A VERY False Gospel - My Plea for Discernment among the True Church

Rarely do I feel the need to concern myself with current events, but an email passed by my desk this morning that was simply too disturbing to ignore. Apparently, Oprah Winfrey is endorsing a year-long study through a workbook called "A Course in Miracles." This book depicts a New Age "version" (if you could say such a thing) of Jesus. It is so heretical that I would love to know if the author meant to write a fiction novel and it simply found its way to the wrong shelf. It is probably the biggest heresy since the gnostic gospels (known as the "books that didn't make it into the Bible") were originally written 1700 years ago. Here are just a few points that the workbook makes:

- "There is no sin." - What about John 15:22? "If I [Jesus] had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin." (Also Matt 12:31; John 8:7, 11 and more) These are Jesus' words that specifically confirm that sin exists. Speaking of John, in his letter, he wrote: "If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us." (I John 1:10)

- "A slain Christ has no meaning," "the journey to the cross should be the last useless journey," and "do not make the pathetic error of 'clinging to the old rugged cross.'" - On the contrary, "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Heb 9:22) Also, "but He [Jesus], having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God." (Heb 10:12) Without the sacrifice of Christ, the entire WORLD is in a downward spiral of despair and utter hopelessness! That cross, that sacrifice, so despised by the unregenerate world, is THE ONLY way for the world to be saved! Without the cross of Christ, there is nothing for us but the fires of hell.

- "The Name of Jesus Christ....is a symbol that is safely used as a replacement for the many names of all the gods to which you pray." - What about I Timothy 2:5: "For there is ONE GOD, and ONE MEDIATOR also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus"? One of my mentors put it this way: "Someone who believes that there are many ways to heaven, really doesn't believe in Jesus Christ, or the Bible. They may say they do, but they can't [believe in Him]. Because the Bible clearly states (Christ Himself speaking), that He is the ONLY way (John 14:6)! 'I am the Way, and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through ME!' The definite article in the Greek is very important. The Way, The Truth, The Life. That is pretty clear to me." Amen brother!

- "The recognition of God is the recognition of yourself." - News flash...I'm not God, you're not God, Oprah's not God, Marianne Williamson (the writer of this heresy) is not God.

Granted, there are plenty of heretical books out there (The Da Vinci Code, for example), but this one is being promoted by probably the most influential person in the world. What's worse is that Robert Schuller (the mentor of Rick Warren, who is spear-heading the "purpose driven church" movement that has invaded the church in recent years) endorses the book, and has a book based off of "A Course on Miracles" in the bookstore of the Crystal Cathedral!

People, please hear me! If this garbage was put out to slander Islam, what do you think the muslim nation would do? Paul's words have been prophetic in the past few months: "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding a form of godliness, although they have denied its power;" [and I say with Paul] "AVOID SUCH MEN [AND WOMEN] AS THESE." (II Tim 3:1-5)