Spring 2008 Magazine: "Oprah and Friends"
Author: Warren Smith
 
 

Oprah Winfrey will be letting out all the stops on her XM Satellite Radio program this year. Beginning January 1, 2008, “Oprah and Friends” will offer a year-long course on the New Age teachings of A Course in Miracles. A lesson a day throughout the year will completely cover the 365 lessons from the Course in Miracles workbook.

Lesson #29 asks you to go through your day affirming that, “God is in everything I see.”

Lesson #61 tells each person to repeat the affirmation, “I am the light of the world.”

Lesson #70 teaches the student to say and believe, “My salvation comes from me.”

By the end of the year, “Oprah and Friends” listeners will have completed all off the lessons laid out in the Course in Miracles workbook. Those who finish the course will have a wholly redefined spiritual mindset—a New Age worldview that includes the belief that there is no sin, no evil, no devil, and that God is in everyone and everything.

A Course in Miracles teaches its students to rethink everything they believe about God and life. The course workbook bluntly states: “This is a course in mind training” and is dedicated to “thought reversal.”

Teaching A Course in Miracles will be Oprah’s longtime friend and special XM Satellite Radio reporter Marianne Williamson, who also happens to be one of today’s premier New Age leaders. She and Conversations with God author Neale Donald Walsch co-founded the American Renaissance Alliance in 1997, which later became the Global Renaissance Alliance of New Age leaders, changing its name again in 2005 to the Peace Alliance.

The Peace Alliance seeks to usher in an era of global peace founded on the principles of a New Age and new spirituality that they are now referring to as a “civil rights movement for the soul.”

They all agree that the principles of this New Age and new spirituality are clearly articulated in A Course in Miracles, which is fast becoming the New Age Bible. So what is A Course in Miracles and what does it teach? A Course in Miracles is allegedly “new revelation” from Jesus to help humanity work though these troubled times.

This “Jesus”—who bears no doctrinal resemblance to the Bible’s Jesus Christ—began delivering his channeled teachings in 1965 to a Columbia University Professor of Medical Psychology by the name of Helen Schuman. One day Schuman heard an “inner voice” stating, “This is a course in miracles. Please take notes.” For seven years she diligently took spiritual dictation from this inner voice that described himself as “Jesus.”

A Course in Miracles was quietly published in 1975 by the Foundation for Inner Peace. For many years “the Course” was an underground cult classic for New Age seekers who studied “the Course” individually, with friends, or in small study groups. Here are some quotes from the “Jesus” of A Course in Miracles:

There is no sin.

A slain Christ has no meaning.

The journey to the cross should be the last “useless journey.”

Do not make the pathetic error of “clinging to the old rugged cross.”

The Name of Jesus Christ as such is but a symbol…It is a symbol that is safely used as a
replacement for the many names of all the gods to which you pray.

God is in everything I see.

The recognition of God is the recognition of yourself.

The oneness of the Creator and the creation is your wholeness, your sanity and your limitless power.

The Atonement is the final lesson [man] need learn, for it teaches him that, never having sinned, he has no need of salvation.


Most Christians recognize that these teachings are the opposite of what the Bible teaches. At this critical time in the history of the world, the “New Gospel” is coming right at the world and the Church with its New Age teachings and its New Age Peace Plan. But this New Age Peace Plan has at its deceptive core the bottom-line teaching from A Course in Miracles that “we are all one” because God is “in” everyone and everything.

But the Bible is clear that we are not God (see Ezekiel 28:2; Hosea 11:9). And per Galatians 3:26-28, our only oneness is in Jesus Christ—not in ourselves as “God” and “Christ.”

What Oprah and Marianne Williamson and the world will learn one day is that humanity’s only real and lasting peace is with the true Jesus Christ who is described and quoted in the Holy Bible (see Romans 5:1). Oprah Winfrey’s misplaced faith in Marianne Williamson and the New Age teachings of A Course in Miracles is a sure sign of the times.

But an even surer sign of the times is that most Christians are not taking heed to what is happening in the world and in the Church. We are not contending for the faith as the Bible admonishes us to do in Jude 3.

It is time for all of our Purpose-Driven and Emerging church pastors to address the real issue of the day. Our true Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is being reinvented, redefined, and blasphemed right in front of our eyes and hardly anyone seems to notice or care.

