The Trouble With Oprah
Posted by Danielle Bean in News on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 1:15 PM
Minnesota Mom’s recent blog post about the Oprah Winfrey show brought this column by HLI’s Fr. Euteneuer to my attention.
Everyone knows Oprah. She introduced the nation to the wonders of Spanx (I won’t link—Google it yourself). She’s just a silly talk show host, right? What’s all the fuss about?
The fuss is, as Euteneuer points out, that Oprah is not only one of the richest and most famous women in America, she’s also the most influential. And she uses her influence not only to promote overpriced underwear, but also to dabble in politics and—more dangerous still—spirituality.
In a recent email appeal, Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin of Catholic Answers wrote, in part:
But if you are like many people, you’ve assumed that she’s just been pumping out the same kind of confessional TV talk show pablum, pop psychology, and feel-good self-affirmation that you find on so many other programs. If that’s what you think, you haven’t seen her show in years. Oprah has totally transformed herself and her media empire. She is no longer just a microphone-toting interviewer of tearful guests and cheering audiences. Believe it or not, she has become . . . a spiritual icon.
Of particular concern is Oprah’s feverish promotion of the New Age book A Course of Miracles by Helen Schucman, a psychologist from Columbia University. Oprah has chosen to do a 365-day, non-stop “lesson a day” program that would present A Course in Miracles to her millions of fans. Among other “revelations” in this book are the “facts” that there is no sin, that the name of Jesus Christ is a symbol “of all the gods to which you pray,” and a slain Christ “has no meaning” and so we should not cling “to the old, rugged cross.”
I admit that I haven’t watched Oprah in years, but from a distance I have been amazed by the power of her persuasion. She gives any book a nod and it’s an instant best seller. Glamorous photos of Oprah herself grace the cover of every single issue of O magazine because her image sells.
And now this. She is fast becoming a spiritual leader for a spiritually bankrupt nation of “believers.”
What about you? Are you along for the ride?
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