A Very American Religion

Dr. Brian Lee, pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Washington D.C. asks, "What's wrong with Joel Osteen?"

He writes:

Osteen is the latest embodiment of the American Religion — Revivalism. For centuries now, preachers have known how to fill stadiums or circus tents and send people home with hope in their heart and a skip in their step. Osteen promises you will leave a transformed person — at least until his tour comes around again next year, when you can be transformed again.

Osteen’s message is a positive one for a difficult time. Every one of us has seeds of greatness inside, potential that has not yet been released, buried treasure waiting to be discovered. If you were a car, you would be the fully loaded and totally equipped model — “with pin stripes,” he says, gesturing to his suit.

Before God created you, he planned great things for you. As you stretch your faith, “God is going to show up, and show out, in tremendous ways. … If you don’t step into your destiny and release your gift, then this world will not be as bright as it should be.”

That’s a pretty positive message. What could be wrong with that?

The biggest problem with Osteen’s message about God is that it is really a message about me. God is a potential, a force, a co-pilot, waiting to be tapped and deployed. I may have a net below me, but I am the one that has to take the first steps on the wire:

God is as big as I think him to be.

Yes, this is the American Religion: a program, a plan, five simple steps to help me be all that I can be. This is the religion of the bootstraps, where “God helps those who help themselves.”

By the way, an overwhelming majority of Americans believe that is a quote from the Bible. It’s not.

And that’s the second problem. Osteen’s message is not biblical. His promise that his audience will be taught the Bible — from a preacher who has admitted that teaching the Bible isn’t his strength — is fulfilled with a smattering of verses. These snippets are at best torn out of their context, at worst fabricated.

There’s this stretch: “God is saying to you what He said to Lot, ‘Hurry up and get there, so I can show you my favor in a greater way.’” In Genesis 19:22, the Angel does tell Lot “Get there quickly, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.” God waiting on Lot to step out in faith so he can bless him? Not exactly. It is God telling Lot to flee to Zoar, a city of safety, so he can rain down fire on Sodom and Gomorrah.

Osteen bolsters his bootstrap religion by quoting Jesus: “Roll away the stone, and I’ll raise Lazarus.” This, Osteen says, is a “principle,” “God expects us to do what we can, and He will do what we can’t. If you will do the natural, God will do the supernatural.”

One problem. Jesus does command them to roll away the stone, but no such quid pro quo is found in holy writ. This foundational principle is one of Osteen’s own making.

It is not primarily the details of Osteen’s biblical sunbeams that are problematic. It’s the overall message. What’s missing is any sense of human sin. Osteen leads his crowd in a mantra at the opening of his performance: “This is my Bible. Tonight I will be taught the word of God. I can do what it says I can do.” Again, bootstraps.

What does the Bible say we can do for ourselves? Our best works are like filthy rags, the prophet Isaiah teaches (Isaiah 64:6); we are like sheep gone astray (Isaiah 53:6). Paul says “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and includes himself in this “all” as “the chief of all sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). The big problem is that we don’t want what’s good for us, and when we do, Paul says, “The good that I want to do, I do not do” (Romans 7:19).

Ring true? It does for me. That’s why the stadium will be full next year. Self-esteem doesn’t help me, it just leaves me with more me, digging deeper within.

How about Jesus? Surely he’s more upbeat than Paul or the prophets? Well, he does offer this simple recipe to happiness: “Sell all you possess, give it away to the poor, and follow me.” You done that yet? Yes, he does say that our faith makes us well, but he is the healer our faith looks to. He also tells the paralytic to take up his bed and walk, but only after he has healed him.

What we want is the excitement and encouragement and affirmation of the stadium — “God is waiting for you to act.” What we need is the truth and compassion of Jesus — “Come to me you who are weary, and I will give you rest.”

After the adrenaline boost, I hope some of those 41,000 find their way through the desert to some place where they can get a drink of water.

Earlier Sunday, 45 worshipers (about 0.1% of Osteen’s crowd) gathered at Christ Reformed Church in Logan Circle — and other churches in this city — to hear a message of sin and salvation, the Good News of a God who loves those who are his sworn enemies. They responded to God’s word with prayer, song, and confession, and received the benediction of a God who pardons sin full and free.

The stunning incompetence of Joel Osteen

Well, perhaps it's more an issue of faithfulness than competence. After all, pastor Joel has been extraordinarily competent in gathering a massive number of followers, selling millions of books, and duping millions of Christians with his winning smile and self-centered teaching. What Joel Osteen has failed to do is be faithful to God's Word and His Gospel.

