How Can I Be Silent?
By Donna Wasson
Let’s suppose you had a best friend; one that you’d know practically all your life. You’re pretty much joined at the hip and people say if they see one of you, the other one can’t be far away. After spending countless hours together, you know their character and you’re learning everyday they’re more wonderful than you ever thought. You can’t help but want to be just like them. This person is so cool, so bursting with life you can scarcely believe they want to hang out with you and you never cease to be amazed that they genuinely consider you to be their friend too. You’d give a kidney to your buddy if it was necessary. Down deep, you’re even convinced you’d be willing to die for them if the circumstances demanded it.
Now, let’s pretend someone is spreading rumors and lies about your friend. This person is jealous but instead of simply telling your buddy they want to be friends too, their pride won’t allow it. So to compensate for their own shortcomings and make themselves feel more important, they start twisting things your friend said and wrote and they take them out of context and tell everybody they can. Naturally, this makes people who’ve never met your pal believe erroneous, even kooky things about them. So what do you do? Keep silent? Not defend the most important person on the planet? Of course not! You take every opportunity to tell the truth and you don’t care if others think you’re going overboard.
Well dang it, somebody is spreading half-truths and outright lies about the best friend anyone could have (Jesus Christ) and I’m not going stand for it! That “somebody” is….Oprah. Yes, the Queen of All Media. The greatest black woman that’s ever graced this earth. The all knowing, all seeing Oprah Winfrey and her Oprah & Friends daily show on XM radio. She has hired and heartily endorses one, Marianne Williamson, to teach a 365 day course in what ends up being metaphysical manure. The “Course” as they call it, is entitled A Course in Miracles. Let me give you a synopsis of what this “Course” entails.
“Our minds are a blank. To recognize this is to recognize nothingness when you think you see. As such, it is a prerequisite for vision. What we perceive around us is not real and is meaningless. When we train our minds to think God’s thoughts and move from ego thought to loving thought, our lives will be filled with love, peace, joy. This is salvation.”
Uh…Huh? Groovy. Can we all put on gauzy dresses, plait daisies in our hair, dance haphazardly about on dirty feet while listening to psychedelic music and smoking hash while our love child looks on? This “Course” sounds like a regurgitation of the 1960’s.
The nonsensical philosophy is the same. It’s just been repackaged as New Age gobbledygook. And it openly twists scripture from the Bible to make the ideas taught feel warm and fuzzy and sound plausible. Let me show you what I mean.
Lessons 1-10 or so concentrate on training you to not trust what your eyes see because nothing really exists and it is all meaningless. You must meditate several times a day and empty your mind (yep, it would take an empty mind alright!) of all thoughts of the past and future so you can move from seeing things in the physical realm and view things in the spiritual realm. There, you’ll be able to think God’s thoughts and nothing but love.
Lesson 45 states, “We think with the mind of God; our thoughts are one with His.” “Thinking the thoughts of God, as in the beginning, is an exercise in holiness and an attempt to reach the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Hmmm. What does the Bible say about this idea? Isaiah 55: 8-9 (ESV) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher then the earth, so are my ways higher than your way and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Here are some other gems taught in the “Course.” These are taken off of Oprah’s website, directly from the transcripts of previously aired programs.
“All minds are joined.” You mean I have the same mind as my cat?
“God is merely the love within us, so returning to Him is a return to ourselves.”
Revelation 1:8 (ESV) “I am the Alpha and Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” ‘Nuff said.
“You have the mind of God. Therefore you must be sinless or a part of His mind would be sinful.”
Revelation 15:4 (ESV) “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy.”
Romans 3:23 (ESV) “..for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
“The Holy Spirit was created by God as the mediator between perception and knowledge. Salvation is the undoing of what never was. Perception was made by the Son of God for an unholy purpose. Healed perception becomes the means by which the Son of God forgives his brother and thus, forgives himself.”
This is such drivel as to not even merit a response.
“There is nothing to fear. Salvation means we are saved from false thinking and the illusions they produce.” “My holiness is my salvation. Hell is guilt and self-condemnation. My holiness is the end of guilt and therefore the end of hell. My holiness is the salvation of the world.” “God does not forgive because He has never condemned.” “Our forgiving others can truly be called salvation.” Oh, where do I begin…
John 3:18-19 (ESV) “Whoever believes in him (Christ) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.” Because God is holy he must condemn sin and the unrepentant sinner.
Matthew 25:41 (ESV) “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” Hell is much more than “false thinking.” It is a real place that was never meant for people. A loving God does not send people to hell. They choose to go by not accepting the pardon freely offered by Jesus Christ through His blood, death and resurrection.
The “Course” teaches that you can, by meditation and thought reversal, rid yourself of all guilt and negativity and achieve 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.
The two favorite quotes I’ve discovered so far in my research are, “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.” And, “The atonement is the final lesson he (man) need learn, for it teaches him that, having never sinned, he has no need of salvation.”
