Please enjoy these thought-provoking questions–which are also found in the back of the book–with your book clubs, community groups and Bible fellowship classes or any gathering with your family, friends and peers.


Discussion I: Chapters 1-3

1. Do you watch Oprah? If not, who is someone close to you that watches The Oprah Winfrey Show?
2. Oprah didn’t feel right about God being Jealous, but Avartari suggests that God’s jealousy is not the same as human jealousy. What were the reasons Avatari gave?
3. Avartari shares that God’s jealousy is combined with God’s love? What are some characteristics that Avartari says she discovered about God’s love?
4. Oprah believes that there are many paths to what you call God. She doesn’t believe that Jesus is the only way. What biblical teaching might contract this thinking?
5. Read John 14 and Acts 4. How do you think Oprah would respond to these two chapters?

Discussion II: Chapters 4-5

1. How does Avatari define religious pluralism? Avatari makes a distinction between two types of pluralism? How do they differ?
2. Avatari mentioned that even though the “new religious pluralism” is touted as open-mindedness, it’s rather just another type of exclusivism? How is that possible?
3. Oprah and Eckhart seem to indicate that beliefs are not important. What did Jesus in the New Testament say about the relationship of salvation and belief?
4. Avatari shows that even though Oprah claims to be very “open-minded”, she really is “close minded” in some ways. What are some clear examples that Avatari makes reference to? Can you think of any other examples of things that Oprah is closed minded to?
5. Avatari gives what she says is a good definition of truth. What is it?
6. Avatari talks about self-defeating statements. What is a self-defeating statement?
7. How would you respond to the following quotations:
• “I can’t speak a word of English.”
• “People can’t know any truth about reality.”
• “All of our words are useless and meaningless.”
• “People shouldn’t be imposing their beliefs on others.”
• “There is no absolute truth!”
• “Judge Not!”
8. Maria indicates that there is some doctrine in the beliefs of Oprah and Eckhart? What are some of those doctrines? Do agree or disagree?

Discussion III: Chapters 6-7

1. Have you read Rhonda Byrne’s book, The Secret? If so, what did you agree or disagree about the teachings?
2. In The Secret, the reader is supposed to declare, “I think perfect thoughts. I see only perfection. I am perfection.” Do you think that this message is consistent with the Apostle Paul’s teaching on sin?
3. Do you think God could ever use suffering for good purposes in the end? Why or why not?
4. How does Avatari define pantheism? How does it differ from Theism?
5. What are some quotations that indicate that Rhonda Byrne, Oprah Winfrey and Eckhart Tolle hold to some form of pantheistic thought? Can you think of any other popular examples of pantheistic religions such as celebrities or movies?
6. What do you think about the way that Avatari responds to some of Lindsey’s questions? Would you respond the same or differently?
7. Avatari shares that some of the philosophy of Norman Geisler helped her to understand that pantheism was self-defeating. What was the example that Geisler gave?
8. Avatari quoted C.S. Lewis suggesting some reasons why pantheism has been so popular for thousands of years. What did he say?

Discussion IV: Chapters 8-9

1. Avatari said she felt lonely and abandoned by her family for following Jesus. Has following Christ ever made you feel abandoned by anyone? What happened and what did you do?
2. What got Avatari’s attention in believing that the God of the Bible was the Real God?
3. Oprah’s spiritual teachers Eckhart Tolle and Marianne Williamson say that sin is an illusion. What are some of the logical problems with this idea?
4. If every law has a lawgiver? Why does it make more sense that God is the one who determines moral laws rather than people or societies?
5. Read Romans 2:14-16. What does this verse indicated about natural law (the objective moral law revealed apart from Scriptures)?
6. Paul, the apostle of the New Testament wrote in 1 Corinthians 1 that Christ’s death on the cross was “stumbling block to the Jews” and “foolishness to the Greeks.” Even though the spiritual teachers that Oprah Winfrey recommends think that Christ’s death is foolishness, why does the Christian faith say that it necessary?
7. Avatari admitted that she wanted to know Jesus not only as some distant ancient religious guy, but as a real person in history who overcame death. Do you know Jesus? If so, when did you come to know him?

Discussion V: Chapter 10 and Epilogue

1. What specifically do you believe about the afterlife?
2. Do we have any evidence for an afterlife?
3. What’s some of the reasons we believe Jesus died on the cross historically?
4. Lindsey says many weird cult people have died for the lie? What’s so unique about Jesus’ followers dying for their beliefs?
5. Christians are definitely not perfect and sometimes they are inconsistent. In your own personal life, what are some things that you can do to grow in your relationship with Jesus?
6. Sometimes it’s difficult for us to forgive. Lindsey and Avatari had to forgive their parents. Have you forgiving everybody that you can think of? Have you received God’s forgiveness?
7. Has your beliefs about Oprah Winfrey’s spirituality changed through reading this book? Why or why not?
8. Should Christians watch Oprah? Why or why not?
9. Do you spend more time watching Oprah or reading good books exploring the Christian faith? Something to consider: Will you take up the “Read 10 page a day” challenge? If you miss a day, you don’t have to try to read 20 pages the next day. Each day is a new day! If you reach your goal five out of every six days a year, that’s 3,000 pages (a least a dozen books) that you will complete in a year! If you have never read the whole entire Bible, you can certainly start there. Reading the Gospels in the New Testament is a good place to begin. If you want to know more about true spirituality, or if you still have unanswered questions about the Christian faith, we can recommend these additional books as starters:
• Why Trust Jesus, by Dave Sterrett
• More Than a Carpenter, by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell
• The Case for Faith, by Lee Strobel
• Who Made God (and Answers to Over 100 Other Questions of Faith) by Ravi Zacharias and Norman Geisler