The number one article right now on the New York Times website is
Frank Rich: Latter-Day Republicans vs. the Church of Oprah
Frank Rich misleadingly quotes Christianity Today, implying that the great evangelical magazine supports Oprah’s religious beliefs.
He writes,
Five years ago, Christianity Today, the evangelical journal founded by Billy Graham, approvingly described
Oprah as “an icon of church-free spirituality” whose convictions
“cannot simply be dismissed as superficial civil religion or so much
New Age psychobabble.”
Rich totally cites these phrases out of their context. In fact, the Christianity Today article graciously but firmly cites a number of things that are very problematic about Oprah’s spirituality. Here is one of the final lines in the Christianity Today article,
"What the Oprah phenomenon . . . shows . . .is that this brand of spirituality is ultimately unsatisfying."
Here is the link to the Christianity Today story:
Oprah viewers and all Christians should read the
Christianity Today article. While Oprah is a great person, Christians
need to realize her advice is not necessarily Christian advice and viewers should think more critically before accepting her brand of spirituality.
I am appalled that Christianity Today was misquoted in
an article that thousands of people are reading. No doubt most of them
will not realize that Christianity Today is being misquoted. I commend
Frank Rich for providing the link to the original Christianity Today
story in his article so that people can easily find out how badly he
misconstrued it.
Tangential comment:
I am not saying that Barack Obama’s religious faith is likewise a problem. He seems to be a serious Christian. I have put below in bullets a few stories about his faith. I am not saying I support Obama. I am going to refrain from citing my opinions on presidential politics.
Below are a few links to articles about Obama’s faith. It differs from Oprah’s.
- Obama’s speech to Call to Renewal in June 2006 is especially
helpful to listen to if you are interested in learning about his
faith. The transcript and MP3 of the talk are both at Obama’s website here. - You can also read the transcript of his speech on AIDS at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in December 2006 here.
- Evangelical? Obama’s faith too complex for simple label January 19, 2007 Chicago Sun-Times.
- A Candidate, His Minister and the Search for Faith April 30, 2007 New York Times.
Comments
4 responses to “Frank Rich of the New York Times wrongly says that Christianity Today affirms Oprah’s Spirituality”
You, sir, are muckracking
Right after the sentence you cite is the following:
“The question for Christians is this: What can we do to help Oprah and her disciples find what they are ultimately seeking—the power, grace, and love that can only be found through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?”
The article says “help”
Andy,
Thanks for setting the record straight. I winced when I read Frank Rich’s mischaracterization of CT’s article on Oprah. One of my staff commented: Frank Rich thinks that all evangelicals do is rant. So that when article merely disapproves without ranting, he thinks we’re approving. Go figure.
Yes, since LaTonya wrote, “Oprah is tapping into a need but her philosophy has some major limitations,” Rich took that as an endorsement. 🙂
I, too, winced when I read that sentence. D’oh! I’ve noticed that people seem to read whatever they’d prefer to see in that article. The responses have run along a range with Rich’s interpretation of it as “favorable” on one end, to having a “vehement Christian polemic . . .lurking” beneath the surface of the article. Good grief!
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