Recently, Joel appeared with the gals on that contemporary version of the Algonquin Round Table, The View. He was asked about homosexuality. As you can imagine, Joel avoided proclaiming God's truth as much as Joy and Whoopie avoid reasoned conversation.

"Back in the Bible days" by Joel Osteen

Once again Joel Osteen embarrasses himself and leads thousands into error because he is not qualified to preach God's Word.

"Joel Osteen and the Glory Story"

Read Michael Horton's article "Joel Osteen and the Glory Story" HERE.

The House that Osteen Built?

If the old Yankee Stadium was the house that Ruth built then perhaps the new and spectacular Yankee Stadium will be the house that Joel Osteen built. That's right. Joel Osteen will be "preaching" at the new Yankee Stadium.

Considering that he is fast becoming the most popular preacher in the country, Joel Osteen doesn't act or sound like a preacher at all.

He has no seminary training and can hardly talk about any religion other than his own brand of creamy, fat-free Christianity (all the hope, none of the sin).

He prefers telling endearing domestic stories about himself and his 21st-century friends and relatives to rehashing the dusty tales of Scripture.

When he preaches at the new Yankee Stadium on Saturday, becoming the first nonbaseball attraction there, he will be his humble, likable, wavy-haired self and nothing more...

"Our music is not traditional hymns," he said. "My message is not about doctrine. I don't have to get 50 references from Scripture in a sermon for it to be a good sermon. Churches that are helping people live out a Christian life are growing and flourishing."...

Sonja Smash, a member of Greater Centennial AME Zion Church in Mount Vernon, went to hear Osteen at the Garden and found him to be "electrifying."

"He reaches everyone, regardless of your background, and goes beyond doctrine," said Smash, 40, an executive assistant who discovered Osteen on TV. "He delivers a universal message, inspirational nuggets, something for you to chew on and contemplate. We don't need just fire 'n' brimstone, but inspirational messages on how to live our daily lives."

Check out the rest of the story HERE.

Well, I better get back to preparing my inspirational nuggets. Who needs 50 verses anyway?

Megalomaniacal Messianism

I don't know if Oprah is or is not a nice person. That really is not the point. She is however a true believer. And what she believes is that she has a message of spiritual truth that must be delivered to the American people. It is a message which proclaims God to be a spiritual essence that pervades all reality. It is a message of the divine self. "God is all. All is one. I am God."





Oprah's religion is growing. It does not help that some of America's most prominent and popular preachers proclaim a message that echoes some of the same themes. Listen to Joel Osteen (if you can bear it). His is a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps spirituality. "Your a good person. God is nice. He helps those who help themselves." Everything he preaches could be said without any reference to Jesus Christ, much less the cross. So with Oprah, America's most influential media star advancing a spirituality that sounds, to the undiscerning ear a lot like that of America's most well known pastor then confusion and apostasy are not far away.


A recent post over at 40th Street Blog comments on Oprah's theology and influence.

In a nutshell, Oprah's journey of faith has led her away from organized "religion" and towards a broader notion of "spirituality", with many New Age tendencies. As one listens to the teachings of her spiritual confidants, the seemingly Eastern tenets become clearer. Essentially, this worldview affirms the inherent goodness of human beings. However, one somehow becomes distanced from this purer version of the self as he/she exists in the everyday world. Thus, human beings need liberation. This is achieved through practicing spiritual disciplines of meditation and reflection in order to realize our true connection with the Universe. As one guest on her show put it, we all have an inner light - like one inside a lantern. However, that glass tends to accumulate dirt, preventing the light from emanating in full. Our goal is to repeatedly wipe away the dirt in order that it may continue to shine. Faith is specifically addressed as a journey rather than adherence to any particular doctrine...

Unfortunately for its followers, this lifestyle places individuals at the center of their universe. The onus is upon them to both purify themselves and desperately try to find the good in even the worst of experiences. I recently listened to one show on spirituality hosted by Oprah and her panel of spiritual authorities. As caller after caller described their own experiences of tragedy, the panel essentially asked each one to smile and put on a happy face, or in other words, "To try to listen to what the Universe is teaching you" in the midst of it. What is the Universe teaching you when lose your job? What might the Universe want to say when your health insurance refuses to cover your child's cancer treatments? What might the Universe offer to a parent whose infant died upon birth? Sadly, this form of spirituality demands its adherents to pull themselves up by the spiritual boot-straps when things get tough. One caller even confessed her repeated failures to maintain this spiritual marathon, and asked what she could do to keep running.