If we want the world to know who Jesus Christ is, we need to also warn them about who He is not. There is a false New Age “Christ” making huge inroads into the world and into the Church. The Apostle Paul said that “it is a shame” we have to even talk about these things, but talk about them we must (Ephesians 5:12-16).

If people want to follow Oprah Winfrey and the New Age “Christ” of A Course in Miracles, they certainly have that right. But let them be warned that the New Age “Christ” they are following is not the same Jesus Christ who is so clearly and authoritatively presented in the pages of the Bible.

Science Deceptions
Media Deceptions
Reformation
Spiritual Deceptions
Health Deceptions
A Basis for Conflict
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The Big Bang Theory
Creation and Evolution: Is Compromise Possible?
How Can We See Stars That Are Billions Of Light Years Away?
The Rise of Evolutionary Thinking
Geocentricity: It's Time to Face the Facts
Earth's History: Conflicting Paradigms
Lamarck Proposes Natural Selection
Age Of The Earth Is Carbon-Dating Accurate?
Flood Chronology
Evidence In Stone
Can we understand the age of the earth by depth of rocks? What other theory could the evidence reveal?
Soft Rock Evidence for Rapid Washout
The Fossil Record
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Evolutionary Sequences
Order in the Fossil Record
Evolution of the Horse Explosive Evolution
Fossils prove a Flood Fossil Footprints
Dinosaurs and the Flood Petrified Trees
The Biblical Flood Reasons For Extinction
Fossil Reefs The Post-Flood World
Human Evolution
Genes of Genesis
As we study the genome, the molecule, and the atom, we see a vast network of intricate systems beyond our understanding. Were these systems really formed by chance?
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Creating Life in a Test Tube?
Molecules That Began Life
"Species" versus "Kind" Natural Selection
Natural Selection as a Creative Force
Ernst Haeckel's Theories
Variation and Classification
Why So Many Species? The Australian Problem
Synesthesia: Mystery of God’s Creation
Creation to Restoration
How did this world change from the perfection depicted in Genesis to a world full of thorns, thistles, parasites, and death? If God made everything perfect, how could it have all been so changed?
Thorns In A Perfect World
An Imperfect Planet Evidence For Design
Evidence For Transformation
Rapid Transformation
Clean and Unclean: The History of the Human Diet
The Dawn Chorus and Life Forces
Archaeology and the Bible
Archaeology and prophecy have proven the Bible to be true. But what's so special about the Bible that makes it a point of so much controversy?
Archaeology Confirms the Bible
The Lost Books of the Bible
Music
Music is a powerful emotional motivator.
Can You Feel the Music?
The Bible and Rock Music: Are they Compatible?
From the Horse's Mouth: The Rock Industry Condemns Itself
Hollywood and the Movies
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Hollywood's History
Hollywood and Gnosticism
Brain Closed—Please Come Again
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Beware of the television's abilities to hypnotize, alter moods, and even cause depression.
Violence and Video Games
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The Pope Claims to be God on Earth
Read proof that throughout the Roman Church's history, the Papacy has often claimed that the Pope is divine.
The Jesuits
Learn what people throughout history have had to say on the reputation, history, and political nature of the Jesuit Order.
Ignatius of Loyola and Martin Luther
Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises
Protestantism Destroyed
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The oppression of Protestants is widespread and consistent throughout history.
The Bloody History of Papal Rome Quotes
It was once written in America's oldest Catholic newspaper, the Boston Pilot, that "No good government can exist without religion, and there can be no religion without an Inquisition, which is wisely designed for the promotion and protection of the true faith.”

Read several authors' thoughts on papal Rome's history.
The Aggressive Intentions of the Papacy
The historian Ranke says this about Protestant-Catholic relations: "In the year 1617, everything betokened a decisive conflict between them. The Catholic party appears to have felt itself the superior. At all events it was the first to take up arms."

