I tend to not write about religious things because, to be honest, I don’t find it moxie.  However, I feel compelled to discuss this latest craziness.  As many of you know (my “A New Earth” post is one of the most visited), Oprah chose a book for her book club that is stirring up a lot of controversy.  She also is conducting (with the author Eckhart Tolle) an 8-week webclass that has hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of students participating in this book’s study.

I was recently told to “be careful” since I was a student in this class and reading the book.  Why?  Well, it seems a few organizations, media outlets and churches are condeming Oprah for “sponsoring” this book. They’re claiming A New Earth is New-Age, un-Christian, full of lies and deceit and that Oprah is (and I quote) “the Anti-Christ… lying to millions of her followers so they will drop Christianity out of their own, confused lives.”

Really?  Wow.  That’s a strong statement.  So naturally, I did some digging and found a few interesting points.  The most watched “anti-Oprah” on YouTube regarding this book and her title as “Anti-Christ” is sponsored by some guy named Islm13.  It has over 5 million views.  This guy’s video was produced by a church claiming that all Christians need to unite against Oprah and Eckhart Tolle and to not be fooled by this “new-age”, “evil” book.  The interesting thing about his videos… they don’t slam Oprah just on the book.  They then make it political and say “she’s also supported Obama as President, which we all know is an evil Muslim who is destined to destroy America…“  REALLY?  Well, that right there told me that this is definitely politically-motivated… and when you get politics involved, truth and reality seem to be thrown out like garbage.

I searched all of the webcasts (again I’m a student taking this class every Monday night) and I found an interesting clip, from the mouth of Oprah herself (gasp!!!  Who would have thought to actually ask the source???)

Here it is… you decide.  Do you think Oprah is giving up her Christianity?  I sure don’t.  She states that her belief in God and Jesus are NOT JUST defined by the scriptures.  She doesn’t put God in a box.

One of the most viewed posts on my blog is of A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle and Oprah’s webcast class.  I thought, since we’re half way through, it would be appropriate to discuss my journey with this book.

If I could grade myself on my perfomance with Oprah’s class as well as the book, I’d have to give myself a solid D.  Not good.  Here’s why:

Although I’ve downloaded every single class show (or I’ve watched it live on Monday nights), I’m still not past Chapter 3 (currently, we’re supposed to be on Chapter 7).  I can’t blame a busy schedule because there are several days in the week where I’m not extremely busy.  I can’t blame disinterest as well since I really do love this class and this book.  I’m not sure why I can’t get it together and get to Chapter 7.

One thing I do love about this book is the discussion of being in the present.  Something I personally suck at is always thinking about the past or the future.  I never truly live in the present.  And I can see, I’m grading myself a B on this since the book and the webclass have really made me begin to live presently.

So, this is my mid-semester grade I’m giving myself.  I hope to report a better grade in the next few weeks.

If you’re stil not reading the book or attending Oprah’s webclass, the information is below:

Monday Nights – Live webclass (for free) 8:00pm CST (go to www.oprah.com for more info)
The subject/book: A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose
* Download, for free, her webclasses every Tuesday on iTunes

Although it has taken me some time to begin reading A New Earth: Awakening Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle, I have never held so much anticipation in my life when it comes to reading a book (with the other exception being Eat, Pray, Love). I am thrilled, I am nervous, I am challenged, I am scared. I am determined and I am new. New every single day.I am ready. Today. I begin my first part of my reading schedule on this book tonight and my goal is to blog about the chapters as they inspire me. I have some homework to do as well (I enrolled in Oprah’s web class that she teaches for 10 Mondays in a row starting March 3rd!). But my main goal is that if at least ONE reader gets something out of what I’m able to write down from my experience with this book, then I’ve accomplished it all.

To our new book… A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose