Oprah & "The New Earth"

RE: Oprah &

I watched the YouTube vid as well and thought; 'HUH!! What's the rhetoric here? All that Oprah, Mr. Tolle and the book discusses is 'for the greater good' and has no anti-Christian sentiments whatsoever'. In this self centred, me, me, me world how can teaching that there is something greater than our physical selves abiding within ourselves be a bad thing. I am a recovering Catholic, left the church in my early '40's and set myself on a spiritual path that still loves and admires Jesus Christ but now looks at God, the Infinite, the Universal Energy or Harold...whatever you want to call it, as an entity that lives within me and you but we must calm and quiet ourselves to be aware and present. It's not ego, it's essence (Christians would call it soul). The dogmatic, paternalistic model of Christianity that I was raised with, personally stifles and suffocates me. I can't stand the notion that the only way to 'God' is through Jesus Christ, in my opinion that is narrow minded beyond my comprehension and breeds intolerance by it's very nature. The world truly is a global village now and I am so grateful to have friends who are Jewish, Islamic, Hindu...their way has taught me that all ways lead to the same Nirvana, Heaven, Eternity if we live our lives thinking right, doing right and respecting each other.
Seems to me the quiet and centred 'trance' referred to with such fear and suspicion looks a heck of a lot like prayer...
I think it's great that Oprah and Ekhart Tolle are creating a positive ripple to the world and we can all take it or leave as we will.

Take Care
Laurie:)
 
RE: Oprah &

ITA Laurie. I think we should be able to explore our world and our own consciousness without fear of some church saying it's evil.

I like this quote from Richard Dawkins:

"The world and the universe is an extremely beautiful place, and the more we understand about it the more beautiful does it appear. It is an immensely exciting experience to be born in the world, born in the universe, and look around you and realize that before you die you have the opportunity of understanding an immense amount about that world and about that universe and about life and about why we're here. We have the opportunity of understanding far, far more than any of our predecessors ever. That is such an exciting possibility, it would be such a shame to blow it and end your life not having understood what there is to understand."

Here's to knowledge and to human progress! :)

ETA: This issue seems especially important in light of the FLDS events. In this instance, religion has been used to perpetrate abuses we can't even imagine on the women and children in this community.
 
RE: Oprah &

The plan of Satan is to take any and all glory from God. The first commandment states that "Thou shalt not have any other god before Me." God created a God sized void in each and everyone of us. The only way to fill it, which leads to life, is with God. We (as a population) try many other ways to fill that void: drugs, alcohol, sex, overspending, etc. etc. etc. What concerns me about "The New Earth" is the notion that you need to look within yourself. Though, of course this is not stated in the book, what I hear is "You don't need God, you have everything you need within yourself". Which is exactly what Satan tries to convince us of in order to steal us away from our Creator who loves us and gave His Son to die for us.

Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life and no one comes to the Father but through Me." So, no, not all ways lead to Heaven, only One. It is not intolerant, but it is the plan of a loving God who wishes that none of His children would perish.
 
RE: Oprah &

>Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life and no one
>comes to the Father but through Me." So, no, not all ways
>lead to Heaven, only One. It is not intolerant, but it is the
>plan of a loving God who wishes that none of His children
>would perish.

You lost me when you referred to the Creator Spirit that is available to all humankind as 'Father' and 'His', no where in my open mind, body or spirit does it make sense that 'God' would have gender nor have any 'children perish' because they were out of reach of the 'Christianity by submission' methods of Christian Missionaries past and present. We'll have to agree to disagree:)

Take Care
Laurie:)
 
RE: Oprah &

Yes that is why I wrote that (if you are christian, if you believe in the bible etc.) because this caution is for Christians that believe in the Bible.
Of course I believe any one should be cautious about what they believe.. also in established religion!

Is there a truth out there? or is truth what you decide it is? We all have the freedom to choose.. but we should try to find out for sure what the truth is.
What if Jesus IS the only way to eternal life? Oprah teaches it is not. that alone misleads many. Because something sounds good and happy.. does not make it true. Part of the "new age" teaching is that all religions are the same, they lead to the same end. It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you are a good person. This is at odds with the Bible. They also may change God to just some energy force.

I am not pointing fingers and saying "your EVIL!" I'm simply saying be careful.
 
RE: Oprah &

>Because something sounds
>good and happy.. does not make it true.

The same can be said of Christianity, or any religion for that matter.
 
RE: Oprah &

> What if Jesus IS the only way to eternal life? Oprah teaches
>it is not.

I don't understand. Oprah is very clear that she is a Christian. Is she too open to other people with different notions on religion for your taste?

> I am not pointing fingers and saying "your EVIL!" I'm simply
>saying be careful.