Read the entire post HERE.

More dross from the Osteens

Lisa Miller has posted some insightful comments on Victoria Osteen's new book "Love Your Life."

Miller writes:

Prosperity preachers are neither new nor unique in America, but the Osteens' version seems especially self-serving. Victoria's book betrays her interest in the kind of small gratifications that rarely extend to other people, let alone to the larger world. She recommends that women take "me time" every day, and indulge occasionally in a (fat-free!) ice cream. She writes repeatedly about her love for the gym. Her relationship advice is retrograde dross: submit to your man, or at least pretend you're submitting, and then do what you want anyway. "I know if I just wait long enough," she writes, "eventually my idea will become Joel's idea, and it will come to pass." When I asked her how she kept her two children interested in church, she answered that even though they were a broccoli and lean-meats household, she gave them doughnuts as a special treat on Sundays. All this is fine, in the pages of a women's magazine or a self-help book. But what has God got to do with it?

It should capture the attention of Christians, particularly pastors to read a secular journal which appears to have better theology and discernment than much of the Christian publishing industry and many regular church attendees.

Miller rightly identifies the "small gratifications" in which the Osteens and other prosperity preachers engage. Theirs is a narcisistic message. Even the title of Mrs. Osteen's book puts her at odds with the apostle Paul who, rather than loving his life declared to the Ephesian edlers, "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." To the Philippians he wrote, "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ" (3:8).

You can read Lisa Miller's entire article HERE.

Skipping The Cross

Most of the people who read this are aware of and have rejected what is commonly known as “the prosperity gospel.” This heresy of “name it, claim it” is advanced by such false teachers as Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, and Joyce Meyer. Basically, they teach an ancient heresy that claims we create reality by the words we speak. If you want blessing then you must speak your word of faith to claim the blessings that God wants to give you but cannot unless you release Him. If you don’t want cancer or the flu then you must speak in faith against those conditions and claim your health. If you desire financial prosperity then you must speak against the spirit of lack and claim your increase. The ancients called this sorcery. The Christian publishing industry calls it “Christian Living.”

While most of us have rejected this tragically popular heresy, many of us have nevertheless fallen for a more subtle version of the same thing. It is what Michael Horton has recently called “Christ-less Christianity.” It is a version of Christianity that could exist perfectly well without Christ’s atoning work on the cross. In this formula Christ is not the Savior from the coming wrath of God but the one who helps us have a healthy self-esteem. Jesus is not the sole Mediator between sinful man and holy God as much as He is the ultimate life coach, a divine Tony Robbins. It is what Martin Luther called the “theology of glory”: seeking to have now what God has promised only for heaven.

In contrast to the “theology of glory” is what Luther called the “theology of the cross”: the story of God’s merciful condescension to us by putting forth His dearly loved Son to be the propitiation for our sins. It is the message that the apostle Paul called “foolishness to Greeks” and “a stumbling block to Jews.” Michael Horton has written:
“Exemplifying the moralistic and therapeutic approach to religion, Osteen’s message is also a good example of the inability of Boomers to mourn in the face of God’s judgment or dance under the liberating news of God’s saving mercy. In other words, all gravity is lost – both the gravity of our problem and of God’s amazing grace. According to this message, we are not helpless sinners – the ungodly – who need a one-sided divine rescue. (Americans, but especially Boomers, don’t take bad news well.) Rather, we are good people who just need a little instruction and motivation.”

Without a deep understanding of, and abiding confidence in the work of Christ on the cross Christians grasp for, even demand other blessings from God because the stunning grace of redemption has been lost to them. Lip service is given to the fact that “Jesus died for my sins” but since my sins weren’t all that bad then the news is not all that great. Therefore a kind of Christianity that the Bible never describes is constructed; one that will make worldly minded people happy. In his book Your Best Life Now Joel Osteen writes, “You do your part, and God will do his part” (p. 57). “Sure we have our faults,” he writes, but “the good news is, God loves us anyway” (ibid, 66). “If you will simply obey his commands, He will change things in your favor” (ibid, 119). Sounds easy doesn’t it? Just obey God’s commands. What could be so hard about that?

Perhaps it is easy to dismiss such nonsense because it is written by Joel Osteen. But remember, Osteen pastors the largest church in North America and has written two enormous best-sellers. What is more, the ideas he advances are in no way unique to him. They can be found in countless other “Christian” books and church pulpits. Even conservative, so-called Bible-believing churches have embraced this brand of Christianity that practically skips the cross.