This article highlights quotes from historical and Catholic sources proving the Papacy's aggressive nature.
Christianity and Violence
Would the world be a safer place without Christian fundamentalism?
Religious Doublespeak
Language can be used to communicate both truth and lies. Learn about the religious doublespeak being used to pull the wool over the eyes of the world.
Agenda of Control
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The Great Controversy
Read this classic work by Ellen G. White.
The Destruction of Jerusalem
Persecution in the First Centuries
An Era of Spiritual Darkness The Waldenses
John Wycliffe Huss and Jerome
Luther's Separation From Rome
Luther Before the Diet The Swiss Reformer
Progress of Reform in Germany
Protest of the Princes The French Reformation
The Netherlands and Scandinavia
Later English Reformers
The Bible and the French Revolution
The Pilgrim Fathers Heralds of the Morning
An American Reformer Light Through Darkness
A Great Religious Awakening A Warning Rejected
Prophecies Fulfilled What is the Sanctuary?
In the Holy of Holies God's Law Immutable
A Work of Reform Modern Revivals
Facing Life's Record The Origin of Evil
Enmity Between Man and Satan
Agency of Evil Spirits Snares of Satan
The First Great Deception
Can Our Dead Speak to Us?
Liberty of Conscience Threatened
The Impending Conflict
The Scriptures a Safeguard The Final Warning
The Time of Trouble God's People Delivered
Desolation of the Earth The Controversy Ended
Is the Bible True?
If archaeology and prophecy have proven the Bible to be true, then why is it a point of so much controversy?
Archaeology Confirms the Bible
Studying Scripture
Scripture is Inspired by God
The Lost Books of the Bible
Who is Jesus?
Is Jesus really who He says He is?
Did Jesus Ever Exist?
Was Jesus the Messiah? Is Jesus God?
Why Did Jesus Have To Die?
Six Purposes for Christ's Life and Death on Earth
What Day Did Jesus Die? The 70-Week Prophecy
Jesus, the Recycled Redeemer
Names of Christ in Revelation
Christian Living
Consider the crucial points of the Christian life with author Wendy Goubej.
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Why Should I Study the Bible?
How God Saves Us
God’s Supreme Sacrifice for You
Conversion and Repentance
A True Christian Spiritual Life What is Faith?
Surrender Christian Growth
God's Promises to You
Baptism: the New Birth Experience
The Origins Of Evil
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The Prince of this Planet
The Origin of Sin The Great Controversy
God's Plan to Eradicate Sin
A Day of Rest
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Creation and the Sabbath The Weekly Cycle
Why Sunday? Sabbath FAQ
The Mystic Realm of Death
Is there more to death than the fact that it is the opposite of life?
Death: Understanding the Terminology
A Biblical Understanding of Death
The Resurrection of Lazarus Spiritism
Hell and Purgatory An Immediate Afterlife?
The Parable of Lazarus
Signs and Wonders
Are miraculous signs the best way to be sure that God exists?
Supernatural Deceptions
What are Stigmata?
Deceptions Today
The greatest deceptions are still being formed in society today. Secret international alliances, the mark of the Beast, the New Age, and other issues are discussed.
The Antichrist Identified
Politics and the Papacy Unity at All Cost?
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The United Nations' Global Government
Secret Societies
What’s So Bad about Spiritual Formation?
Zionism
The Second Coming of Christ
How will Christ return, and what will it mean for His people?
Signs of The Second Coming of Christ
How Christ will Return
What will Happen to God's People?
What will Happen to the Rejecters of God?
Will there be a Secret Rapture?
The Seven Plagues
The Millennium of Peace
Learn about the Bible's prophecies on God's judgment, deliverance, Armageddon, and the earth made new.
Viewpoints What is the Judgment?
Probation and God's Promises
Consequences Begin Deliverance and Armageddon
Satan Bound God's People will Judge
Postmillennial Return of Christ
The Resurrection of those who Reject God
The Crowning of Christ
The Punishment for those who Reject God
The Earth Made New
Spiritual Gifts
Learn from Paul as he teaches the Corinthian Church about spiritual gifts.
Understanding 1 Corinthians
Pagan Practices
1 Corinthians 12: Spiritual Gifts
What are Spiritual Gifts?
Defining the Spiritual Gifts A Lesson in Love
Dealing with Tongues
Prophecy: God's Guiding Gift
The Gospel Story