I agree that we should be careful. Care-ful towards people who are different from us and who may not share our beliefs. The world is made up of MANY different people and religions, and for the sake of love and humanity, we need to respect difference. Cautioning that a book about self-awareness is the work of Satan is not an example of such respect.
 
RE: Oprah &

I just have a general question since I haven't read the book and this thread is confusing to me. Is the book ABOUT Christian beliefs, or geared to a Christian audience? I'm interested in the book - I think - but if it focuses on Christianity I'll move on, as I am not a Christian. If it is not specific to Christianity/Christians than I'm confused as to why the question of Christians reading it was even brought up in the first place. The main point of the thread seems to have been lost.

Thanks!

Sparrow


Even after all this time the earth never says to the sun, "you owe me." Look what happens with a love like that.

It lights the whole sky.

- Hafiz
 
RE: Oprah &

Quite frankly, I don't care about eternal life.

A "loving" god that will let you burn in hell for not believing in him. Hmmm....I wonder why I never bought into that?

I was raised in a family where religion was just taken for granted. Everybody I knew was Christian, everybody went to church at least once a week, and, because it was a small rural area, the church was the center of the community. I never questioned it, but, I also never quite bought into it. It wasn't rebellion that turned me away from it; I have wonderful memories of my childhood and my Sundays in church. I even loved those revivals that were held every year, with services every night for a week, ususally the hottest of the summer. I even loved the hymns and the Bible stories. It just never "took." It's not like I didn't try or that my life wasn't saturated with it--for the life of me I don't know why the brainwashing didn't take effect. Maybe it's that "God gene" I've heard about.

I don't fill my "God void" with drugs, alcohol, sex, or overspending" (although I do love me some sex and wine, but I don't really spend as much time on either as maybe I should!) To me, this world and my life are amazing, wonderful, awesome gifts, offering so many wonderful things...nature, animals, music, literature, art, friends, food..."worldy things" I think I've heard them called in religious circles. Well, I LOVE them. And I'm supposed to expect MORE after I'm dead? I have the nerve to ask for more?? I just can't see it. As humans, we've taken so much from this world, destroyed so much, asked for so much, and we give back so little...and we think we deserve MORE??? Sorry, it just doesn't make sense to me. And if I there is a god/goddess, he/she should tell us that we're all spoiled brats and don't deserve half of what we have, much less paradise. And if I did believe in a god, it wouldn't be one that claims to forgive anything but not believing in him.

I do have a question, though. If your faith is so strong, why are you so afraid of accidentally coming across or reading something that might make you question it? You're so afraid that Satan is hiding in so many things that you avoid books, experiences, etc. "just in case." Shouldn't your faith be strong enough to withstand it?
 
RE: Oprah &

>What concerns me about "The New Earth" is the notion that you
>need to look within yourself.

Wow--that's a strong statement. I believe that it is not only incredibly important, but our duty as human beings to look within ourselves and learn about ourselves. I refuse to blindly follow what the Bible says and ignore what makes me "me".

Allison

http://www.picturetrail.com/allisonj90
 
RE: Oprah &

No Sparrow, the book is not about religion at all. But since Oprah reaches so many people, this has become an issue. Tolle is, I believe, influenced by certain Buddhist thinkers, but he is a philosopher in his own right. The book is about letting go of the ego.
 
RE: Oprah &

>Quite frankly, I don't care about eternal life.
>
>A "loving" god that will let you burn in hell for not
>believing in him. Hmmm....I wonder why I never bought into
>that?
>
>I was raised in a family where religion was just taken for
>granted. Everybody I knew was Christian, everybody went to
>church at least once a week, and, because it was a small rural
>area, the church was the center of the community. I never
>questioned it, but, I also never quite bought into it. It
>wasn't rebellion that turned me away from it; I have wonderful
>memories of my childhood and my Sundays in church. I even
>loved those revivals that were held every year, with services
>every night for a week, ususally the hottest of the summer. I
>even loved the hymns and the Bible stories. It just never
>"took." It's not like I didn't try or that my life wasn't
>saturated with it--for the life of me I don't know why the
>brainwashing didn't take effect. Maybe it's that "God gene"
>I've heard about.
>
>I don't fill my "God void" with drugs, alcohol, sex, or
>overspending" (although I do love me some sex and wine, but I
>don't really spend as much time on either as maybe I should!)
>To me, this world and my life are amazing, wonderful, awesome
>gifts, offering so many wonderful things...nature, animals,
>music, literature, art, friends, food..."worldy things" I
>think I've heard them called in religious circles. Well, I
>LOVE them. And I'm supposed to expect MORE after I'm dead? I
>have the nerve to ask for more?? I just can't see it. As
>humans, we've taken so much from this world, destroyed so
>much, asked for so much, and we give back so little...and we
>think we deserve MORE??? Sorry, it just doesn't make sense to
>me. And if I there is a god/goddess, he/she should tell us
>that we're all spoiled brats and don't deserve half of what we
>have, much less paradise. And if I did believe in a god, it
>wouldn't be one that claims to forgive anything but not
>believing in him.
>
>I do have a question, though. If your faith is so strong, why
>are you so afraid of accidently coming across or reading
>something that might make you question it? You're so afraid
>that Satan is hiding in so many things that you avoid books,
>experiences, etc. "just in case." Shouln't your faith be
>strong enough to withstand it?

