"It is I, the Oprah!"

I have NEVER been an Oprah Winfrey fan. Her over-inflated sense of self-worth makes me want to "cast up my accounts," to use a Regency term.

Back when I used to watch Saturday Night Live, one of my favorite skits included "Oprah." Tim Meadowes, playing Oprah, is brought into a room on a litter, carried by some muscular men. Oprah announces, "It is I, the Oprah!"

This isn't as far-fetched as it sounds!

How often do we hear silly people say things like "Oprah says" or "On Oprah, she . . ." or "Oprah is brilliant!" These imbeciles act like Oprah is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (which she most CERTAINLY is NOT).

Today, I came across this article, which only furthers the point.

USA Today: The divine Miss Winfrey?

Oh, please! Pardon me while I go wash my mouth out.

After two decades of searching for her authentic self - exploring New Age theories, giving away cars, trotting out fat, recommending good books and tackling countless issues from serious to frivolous - Oprah Winfrey has risen to a new level of guru.

She's no longer just a successful talk-show host worth $1.4 billion, according to Forbes' most recent estimate. Over the past year, Winfrey, 52, has emerged as a spiritual leader for the new millennium, a moral voice of authority for the nation.

She's not my "moral voice of authority." In fact, she's no moral authority at all. According to my moral authority, which would be the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict, the Holy Bible, and, most importantly, the One and Only Jesus Christ, living with a man without marriage is a HUGE SIN. Sorry. Oprah is also completely misguided on any number of issues.

Just because someone is generous (giving away cars, etc.), acts like a literary critic (if a book is recommended by Oprah, I don't read it), and talks about issues, it does not mean that person is any sort of saint or "spiritual leader."

Read this paragraph:

"She's a really hip and materialistic Mother Teresa," says Kathryn Lofton, a professor at Reed College in Portland, Ore., who has written two papers analyzing the religious aspects of Winfrey. "Oprah has emerged as a symbolic figurehead of spirituality."

What an inane statement! "Materialistic" and "Mother Teresa" are in NO WAY related. Mother Teresa was probably one of the most unmaterialistic people to ever live upon this Earth. She gave up everything to help the poor and unwanted in India. EVERYTHING. The Missionaries of Charity (a few of whom have recently come to live and work in Spokane, at my Parish) have 2 outfits (both of which are exactly the same), a pair of sandals, and not much else. How is Oprah Winfrey at all like them?

Oprah Winfrey, in fact, might even be one of the most materialistic people ever on this earth. How much money does she make by selling herself as an image? I'm all for people following the American Dream and making as much out of themselves as they can, but Oprah takes it to a new level. She thinks she is the greatest gift God ever gave this earth. I can't stand to watch her self-important show. She thinks that she and she alone knows the truth (or one of her experts does). She thinks she is the arbiter of morals, tastes, and culture.

Wrong! If one wants to live in a materialistic, self-absorbed, trendy world, then perhaps she is. I would rather live life according to the teachings of Jesus Christ, not the teachings of Oprah Winfrey.

It amazes me how many silly people think Oprah is the greatest thing since sliced bread. They put complete trust into everything she says, does, and advertizes.

Here's an idea for them: Turn off your tvs. Close your "O" magazines. OPEN YOUR BIBLES. Read what Jesus tells us to do. And quit making Oprah into a goddess. She's nothing but an incredibly flawed human being (aren't we all?) who thinks she's the Queen of the World.

Enough Oprah worship. Try God.

Update: More on "Omnipotent Oprah" at Celebrity Religion. Great post!

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