All Oprah, All the time

Just curious...how many sowal Oprah fans are out there?

(I won't be raising my hand)

That is alot of Oprah. What's next the United Church of Oprah?

I don't buy her mag simply because she is always on the cover. I rarely watch her show. I do like to listen to Jean Chatzkey and Nate Berkus on the xm. Other than that I don't follow her.

None of the seasides

That is alot of Oprah. What's next the United Church of Oprah?

AMEN

I love Oprah and have watched her for years. I met her in Nashville when she was a reporter for a local news channel. She was very sweet and real even back then. I have met many people on her staff at Harpo that just love her as a boss and a friend. She is a loving and giving human being. Thanks Kurt....

Oprah is a self made billionaire and distributes alot of her wealth around the world. I've can't think of hearing anything negative said about her in the business world. She has my respect.................

Go Oprah

Just curious...how many sowal Oprah fans are out there?

(I won't be raising my hand)

Nor I. There's quite a lot of her to admire (her charitable ventures for one) but she's too touchy-feely and new-agey for me. And I've never had any luck with her book selections. Why are they always about battered women done wrong by their men?

All Oprah, All the time, All full of herself

I think I'd rather than watch that network.

She does a lot of charity work and keeps the sheeple occupied while making over a billion dollars and promoting reading.

I won't be tuning in, but that hasn't kept many a show/channel from being greenlighted. :roll:

Oprah is a self made billionaire and distributes alot of her wealth around the world. I've can't think of hearing anything negative said about her in the business world. She has my respect.................

Go Oprah

Nor I. There's quite a lot of her to admire (her charitable ventures for one) but she's too touchy-feely and new-agey for me. And I've never had any luck with her book selections. Why are they always about battered women done wrong by their men?

What you two said. I have to tune her out when her shows are about battered women/children, people in prison, etc. But, some of her shows are enlightening and uplifting.
Maybe an all Oprah all the time is a tad too much.

I love Oprah and have for years. She is one celebrity that I would love to spend the day with. She actually is quite humorous, IMO.

She gives away a lot of money, but how much of it is hers According to Ms Seaside, when she gave away all of the Pontiacs, they were donated by GM. O made a very small commnet to that regard, but in a short matter of fact manner then proceeded to make herself out as the benefactor.

Don't like that.:angry:

And I agree with others, there is too much about poor women beat upon by bad men. Sorry, but the world is not totally about good women and bad men.

I believe one of the reasons her show focuses on abuse so often is that she was a victim of abuse - she is trying to use her show/resources to help bring attention to/combat the problem.

I love Oprah and have for years. She is one celebrity that I would love to spend the day with. She actually is quite humorous, IMO.

I'm with you dbuck. she's someone I feel like I already know - I've learned a great deal from her for many years. and I've read many many books from her bookclub - and there is quite a range - certainly NOT focused on battered women. though she has done much to help people help themselves.

I think she's funn. funny. caring. beautiful (inside and out).

I rarely see the show just because I rarely turn on the tv. but I'm always hearing about certain shows that I wish I had seen!

I do buy the magazine for inspiration.

I like most of her doctors, pros, etc. EXCEPT Dr. Phil. could do without him.

I'm with you dbuck. she's someone I feel like I already know - I've learned a great deal from her for many years. and I've read many many books from her bookclub - and there is quite a range - certainly NOT focused on battered women. though she has done much to help people help themselves.

I think she's funn. funny. caring. beautiful (inside and out).

I rarely see the show just because I rarely turn on the tv. but I'm always hearing about certain shows that I wish I had seen!

I do buy the magazine for inspiration.

I like most of her doctors, pros, etc. EXCEPT Dr. Phil. could do without him.

Agree with all of the above. I think she always means well and has a big heart and tremendous passion for helping people and animals. However, I don't watch her show as much as in the past---I find myself turning the channel when she has celebreties. And anyone who promotes reading is an inspiration. Now if she would just answer my e-mails about my ideas for topics for her show that involve people I know!