Holy crap, TeTe. That was the best post I've ever read in my life. I feel like I could have written every.single.word. (I'm just not that eloquent or well-written....);)

Allison

http://www.picturetrail.com/allisonj90
 
RE: Oprah &

>Quite frankly, I don't care about eternal life.
>
>A "loving" god that will let you burn in hell for not
>believing in him. Hmmm....I wonder why I never bought into
>that?
>
>I was raised in a family where religion was just taken for
>granted. Everybody I knew was Christian, everybody went to
>church at least once a week, and, because it was a small rural
>area, the church was the center of the community. I never
>questioned it, but, I also never quite bought into it. It
>wasn't rebellion that turned me away from it; I have wonderful
>memories of my childhood and my Sundays in church. I even
>loved those revivals that were held every year, with services
>every night for a week, ususally the hottest of the summer. I
>even loved the hymns and the Bible stories. It just never
>"took." It's not like I didn't try or that my life wasn't
>saturated with it--for the life of me I don't know why the
>brainwashing didn't take effect. Maybe it's that "God gene"
>I've heard about.
>
>I don't fill my "God void" with drugs, alcohol, sex, or
>overspending" (although I do love me some sex and wine, but I
>don't really spend as much time on either as maybe I should!)
>To me, this world and my life are amazing, wonderful, awesome
>gifts, offering so many wonderful things...nature, animals,
>music, literature, art, friends, food..."worldy things" I
>think I've heard them called in religious circles. Well, I
>LOVE them. And I'm supposed to expect MORE after I'm dead? I
>have the nerve to ask for more?? I just can't see it. As
>humans, we've taken so much from this world, destroyed so
>much, asked for so much, and we give back so little...and we
>think we deserve MORE??? Sorry, it just doesn't make sense to
>me. And if I there is a god/goddess, he/she should tell us
>that we're all spoiled brats and don't deserve half of what we
>have, much less paradise. And if I did believe in a god, it
>wouldn't be one that claims to forgive anything but not
>believing in him.
>
>I do have a question, though. If your faith is so strong, why
>are you so afraid of accidently coming across or reading
>something that might make you question it? You're so afraid
>that Satan is hiding in so many things that you avoid books,
>experiences, etc. "just in case." Shouln't your faith be
>strong enough to withstand it?

TeTe:

I so enjoyed your post that "ITA" just doesn't cut it. So for you, a
rock on!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/Batgirl_1969/rockon-1.gif

And a dancing banana.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b39/Batgirl_1969/banana.gif


Sparrow

Even after all this time the earth never says to the sun, "you owe me." Look what happens with a love like that.

It lights the whole sky.

- Hafiz
 
RE: Oprah &

>No Sparrow, the book is not about religion at all. But since
>Oprah reaches so many people, this has become an issue. Tolle
>is, I believe, influenced by certain Buddhist thinkers, but he
>is a philosopher in his own right. The book is about letting
>go of the ego.

Well then what a shame it's gone so OT. I am learning the Buddhist teachings myself and will enjoy this book then. Look forward to reading it!

Thanks!

Sparrow

Even after all this time the earth never says to the sun, "you owe me." Look what happens with a love like that.

It lights the whole sky.

- Hafiz
 
RE: Oprah &

Oh shoot! How could I have left out a dancing banana for TeTe! x( ;)

Ok, well, how about a dancing crayon?....
1.gif


Allison

http://www.picturetrail.com/allisonj90
 
RE: Oprah &

Kudos to TeTe for writing, in my opinion, such an eloquent comment. I for one have been too busy painting my nails black, listening to Frank Zappa, and reading Ayn Rand books to participate in such discourse. Now off to spin some Led Zeppelin vinyl backwards....
 
RE: Oprah &

I am really sad at this clear misunderstanding and lack of knowledge of God and what the bible actually says represented in this post. It is not at all how you are portraying it. If you truly knew Jesus you would not be saying these things in such a spiteful way. How can having so many wonderful memories of Sundays in church make you say such cruel things concerning God?

Missy
 
RE: Oprah &

Beavs -

I'll be starting Atlas Shrugged soon. Have you read it? I'm trying to get DH to read it so we can have a mini book club.

Te Te-

Well written! Couldn't have said it better myself.

Amy -

GREAT quote! :)

Carolyn
 
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