Although she’s created a firestorm among believers in the past by suggesting that Jesus is not the only way, Oprah Winfrey is now boldly confessing Christ.
Twice during her “Oprah’s Lifeclass: The Tour” broadcast on Monday, Winfrey aligned herself with Christianity. Winfrey started by introducing the show to her Radio City Music Hall audience. The theme: “Spiritual Solutions.” The teacher: New Age guru Deepak Chopra.
“I am not talking about religion. I am a Christian. That is my faith. I’m not asking you to be a Christian. If you want to be one I can show you how. But it is not required. I have respect for all faiths. All faiths. But what I’m talking about is not faith or religion. I’m talking about spirituality,” Winfrey said.
Winfrey said her definition of spirituality is living life with an open heart, through love, and allowing yourself to align with the values of tolerance, acceptance, of harmony, of cooperation and reverence for life. She said she believes there is a divine thread that connects spiritually to something greater than ourselves.
“My favorite Bible verse—because I am Christian—is Acts 17:28. It says, ‘In God I live and move and have my being’,” Winfrey said. “And you want to know why I’m so successful? Because I knew that at 4 years-old … I wouldn’t be who I am today without a spiritual consciousness, without spiritual values and ultimately without spiritual love.”
Although some are still criticizing Winfrey, The Black Christian News Network (BCNN) is standing in defense of the sincerity of her confession:
“Now we know that some people are going to doubt Oprah’s profession of faith in Christ and some are going to say negative things about this because she has different people of different faiths on her show and so forth. But before you Pharisees say all of that, please understand that OWN is not a Christian network. It is a network for all people. OWN is Oprah’s business, and we as Christians know what that is like when you’re doing business in a secular world. So Oprah’s business side is going to be different, but it does not take anything away from her faith in Christ.”
BCNN thanked the likes of Stedman Graham, Tyler Perry, T.D. Jakes and others who wisely encouraged Winfrey and coached her on how to make her public profession of faith in Christ before the world.
“We believe that Oprah’s true ‘next chapter’ is to finish her life leading millions to the Christ that saved her,” BCNN wrote. “We want to encourage all Christians to pray for Oprah as she grows in her faith in Christ.”
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