Dr. Phil is a few shows short of turning into Jerry Springer

I like her too.

She gives away a lot of money, but how much of it is hers According to Ms Seaside, when she gave away all of the Pontiacs, they were donated by GM. O made a very small commnet to that regard, but in a short matter of fact manner then proceeded to make herself out as the benefactor.

Don't like that.:angry:.

I watched that show because some friends of mine actually were there and received cars, so I had to see it. There was no implication at all that she had bought all those cars and then gave them to the audience as gifts. I think the general public understands that most of the things Oprah gives away are donated by the companies because she offers a form of advertising money can't buy.

Whether I love her or not, I don't think I could handle her all day long...

She does a lot of charity work and keeps the sheeple occupied while making over a billion dollars and promoting reading.

ohhhhh, you gonna be in trouble......


I used to watch Oprah all the time. I used to get the magazine. I guess I just got too busy to watch her show and the magazine was too much Oprah -for me. I think she has a good heart and her life story is amazing.

But to have a channel devoted just to her? A little much in my own humble opinion. But it is my opinion so please do not get mad because you like her and think I dont. :roll:

I'm guessing the channel won't be all Oprah but maybe people or shows she endorses?

I don't dislike Oprah but I'm not a follower like my mother. She never misses the show, subscribes to the mag and reads EVERY book in the book club. She would probably join the church of Oprah if there was one.


The Church of Oprah Winfrey--A New American Religion?