How many sermons are preached in evangelical churches that are able to stand without any mention of the cross? These pastors preach a version of faith that is preoccupied with personal success and “making life work.” The cross becomes white noise. It’s in the background somewhere. It’s assumed. Instead of being the center-piece of faith, life, and hope the cross is merely a means toward the really good news: you can have your best life now. God’s terrifying condemnation of sinners is ignored completely but then so too is the earth-shattering good news of justification through the cross. Of this reality, Horton writes, “Instead of either message, there is an upbeat moralism that is somewhere in the middle: Do your best, follow the instructions I give you, and God will make your life successful…Everything depends on us, but it’s easy.”

What happens is that the gospel itself is lost. The distinction between law and gospel is blurred and all that is left is a kinder, gentler version of the law: “Do this and you will live.” The law proclaimed in our pulpits is not truly God’s overwhelming moral law which drives the sinner to repentance. It is a “you can do it if you try a little harder and turn your frown upside down” kind of message. It is not God’s firey law that leaves us convinced of our need for a Savior which is being proclaimed. It is a list of instructions that are all attainable if we will just be positive and make a better effort. When God’s law is diminished in this way, the “good news” becomes the blessings that we will get in return for our obedience. There is no need for the cross. God’s wrath does not need to be propitiated because sin is not that big of a deal and besides, he loves me anyway.

When preachers and writers make the cross obsolete then what is left may be religious but it is certainly not Christian. There is no good news apart from the cross. Specifically, there is no good news apart from the message of God’s justified wrath being satisfied in the substitutionary death of His Son. It is the message that drives along the entire story line of Scripture. How then can a pastor preach without pointing to the cross again and again? Without the cross we lose the only power promised to us: the power of the Gospel to save all who believe. If the cross be not central to our proclamation and spirituality then we are left with nothing more than a version of Gnosticism.

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Further Reading:
On Being a Theologian of the Cross by Gerhard O. Forde
Too Good To Be True by Michael Horton
"Joel Osteen and the Glory Story" by Michael Horton - great article!

The Theology of Joel Osteen

Michael Horton writes two very insiteful articles on Joel Osteen's theology here (http://www.whitehorseinn.org/osteenart01.htm) and here (http://www.whitehorseinn.org/osteenreview.htm).

Denny Burk on Joel Osteen

Denny Burk has posted a link to the Fox News Sunday interview with Joel Osteen (http://www.dennyburk.com/?p=1035#more-1035).

Osteen's at it again

Joel Osteen appeard on Fox News Sunday this week with Chris Wallace. Consistent with Osteen's many other TV appearances, the results were sad. Here is part of the exchange:

WALLACE: And what about Mitt Romney? And I've got to ask you the question, because it is a question whether it should be or not in this campaign, is a Mormon a true Christian?

OSTEEN: Well, in my mind they are. Mitt Romney has said that he believes in Christ as his savior, and that's what I believe, so, you know, I'm not the one to judge the little details of it. So I believe they are. And so, you know, Mitt Romney seems like a man of character and integrity to me, and I don't think he would - anything would stop me from voting for him if that's what I felt like.

WALLACE: So, for instance, when people start talking about Joseph Smith, the founder of the church, and the golden tablets in upstate New York, and God assumes the shape of a man, do you not get hung up in those theological issues?

OSTEEN: I probably don't get hung up in them because I haven't really studied them or thought about them. And you know, I just try to let God be the judge of that. I mean, I don't know. I certainly can't say that I agree with everything that I've heard about it, but from what I've heard from Mitt, when he says that Christ is his savior, to me that's a common bond.

For Joel Osteen, issues like the Trinity and the incarnation are "little details." Some of the other "little details" in Osteen's book are:
1. Whether or not Jesus and Satan are brothers.
2. Whether or not Jesus came and visited ancient America.
3. Whether or not Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God.
4. Whether or not Yahweh is one of many gods.
5. Whether or not faithful Mormon men will become Gods and inherit their own planets to populate.

Granted, it is probably true that Joel Osteen is ignorant of these facts of Mormonism. But sadly he is also ignorant of much of the Bible. He stated in an interview on 60 Minutes that his calling was not to teach the Bible. So, the question is, why has this man not resigned his post as pastor?

"For the overseer must be above reproach as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict." (Titus 1:7-9)