The real story of the friend I defend is very simple, really.
There is only ONE God and He made man.
Isaiah 43:10-11 (ESV) “Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.”
John 14:6 (ESV) “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.’”
Genesis 1:27 (ESV) “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Man chose to rebel against the holy God, bringing sin into the world, resulting in death and separation from God for all future generations.
Romans 5:12 (ESV) “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”
Because of God’s great love for mankind, He decided to pay the penalty (death and shedding his blood) Himself for our sin in order to reconcile us back to a relationship with Him forever. This was His plan all along.
Leviticus 17:11 (ESV) “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”
John 3:16 (ESV) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Romans 5:8-10 (ESV) “..but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For is while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”
1 Peter 1: 18-20 (ESV) “..knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake.”
There is nothing we can do to reach God. No amount of “being a good person”; no amount of money given; no number of good deeds can do it. We are separated because of sin, and are hopelessly lost. The only way to be reconnected is to believe that Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins, rose from the grave and is alive forever. It’s very simple.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV) “For by grace (unmerited favor of God) you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
A Course in Miracles teaches that, with enough meditation, enough trying, enough discipline, enough work, work, work, you can achieve salvation by thinking with the mind of God. This is religion in its purest form. It’s the teaching that says, “I’m not sinful. I don’t need grace. I can earn my way to God by what I do. I’m a good person. I can be like God.” If I remember correctly, this is what Lucifer thought before he was kicked out of heaven for rebellion. He is still whispering this lie today.
So you have a choice as to what to believe about my friend. Lies and half-truths? Twisted thinking that sets you up to be a little god in your own mind? Ending up lost and separated from the God that loves you enough to shed his blood for you?
Or will you accept the simple fact that getting to heaven is a gift that God freely offers us simply for believing in the sacrifice of his Son? It’s just that easy.
In Matthew 24: 4-5 (ESV) Jesus told us, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.”
The apostle Paul warned in Galatians 1:6-8 (ESV), “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”
Finally I’d like to remind Ms. Winfrey of a couple of things. She has been blessed with incredible success and influence. Therefore, she has the responsibility to choose carefully what she endorses. In Mark 8:36 (ESV) Jesus asks, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his life (soul)?”
I pray she wakes up and realizes that this “Course” is a gross misrepresentation of the Bible and is blasphemous against Christ. So many people who trust her for guidance and who are seeking answers to life’s questions might believe this tripe.
I hope she remembers the scripture in Matthew 18:6 (ESV) “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin (stumble), it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
By Donna Wasson
Let’s suppose you had a best friend; one that you’d know practically all your life. You’re pretty much joined at the hip and people say if they see one of you, the other one can’t be far away. After spending countless hours together, you know their character and you’re learning everyday they’re more wonderful than you ever thought. You can’t help but want to be just like them. This person is so cool, so bursting with life you can scarcely believe they want to hang out with you and you never cease to be amazed that they genuinely consider you to be their friend too. You’d give a kidney to your buddy if it was necessary. Down deep, you’re even convinced you’d be willing to die for them if the circumstances demanded it.
Now, let’s pretend someone is spreading rumors and lies about your friend. This person is jealous but instead of simply telling your buddy they want to be friends too, their pride won’t allow it. So to compensate for their own shortcomings and make themselves feel more important, they start twisting things your friend said and wrote and they take them out of context and tell everybody they can. Naturally, this makes people who’ve never met your pal believe erroneous, even kooky things about them. So what do you do? Keep silent? Not defend the most important person on the planet? Of course not! You take every opportunity to tell the truth and you don’t care if others think you’re going overboard.
Well dang it, somebody is spreading half-truths and outright lies about the best friend anyone could have (Jesus Christ) and I’m not going stand for it! That “somebody” is….Oprah. Yes, the Queen of All Media. The greatest black woman that’s ever graced this earth. The all knowing, all seeing Oprah Winfrey and her Oprah & Friends daily show on XM radio. She has hired and heartily endorses one, Marianne Williamson, to teach a 365 day course in what ends up being metaphysical manure. The “Course” as they call it, is entitled A Course in Miracles. Let me give you a synopsis of what this “Course” entails.
“Our minds are a blank. To recognize this is to recognize nothingness when you think you see. As such, it is a prerequisite for vision. What we perceive around us is not real and is meaningless. When we train our minds to think God’s thoughts and move from ego thought to loving thought, our lives will be filled with love, peace, joy. This is salvation.”
Uh…Huh? Groovy. Can we all put on gauzy dresses, plait daisies in our hair, dance haphazardly about on dirty feet while listening to psychedelic music and smoking hash while our love child looks on? This “Course” sounds like a regurgitation of the 1960’s.
The nonsensical philosophy is the same. It’s just been repackaged as New Age gobbledygook. And it openly twists scripture from the Bible to make the ideas taught feel warm and fuzzy and sound plausible. Let me show you what I mean.
