During a December 2014 online discussion about the supposed "Christian faith" of Oprah Winfrey, the following video clips were shared as evidence that she is, indeed a Christian:
Clip #1, from April 23, 2012
Clip #2, uploaded to YouTube October 19, 2011
These videos actually provide direct evidence that her theology is at least confused, if not in direct opposition to the clear identifying marks of Christianity, and specifically, saving faith in Jesus Christ, who said plainly, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)
- Oprah defines "spirituality" as "living your life with an open heart through love," which she further defines as embracing the values of "tolerance, acceptance, harmony, and cooperation." Therefore, to be truly spiritual is to be tolerant of all points of view, religious or otherwise. This is a postmodern view of both truth and values, not a Christian worldview, which assets that truth is not subjective, but fixed, and morality is not subjective, but absolute.
- Oprah defines "God" as a "force or energy or consciousness..." This is New Age spirituality, not Christianity. Christianity defines God as One God in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
- Oprah equates the "blessed life" to "living in the space of an open heart" or "living in the space of the spirit." In other words, she clarifies, the CAUSE of her blessed life is the fact that she has always (since she was 4) lived with this awareness, or "with an open heart through love," or "embracing tolerance, acceptance, harmony, cooperation..." In other words, she is blessed (and we can be, too) because of her attitudes and actions. This is a mix of works-righteousness and a "prosperity gospel" mindset error that equates the physical blessings of this earth with the degree to which we embrace love and respect of all people AND acceptance of their philosophy and religious ideology, regardless of Biblical distinctions. In Oprah's spiritual paradigm, tolerance trumps truth. That is not a Christian value.
- In speaking about our desires and dreams, Oprah communicates a mixed message. On one hand, she asks her audience to "surrender" to a God who dreams greater dreams for us than we dream for ourselves (again, at least flirting with a prosperity gospel mindset), but at the end of the day, this "higher power" or "thing greater than yourself" (which is how she often characterizes God) is found within ourselves, in communion with some mysterious "energy" of the universe. She asks, "What would you, God... the universe... have me do?" Not God OF THE universe, but "God... the universe..." Oprah says that if we truly want something, "There's no question that if the energy and the vibrational frequency is correct... is in sync with what is going to come your way, there is a space YOU CREATE (emphasis mine) that allows that to happen." At the end of the day, Oprah's concept of God is with ourselves. This is not the Sovereign God of the Bible.
Bottom line, while Oprah claims to be a Christian, I do not believe she is surrendered to Jesus Christ as the only true God, as her only hope of salvation from her sins. What does it mean to be a Christian?
"But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12) To have saving faith means resting all of your faith and trust upon ONE NAME: Jesus Christ. That is a truly exclusive message. But that one truth is available to ALL who believe.
"But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12) To have saving faith means resting all of your faith and trust upon ONE NAME: Jesus Christ. That is a truly exclusive message. But that one truth is available to ALL who believe.