The prophets of self-esteem are sure to point to a “higher power,” of course. Indeed, for starting out as the first and second greatest commandments, the calls to love God and neighbor have evolved into furry-and-blurry platitudes for many. Yet properly understood, and bound to their particular context of obedience and sacrifice to a particular God and Savior, this is where true self-empowerment ultimately lies, and where the self, quite paradoxically, dies.
Grasping the true meaning of all that shouldn’t be too complicated, especially for self-help experts who peddle expensive weekends jam-packed with “timeless wisdom.” But it does require a clear vision of the image painted on the altar. And here, Oprah’s Big Tent Self-Helpism isn’t about to lend any spectacles.
Should we dare to hope for such clarity, however, former pastor and Oprah soulmate Rob Bell may be closest to the ultimate solution.
Bell’s longstanding trick has been to tout Christian orthodoxy in unconventional terms, using new-age lingo and peculiar analogies in an attempt to rouse the Christian imagination. Yet having recently left his Michigan congregation to explore the spiritualist caverns of California, such orthodoxy appears to be drifting dangerously into the realm of what my good friend Eric Teetsel has called Oprahdoxy.
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