JOEL OSTEEN & Larry King

He mentiones hell, and his belief in Jesus Christ. :thumbs:

I didn't see it on TV, but here's a partial transcript from this link

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0506/20/lkl.01.html

KING: Do you share Billy's (Graham) beliefs of life after death in a sense of going somewhere?

OSTEEN: I do. I do. We probably agree on 99 percent. I do. I believe there's a heaven you know. Afterwards, there's, you know, a place called hell. And I believe it's when we have a relationship with God and his son Jesus and that's what the Bible teaches us. I believe it. KING: But you have rules, don't you?

OSTEEN: We do have rules. But the main rule to me is to honor God with your life. To life a life of integrity. Not be selfish. You know, help others. But that's really the essence of the Christian faith.

KING: That we live in deeds?

OSTEEN: I don't know. What do you mean by that?

KING: Because we've had ministers on who said, your record don't count. You either believe in Christ or you don't. If you believe in Christ, you are, you are going to heaven. And if you don't no matter what you've done in your life, you ain't.

OSTEEN: Yeah, I don't know. There's probably a balance between. I believe you have to know Christ. But I think that if you know Christ, if you're a believer in God, you're going to have some good works. I think it's a cop-out to say I'm a Christian but I don't ever do anything ...

KING: What if you're Jewish or Muslim, you don't accept Christ at all?

OSTEEN: You know, I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know ...

KING: If you believe you have to believe in Christ? They're wrong, aren't they?

OSTEEN: Well, I don't know if I believe they're wrong. I believe here's what the Bible teaches and from the Christian faith this is what I believe. But I just think that only God with judge a person's heart. I spent a lot of time in India with my father. I don't know all about their religion. But I know they love God. And I don't know. I've seen their sincerity. So I don't know. I know for me, and what the Bible teaches, I want to have a relationship with Jesus.

 

Sorry to hear that. I watched Rick Warren on Larry King and it was a similar situation. Maybe Joel Osteen was criticized for his last Larry King interview so decided to better confront the hard issues regarding Christianity

 

Have known about Osteen for a long time. I watched many, many of his broadcasts and have researched him. I have his book.

He is basically Word Faith but comes across more like a motivational positive thinker like Norman Vincent Peale. This is because there is New Thought thinking in the Word Faith movement - basically, that if you think certain things, you can make them happen. This is a poisonous and unbiblical doctrine (and is also a mainstay and forerunner of the New Age, which I lecture on).

Peale was a student of Ernest Holmes' teachings, as is Schuller. Holmes co-founded the Church of Religious Science, one of the early New Thought churches that still exists (the other two biggies are the Unity School of Christianity and the Christian Science church - Mary Baker Eddy was a follower of Phineas Quimby, who was New Thought).

New Thought can sound very Christian, though it isn't.

I heard Osteen say (in his Easter message, 2005) that Jesus had to go to hell and fight Satan. This is a hardcore Word of Faith heresy that denies the atonement was completed on the cross, which is an essential of the faith denied by Word Faith teachers.

Bottom line - most of Osteen's teachings are at the very least problematic and unbiblical, but his glossy, polished delivery is very popular and his influence will grow. I believe we are in the time when people are gathering around them teachers who tickle their ears.

 

Either John 14:6 is true or it is false.

Osteen makes my skin crawl.

 

His dad was a former Southern Baptist.

 

What does this have to do with anything?

 

As far as I can tell, his Dad was an ordained Southern Baptist minister until the day he died. He never revoked his ordinatior, or was disfellowshipped, from the last Baptist congregation where he was a member, and it appeared in his resume.

I did watch the show last night, I've read his book, and I think his problem is that his entire ministry is built around his personality, since his theology doesn't seem to run very deep. It's mostly pop theology borrowed from television ministries of the past couple of decades.

But then, what makes him any different than any two dozen Southern Baptist or IFB megachurch pastors who have built churches around their personalities rather than on Christ? The megachurch is an unbiblical abberation of the church that Christ envisioned, and that the first century Christians established. The fact that these churches are built on the personality of their pastor is evidenced by how quickly they decline, and the troubles they have during their fall, once he dies. Lakewood is a good example.

 

Deleted post

 

John 14:6 (King James Version)
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me

I'm not sure if Osteen or Warren truely believe this

 

I made no comment on either of their preachings. I do not know of the threads you speak of or what you will find while you are there. I don't know of any word of faith stuff (whatever that means) you refer to, nor did I put them together. Please read my posts. I only spoke of a few ironic similarities regarding their interviews on Larry King, the topic of discussion.

 

I have heard about Osteen but that's the first I've really read anything he actually said.

From the transcript there seemed to be nothing clear about salvation, but plenty about not knowing, making people feel good and being a nice guy.

As a first observation I can see why one poster said Osteen makes his skin crawl...

 

Sure, he's legit: A legitimate false teacher.

He's not as bad a flaming heretic as his dad was, but listening to that dreadful "Gospel According to Oprah" that he preaches, it's pretty clear that the apple didn't fall to far from that tree.

 

His dad was a pentecostal that pretended to be a southern baptist.

When caught, he went AG . . . (if I remeber correctly)

Nothing against the AG - but they are not SBC. They are mostly conservative, but they are NOT baptist.

IMHO.

 

Politically motivated preaching to maintain a politically correct world is (IMHO) just plain foolishness.

And he (sometimes) makes my skin craw as well . . .