By any measure, Oprah Winfrey is one of the most successful women in America. Her net worth is now thought to exceed one billion dollars, and her expanding media empire is one of the great success stories of the modern entertainment industry. She recently celebrated the twentieth anniversary of "The Oprah Show," and is committed to a contract that will take the show through its twenty-fifth season. She regularly appears at the top of the "Most Admired Women" listings and has become a cultural icon, complete with her own magazine and product lines. But is there more to the meaning of Oprah Winfrey?
Marcia Z. Nelson sees Oprah as a major American religious leader. In The Gospel According to Oprah, Nelson presents her as the symbol and catalyst for a new American religion. "Oprah Winfrey, talk show host, film producer, and philanthropist, is not ordained. She is neither preacher nor religious professional. Yet her multimedia empire, built over two decades, has given her the scope and stature of an influential leader. Oprah has a prominent pulpit from which to preach," Nelson insists. Oprah's television audience of ten million (according to Nielsen ratings) and her magazine readership of 2.7 million together represent a massive media phenomenon. As Nelson explains, "Oprah's whole enterprise, which includes many media that provide platforms for her gospel as well as sources of income, is vast." Nelson's book represents an effort to understand Oprah Winfrey as an exemplar and prophetess of a new form of American religion. In reality, Oprah is probably best understood as a highly-talented representative of the religion of positive thinking that has shaped American culture for at least the last two centuries. In this role, Oprah continues and extends a line of religious thought that replaces the transcendent with the temporal and looks for fulfillment and success as the goods of a satisfying life.
Marcia Z. Nelson is a writer who covers religions and spirituality. In previous works, she has considered various aspects of modern American religion, including contemporary meditation movements. In Oprah Winfrey she has found a figure of such influence and reach that she may well represent the mainstreaming of her own life philosophy.
Of course, Oprah's primary audience is comprised of women. "Oprah is primarily the voice of women in the middle: middle-class middle Americans," Nelson explains. Through her television show, magazine, and book club, Oprah reaches out to these women with a message of self-improvement, empowerment, and self-actualization.
Watching "The Oprah Show" is, Nelson insists, something like attending a worship service. "Go to this house of worship and sit down for an inspiring hour that will engage you and give you a lift," Nelson encourages. "An hour-long show five days a week adds up to a lot more pulpit time per week than the average pastor enjoys, and Oprah commands a lot bigger congregation."
Nelson's book is genuinely interesting, offering credible and helpful insights into the Oprah phenomenon. At the same time, Nelson gushes over the meaning of Oprah and seems to celebrate Oprah's redefinition of religious experience. Indeed, she goes so far as to refer to Oprah as a symbol of spiritual renewal. "In other words, it is not just talk, but talk that's been tested in life's fires--talk is testimony," she asserts. "As Oprah would say, this is about getting real. This is the language of authenticity. A preference for the freshness and vividness of experience over what can seem like the dull dryness of institutional faith is hardly new, of course. Spiritual renewal has ever been thus."
Oprah Winfrey was born January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Originally, she lived there on a farm with her mother, Vernita, and her grandmother, Hattie Mae Lee. In later years, Vernita was unable to care for Oprah, and she went to live with her father, Vernon Winfrey, in Nashville. Interestingly, Oprah was supposed to have been named Orpah, after the daughter-in-law of Naomi as cited in Ruth 1:14. A misspelling of her name led to the name that has made her famous. She was raised in a Baptist church and developed her speaking ability in the context of the local congregation.
As an adolescent, Oprah was sexually abused by male relatives, became sexually promiscuous, and gave birth to a baby boy, who later died.
She got her big break in broadcasting at age 19 and left her college studies in order to become a TV newscaster. In 1984, she moved to WLS-TV in Chicago and began a local talk show. The show was so popular that it was eventually named for Oprah and then went into national syndication. From those roots, a vast media empire was born.
Nelson is candid in dealing with the way Oprah repackages spirituality. "She translates what religions would term transcendent into something that is inspiring but secular. She would call it a vision of possibilities. She has tried to develop her own unique language, which means talking about values in a secular and inclusive sense in a religiously pluralistic country."
The Oprah phenomenon is based in self-disclosure, confession, testimony, and talk--lots and lots of talk. Episodes of "The Oprah Show" often deal with abuse, frustration, and the search for fulfillment. Guests are routinely encouraged to confess their wrongdoing, claim their promise, and move into a new phase of their lives, empowered and encouraged by Oprah and the experience of sharing their inner lives with millions of television viewers. In this sense, Oprah's television show promises something like a secular catharsis--complete with Oprah's validation of their problems, their desires, and their self-analysis. Nelson suggests that Oprah's influence is based in her gift for listening and her knowledge that self-disclosure and personal testimony offer a means of liberation. Of course, this dependence upon disclosure and confession also makes for good ratings--and Oprah understands what interests a television audience. As Nelson explains: "On Oprah's show, abuse may be the subject of a show, followed the next day by an entertainer. However morally laudable or pressing, unrelieved focus on abuse or mistreatment of women or AIDS in Africa or any of the world's pressing needs doesn't make for good ratings, either. Without good ratings, the television platform Oprah needs to 'get people to think about things a little differently' would vanish."