Lessons 1-10 or so concentrate on training you to not trust what your eyes see because nothing really exists and it is all meaningless. You must meditate several times a day and empty your mind (yep, it would take an empty mind alright!) of all thoughts of the past and future so you can move from seeing things in the physical realm and view things in the spiritual realm. There, you’ll be able to think God’s thoughts and nothing but love.
Lesson 45 states, “We think with the mind of God; our thoughts are one with His.” “Thinking the thoughts of God, as in the beginning, is an exercise in holiness and an attempt to reach the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Hmmm. What does the Bible say about this idea? Isaiah 55: 8-9 (ESV) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher then the earth, so are my ways higher than your way and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Here are some other gems taught in the “Course.” These are taken off of Oprah’s website, directly from the transcripts of previously aired programs.
“All minds are joined.” You mean I have the same mind as my cat?
“God is merely the love within us, so returning to Him is a return to ourselves.”
Revelation 1:8 (ESV) “I am the Alpha and Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” ‘Nuff said.
“You have the mind of God. Therefore you must be sinless or a part of His mind would be sinful.”
Revelation 15:4 (ESV) “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy.”
Romans 3:23 (ESV) “..for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
“The Holy Spirit was created by God as the mediator between perception and knowledge. Salvation is the undoing of what never was. Perception was made by the Son of God for an unholy purpose. Healed perception becomes the means by which the Son of God forgives his brother and thus, forgives himself.”
This is such drivel as to not even merit a response.
“There is nothing to fear. Salvation means we are saved from false thinking and the illusions they produce.” “My holiness is my salvation. Hell is guilt and self-condemnation. My holiness is the end of guilt and therefore the end of hell. My holiness is the salvation of the world.” “God does not forgive because He has never condemned.” “Our forgiving others can truly be called salvation.” Oh, where do I begin…
John 3:18-19 (ESV) “Whoever believes in him (Christ) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.” Because God is holy he must condemn sin and the unrepentant sinner.
Matthew 25:41 (ESV) “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” Hell is much more than “false thinking.” It is a real place that was never meant for people. A loving God does not send people to hell. They choose to go by not accepting the pardon freely offered by Jesus Christ through His blood, death and resurrection.
The “Course” teaches that you can, by meditation and thought reversal, rid yourself of all guilt and negativity and achieve 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.
The two favorite quotes I’ve discovered so far in my research are, “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.” And, “The atonement is the final lesson he (man) need learn, for it teaches him that, having never sinned, he has no need of salvation.”
The real story of the friend I defend is very simple, really.
There is only ONE God and He made man.
Isaiah 43:10-11 (ESV) “Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.”
John 14:6 (ESV) “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.’”
Genesis 1:27 (ESV) “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Man chose to rebel against the holy God, bringing sin into the world, resulting in death and separation from God for all future generations.
Romans 5:12 (ESV) “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”
Because of God’s great love for mankind, He decided to pay the penalty (death and shedding his blood) Himself for our sin in order to reconcile us back to a relationship with Him forever. This was His plan all along.
Leviticus 17:11 (ESV) “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”
John 3:16 (ESV) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Romans 5:8-10 (ESV) “..but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For is while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”
1 Peter 1: 18-20 (ESV) “..knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake.”
There is nothing we can do to reach God. No amount of “being a good person”; no amount of money given; no number of good deeds can do it. We are separated because of sin, and are hopelessly lost. The only way to be reconnected is to believe that Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins, rose from the grave and is alive forever. It’s very simple.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV) “For by grace (unmerited favor of God) you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
A Course in Miracles teaches that, with enough meditation, enough trying, enough discipline, enough work, work, work, you can achieve salvation by thinking with the mind of God. This is religion in its purest form. It’s the teaching that says, “I’m not sinful. I don’t need grace. I can earn my way to God by what I do. I’m a good person. I can be like God.” If I remember correctly, this is what Lucifer thought before he was kicked out of heaven for rebellion. He is still whispering this lie today.
So you have a choice as to what to believe about my friend. Lies and half-truths? Twisted thinking that sets you up to be a little god in your own mind? Ending up lost and separated from the God that loves you enough to shed his blood for you?
Or will you accept the simple fact that getting to heaven is a gift that God freely offers us simply for believing in the sacrifice of his Son? It’s just that easy.
In Matthew 24: 4-5 (ESV) Jesus told us, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.”
The apostle Paul warned in Galatians 1:6-8 (ESV), “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”
Finally I’d like to remind Ms. Winfrey of a couple of things. She has been blessed with incredible success and influence. Therefore, she has the responsibility to choose carefully what she endorses. In Mark 8:36 (ESV) Jesus asks, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his life (soul)?”
I pray she wakes up and realizes that this “Course” is a gross misrepresentation of the Bible and is blasphemous against Christ. So many people who trust her for guidance and who are seeking answers to life’s questions might believe this tripe.
I hope she remembers the scripture in Matthew 18:6 (ESV) “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin (stumble), it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
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