of the logical argument, but it's packaging would not be a positive testament to the average Christian's character.

[quote]Oprah is clearly got a warped view...
I loved how they systematicly cut her don with bible verses...
secular-humanism trash. Good for the sake of self...
does anyone else have to fight the urge to laugh when you hear people using words above their intellect...
I also laugh when I hear people using words like synergy or dynamic or paradigm in meetings just to sound like they know what is going on...
Oprah came across as someone who had been brainwashed with a bunch of croutons and then her brain started to fizzle when she couldn't really fight back...
Oh great, ignorance is about. I don't know who is worse, her or Dr. Phil...
BUGS ME TO HECK! Seriously, Sylvia Browne uttered such nonsense like "surround yourself with the white light of the Holy Spirit and surround yourself with Christ consciousness". What the frack is that supposed to mean? This new age carp is smurfin stupid...
Our country is a writhing wasteland of people speaking about things that are well beyond their intellect...[/quote]


I mean, I heard of terms like the 'Legion of Mary' and 'Putting on the armour of Christ', but I suspect it wasn't meant to read 'use words that denigrate our brothers and sisters intellect and dignity'. Why don't we admire the amazing gifts and - yes - incredible power and intellect of this amazing woman and then direct our prayers that our world will be led in the right direction!?!?! How are the above excerpts any different from the scandalous water-cooler conversation people indulge in over Brangelina and Johnnifer?

If Oprah is stupid for being spiritually misinformed then I'm pretty sure we all need to go back to CLASS.

[Galloglasses]

I think its more spiritually corrupted then Misinformed. Most New Agers tend not to be ignorent of Religion before they become New Agers.

Also, the majority here don't hate (don't hate, appreciate) Oprah now.

They're bloody scared of her. What she is spouting is theological posoin, and she is the most powerful and influencial woman in America. Her word is considered law by most of her watchers. This is scary. It'd be less scary if she wasn't talking about Religion at all.

Edited May 26, 2008 by Galloglasses

[FreeSoul]

Nobody's perfect, and neither are we. God bless Oprah.

[FreeSoul]

Scared of WHAT? Who do we believe has more power??? God or Oprah?

[Galloglasses]

Yes I agree. God Bless Oprah.

But hopefully not in the way of making her spread the New Age further.

God Naturally has more power. But calm down for a minute and THINK, she is a powerful HUMAN. Powerful people have massive influence over fellow humans. How else do heretics or evangelicals win converts?

And for goodness sake calm down and stop sounding so contempuous of us. I'm not attacking you.

Edited May 26, 2008 by Galloglasses

[FreeSoul]

Yeah, I know what you're saying, but I'm still not worried.

If God is the perfect food then people will keep searching until they get fed, and if the Catholic Church is the only cafeteria in town serving perfect food....

[FreeSoul]

I'm not contemptuous, I'm just offended by the words that were used. I don't think I was as harsh as the stuff I quoted was I? I really think that the only way to do this is to focus on the goodness that God has given us to work with. BE NOT AFRAID! lol

[Galloglasses]

Aye do not be Worried. but there is plenty of cause for Concern. The Church's influence is particularly weak, powerful people like Oprah's opinion and religious beliefs affecting MILLIONS in some way, shape or form. Thats plenty to be concerned about.

Lets do comparison, Tom Cruise is a scientologist convert, however he's not the brightest tool in the shed, and is embarrassed and riduculed alot over big mistakes. Now imagine if his life suddenly got cleaner and better and he looked alot better ever since his conversion, people would be INFLUENCED to look more favourbly on Scientology and we would possibly lose souls. This is the case with Oprah who is much more powerful and influencial, she does not look like an idiot, (except for in this video), and she doesn't make public and tactless accidents and mistakes, so people will be influenced to look more favourably on the new age. Get why we're concerned?

[FreeSoul]

No. I don't. I believe that the Church is not weak but in a state of transition. Vocations were down but now we know that they are true committments and not holdovers from a time when the Church was learning to be more of a living entity and less of an institution. We will be fine. There are many Oprahs out there. Why are we not talking about Deepak Chopra or Eckhart Tolle (who was successful long before Oprah) or Creflo Dollar or T.D. Jakes or George Bush or the Dalai Lama? Why a whole thread devoted to a youtube video with fancy editing and eerie music?

My concern is that over which I have control - namely, myself and being a witness through prayer and action. Getting swept up in a world of worry over someone else, who quite frankly is doing a lot of good for the world in more ways than she is ruining it is a waste of my energy, and with that...I am finished with this thread. Good luck folks! lol

Thx

Edited May 26, 2008 by FreeSoul

[kujo]

[quote name='FreeSoul' post='1543926' date='May 26 2008, 08:34 PM']There are many Oprahs out there. Why are we not talking about Deepak Chopra or Eckhart Tolle (who was successful long before Oprah) or Creflo Dollar or T.D. Jakes or George Bush or the Dalai Lama? Why a whole thread devoted to a youtube video with fancy editing and eerie music?[/quote]

Because this thread is not about any of them. If you'd like to discuss them, start a thread.