In the course of her research, Nelson approached several scholars of American religion, asking them "whether they could think of Oprah as a teacher who advanced a kind of entry-level religion that included the same core values many religions promote." When Oprah was criticized for offering meaning without community, Nelson counters by suggesting that Oprah's television show and reading club offer one form of community, even as her expanding presence on the internet promises "virtual community."
Oprah Winfrey's approach to life centers in self-analysis and positive thinking. Of course, material abundance also plays a part. "Oprah believes in abundance, a concept not generally associated with religion," Nelson acknowledges. "A lot of people think of religion as requiring asceticism and poverty--giving up goods, denying personal desires. And for good reason." By offering a seemingly endless array of product recommendations and endorsements, and by filling her magazine with advertisements for expensive products and services, Oprah clearly associates the good life with material fulfillment.
In keeping with the theme of positive thinking, and with the ideology of spiritual movements of this kind, Oprah's secularized spirituality includes few rules or moral judgments. "Oprah is famously nonjudgmental and empathetic," Nelson explains. Even as she features programs on romance, dating, marriage, and parenting, Oprah remains unmarried. Her nonjudgmentalism extends to her own lifestyle, even as she has publicly acknowledged the fact that she lives with her longtime boyfriend, Stedman Graham.
When Oprah refers to God, she is clear to insist that this means no specific god and entails no particular theological commitments. Nelson refers to Oprah's treatment of religion on her program as "a non-sectarian picture" in which theological content "is present but not primary." In other words, "God is acknowledged as necessary, but the language doesn't insist on that. It's soft sell."
As Nelson understands the Oprah phenomenon, forgiveness is at the center of Oprah's message. Nevertheless, Oprah offers forgiveness without atonement. Confession of inadequacy is presented as a sufficient remedy for sin and wrongdoing. God is effectively out of the picture as lawgiver or judge, and there is no room for the cross of Christ as atonement for sin.
"Oprah's 'New Age' talk about spirit was part of her ongoing, ever evolving attempt to find the right words for teachings she learned through religion," Nelson suggests. "Her spiritually inclusive language is also intended to be unique--the language she alone speaks that makes her inspiring and distinctly herself. For marketing reasons as well as for her own sense of mission, she's putting her own stamp on the language, on the words she uses, on the culture, where the 'Oprah effect' and 'Oprahfication' and 'She Oprah'ed it out of me' are terms that have been coined to describe her pervasive influence and style."
Oprah's faith wears no labels, Nelson insists. Oprah "talks often enough about values that her audience can see she is value driven, even if the values and beliefs don't wear a specific denominational label," Nelson observes. As she explains, "Oprah's clothes may wear labels, but her faith does not."
New York University professor Paul Vitz once observed, "Contemporary psychology is a form of secular humanism based on the rejection of God and the worship of the self." In her substitution of psychology for theology, Oprah has become a high priestess and icon of the psychologization of American society. When she features prominent New Age figures on her television show, she helps to mainstream New Age influences and philosophies among millions of Americans. Her substitution of spirituality for biblical Christianity, her promotion of forgiveness without atonement, and her references to a god "without labels" puts her at the epicenter of a seismic cultural earthquake.
At the same time, Oprah cannot be ignored. Marcia Z. Nelson's new book is intended as a celebration of Oprah's significance as a harbinger of a new gospel. In the end, the importance of this book is grounded in the fact that it draws attention to Oprah's influence and cultural impact. Oprah's newly-packaged positive-thinking spirituality is tailor-made for the empty souls of our postmodern age. She promises meaning without truth, acceptance without judgment, and fulfillment without self-denial. Marcia Z. Nelson is certainly right about one thing--Oprah Winfrey's "congregation" cannot be ignored.

? All rights reserved, www.AlbertMohler.com

So I'm watching "Oceans Thirteen," which is one of the stinkin' funniest movies of all time (in my humble dogmatic opinion.) And I just about snort myself silly when Brad Pitt and George Clooney stand around crying over Oprah...

"Is she really gonna build them a house?"

(*sniff*)

"Yeah. She really is."

(*sniff*sniff*)

So I'm watching "Oceans Thirteen," which is one of the stinkin' funniest movies of all time (in my humble dogmatic opinion.) And I just about snort myself silly when Brad Pitt and George Clooney stand around crying over Oprah...

"Is she really gonna build them a house?"

(*sniff*)

"Yeah. She really is."

(*sniff*sniff*)

I'm sure the fact that those two are in it has nothing to do with why you watch it.

Not a fan, can't say why, just not. I detect a undercurrent of insincerity, but I have never been able to put my finger on it, plus I don't watch prime time tv.
I did, however, love her in "The Color Purple" In her more humble days.

I'm sure the fact that those two are in it has nothing to do with why you watch it.

Yes and no. I'm not a swooner when it comes to good looking celebrities. But I love the Oceans movies because the two of them are so goofy and funny. I do like Brad Pitt when he dresses up funny--loved "12 Monkeys..."