In Her Defense- The Church Of Oprah Exposed?

Watch this video titled THE CHURCH OF OPRAH EXPOSED. It has over 3 million hits on youtube.My friend Anna sent me the link to this video today, but she prefaced it with an open discussion about how she was raised Baptist and was told never to question what they were telling her. Even though she had questions and her father is a pastor, she couldn’t move past the questions in her heart.Today she says that the path of Christianity works for her, connects her to God as a guideline for right living but she doesn’t discount anyone else’s path. She said that people who are true Christians should know that they aren’t supposed to judge others.When I discussed this video with Kim she stopped me in mid sentence. “Girl, I wasn’t going to mention this to you but last Sunday in church my pastor led the church in praying for Oprah and the man who wrote that book A New Earth.”WHAT?!!! I was shocked.”Yeah, he said that we should all pray for Oprah because the book she is promoting teaches that people shouldn’t look to the cross and that we are our own saviours. Then he said that we should all pray for Oprah right now.”This statement led to an hour long discussion between Kim and I about our beliefs. Kim is a Christian and believes that if you don’t go through Jesus as your saviour then you are wrong.I believe that Jesus was God’s child, as we all are, and he was one of the ones who was enlightened enough to walk in his full power while here on earth. There may be more that we know nothing about, who knows.While I continue to search my own heart for what connects me with God the most ,I realize that stepping out, seeking and going against the popular culture is a a scary yet freeing choice. I remember chatting with Yolanda about her evolving beliefs concerning faith and I told her that I used to think she was “trying to be controversial” but now that I am evolving myself, I see what happened was the questioning of the beliefs and then the subsequent SEARCHING for answers within. It was an excercise of giving herself the freedom to choose her own beliefs.While the things that I now believe and write about have been popularized by Oprah, I, in no way have been influenced by her spiritual path. I am not a big Oprah-maniac fan at all, but recently I have learned that she and I share similar beliefs and I respect that. She is merely expressing what has made a profound impact on her life. We all do it, whether it’s a newly discovered outlet store or a great new wine, if something brings us pleasure or joy, we want to share it with others. Who are we to crucify her for sharing an opinion? What works for her, connecting her to God, is all she can share with the world. If it had been a true pathway to religion, then there would still be naysayers.People are so quick to admonish someone for their beliefs and when you ask them WHY they believe what they believe, they can only say, “I was raised that way.”That means that someone told them what to think, they accepted it and are now not open to evolve or seek for themselves. That’s it. End of story. No need to grow. I’m fine the way I am.Well guess what? When I was young I was told that I was worthless. Should I hold on to that belief like a wino to his last bottle of vino, never knowing what might happen if I allowed that bottle, which didn’t serve me fully- spiritually- to tumble from my drunken grasp?No, you would tell me to go and define who I am for myself. You would tell me to ignore that belief that was instilled in me so long ago and learn the truth of who I am for myself, by myself.I admire her for speaking from her heart, as just as many preachers do from the pulpit, sharing what she believes to be true, hoping to enlighten others.No one on this planet is obligated to read that book or follow her path. I give our people more credit than aimlessly following some person they don’t even know. I came to similar conclusions without ever watching Oprah’s shows or following her advice…Am I just as bad as Oprah? Does having a platform to express your growth that engages MILLIONS allow Oprah less of the freedom to express herself spiritually than my lil ol blog that attracts a couple hundred people per day? She is still a person. She still has distinct preferences. She is not obligated to tailor her life evolvement to suit the masses. In case you didn’t know, you can choose whether or not to listen to what she says.My beliefs are mine.Your beliefs are yours.Each are equally precious and unique. None are wrong if it connects you to experience God in a way that serves your life in a positive way.Allowing others to believe whatever it is that connects them to God is the path that I will follow. At the end of the day, we are all reaching for the same place. That is my belief. If it isn’t yours, more power to you.If we focus on our own journey to the divine, more of us will get there sooner without having to obstruct our brother’s path.My path to living a righteous life and connecting with God may be a completely different journey than the one you are on…and that, my friends, is what makes life so exciting.You never know what you are going to get, but if you keep moving, you’ll get there…and hopefully learn to enjoy the process along the way.