Since the beginning of time, God has communicated timely messages to the inhabitants of planet Earth. It all started in Eden, with the first Gospel announcement.
The Second Advent Movement
The Beginning of the End of Time
The Great Disappointment and the Birth of Adventism
What are the Three Angels' Messages?
Adventism and the Final Conflict
Walking Through Daniel
Dive into prophecy and history in this chapter-by-chapter commentary of the book of Daniel.
Introduction to Daniel
Daniel 1 Commentary Daniel 2 Commentary
Daniel 3 Commentary Daniel 4 Commentary
Daniel 5 Commentary Daniel 6 Commentary
Daniel 7 Commentary Daniel 8 Commentary
Daniel 9 Commentary Daniel 10 Commentary
Daniel 11 Commentary Daniel 12 Commentary
Walking through Revelation
Join us on a journey through the pages of this letter from Christ to His people.
The Chiastic Structure of Revelation
Is Revelation a Sealed Book?
Revelation 1: Jesus, The Heart of Revelation
Revelation 1 Commentary
Revelation 2-3: Letters to Seven Churches
Revelation 2 Commentary
Revelation 3 Commentary
The Lamb and the Sealed Book
Revelation 4 Commentary
Revelation 5 Commentary
Revelation 6 Commentary
Revelation 7 Commentary
Revelation 8 Commentary
Revelation 9 Commentary
Revelation 10 Commentary
Revelation 11 Commentary
Revelation 12 Commentary
Revelation 13 Commentary
Revelation 14 Commentary
Revelation 15 Commentary
Revelation 16 Commentary
Revelation 17 Commentary
Revelation 18 Commentary
Revelation 19 Commentary
Revelation 20 Commentary
Revelation 21 Commentary
Revelation 22 Commentary
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Aspartame
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Reports show that red wine may be beneficial to heart health. Is that a good enough reason to start drinking alcohol?
Is a Little Wine Good for the Soul?
The Dairy Controversy
Get the truth about lactose, calcium, and the need for caution around dairy products.
Drink Milk? Udder Propaganda
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Poisoned Meats
Today's meat and dairy industries are focused on profit rather than health.
The History of the Human Diet
Genetically Modified Foods
The agriculture industry is fast becoming reliant on genetically modified foods. Learn the facts about GMOs and the effects this trend is having on health worldwide.
Soy Safety Summarized
Still Eating Genetically Modified Foods?
The Big GMO Cover-up
Refined Grains
Most of the bread products consumed today are made of refined grains. Are our breakfast cereals and "fortified" loaves as healthy as we like to think?
Coffee
Do the stimulating benefits of coffee really outweigh the costs?
America's Number One Drug Problem—Coffee
Caffeine Caffeine Raises Stress Hormones
Sugar—Affecting the Body and Mind
Refined sugar is addictive, destructive, and devoid of any nutritional value. Why does it continue to be a staple food across the world?
Smoking
Smoking leads to massive amounts of sickness and death every year. Can you beat the nicotine?
Kicking the Tobacco Habit
Nicotine and Depression
Necessary Treatments?
From mammograms to prescription drugs, the modern medical industry is always presenting a new way to diagnose and solve health issues. But are these new treatments really healing anything?
Mammograms or Thermal Imaging?
How to Kill a Cold, Starve a Fever
Many Doctors Ignore the Root Cause of Cancer
Are Hospital Births or Home Births Safer?
Compromise in the Pharmaceutical Industry
Hepatitis B Vaccines
Mercury Poisoning from Amalgam Dental Fillings
Tylenol, the tip of the iceberg
Depression
Find practical ideas for dealing with depression in these articles about symptoms and treatments.
Diseases of the Mind
Lifestyle Principles for Treating Depression
Nutritional Treatments for Depression
Herbs and Medication for Treating Depression
SAD and Bright Light Therapy
Get Healthy!
We are surrounded by unhealthy foods, unwise practices, and even harmful medical advice. Learn how to overcome these obstacles and choose a healthy lifestyle.
The Eight Laws of Health
"You've Changed"
When Sin Has Nothing To Feed Upon
Physical and Spiritual Health
Use it or Lose it! Living off the Land
An Attitude of Gratitude Serving Others
The Healing Power of Honey A Healthy Attitude
Iron in the Vegan Diet Healing
Helpful Health Charts
These graphs and tables can help you jumpstart your health routine.
Sources of Calcium - Chart
Animal Products and Food-borne Illness
Chocolate and Carob Compared
Compatible Combinations of Plant Foods - Graph
Acid and Alkaline Ash Food Groups - Graph
Schedule for a Healthy Lifestyle
Knowledge
Base