Which is right: Oprah or Jesus?

Which is right: Oprah or Jesus? – Janet Folger – www.worldnetdaily.com

There are a lot of people searching, and rather than write about what's happening in the news, I decided to write about something much more important. People are looking for meaning, purpose and assurance; they're looking for God. And it seems as though we have done such a poor job of showing them where to look that they're turning to ridiculous counterfeits, including the Church of Oprah.

Sure, she's popular – even if her television ratings have slipped, she's got her own network and is on the cover of her magazine every single month. But now she's leading people astray by the millions, and I'm not just talking about her campaign for Barack Obama. What bothers me most is that Oprah claims to know better than Jesus. When it comes to getting to heaven, she confidently proclaims, "There couldn't possibly be just one way."

She can have online "courses on miracles" all day long, but she and her friends aren't the ones who perform them. It doesn't matter how confident she is. It doesn't matter how rich she is. How popular, how sincere or how well-meaning. The bottom line is what Oprah says doesn't matter. What I say doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is what Jesus Christ Himself said.

Could there possibly be just one way? Here's the answer: Christ said, "I am the way, the Truth and the Life, no man cometh unto the Father except by me" (John 14:6 KJV).

Pretty clear stuff. If "all roads" really "lead to heaven," then why did Christ have to die? Doesn't make sense. If there are lots of roads, why not just choose a much less expensive one? Jesus would have preferred another way, too. In Matthew 26:39, He said, "Oh my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."

But there wasn't another way. If God didn't have to send His Son to be tortured and crucified to make the one way to heaven, then He wouldn't have.

Oprah adds her voice to all the talk about how "narrow-minded" and "intolerant" it is for us to say that Christ is the only way to heaven.

Question: If there were only one exit out of the burning building, would I be "intolerant" and "narrow-minded" to proclaim it to you? I know I might "offend" the people who think the basement door will get them out, or those who would seek an exit by opening the very hot door with the flaming inferno inside. I'm sorry that I may be "insensitive" by not "affirming" your beliefs, and I know I run the risk of hurting your feelings, but I would rather save your life. You see, I care more about you than whether or not you like me.

Instead of whining that there aren't more ways to be reconciled with God, we ought to be celebrating that there is a way.

Our efforts to try and get to God are like trying to jump across the Grand Canyon. You may have won an Olympic medal in the broad jump, but no matter how good you think you are, trying to jump the Grand Canyon by your own strength, even with a running start, won't cut it. But unlike every other religion in the world that tries to work their way to God, Christianity is the story about how God came to us and built a bridge with one (and only one) blood-stained cross.

We don't deserve it. We didn't earn it. It wasn't our blood that built that bridge. But we have two choices: walk across the only bridge or jump off the cliff. That's the thing about gravity. It doesn't matter whether or not you believe it exists. And it doesn't matter how educated, how popular, confident or sincere you are about your belief. It doesn't matter what a nice person you are: Jump off the cliff and gravity will prove itself. Unfortunately, once gravity kicks in, it will be too late to reconsider that jump.

My message to Oprah and to the millions who are attending her "online church":

What I say doesn't matter. What Oprah says doesn't matter. What God says does. If I'm going to choose whom to listen to, I'm going to choose the one with nail scars from building the bridge. I'm going to choose the one door out of the burning building. You can take all the courses on miracles you want or you can go to the source of them all. Take the bridge or find out for yourself that gravity is very real.