Texas mega-church pastor Joel Osteen was featured as one of the first guests on Oprah Winfrey’s new show, “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” on January 8, 2012. The one time queen of daytime talk television pressed the popular inspirational author about for his stance on homosexuality.
Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church, the largest congregation in America, is known for his controversial “prosperity Gospel” articulated in his televised sermons, and in a series of books to help Christians “achieve your dreams,” “live at your full potential,” and “become a better you.” Critics have accused Osteen of touting shallow theology and skirting the topic of sin, particularly regarding homosexuality.
Oprah has long promoted her own brand of spirituality that pulls in elements of Christianity but typically only when applicable to personal success and well-being. When her long running show, “Oprah,” went off the air after 25 years, she attributed her success to “’My team and Jesus’ because nothing but the hand of God has made this possible for me.” Although Osteen and Oprah both agree about God’s desire to bless people with earthly riches, Oprah abandoned that common ground to interrogate Osteen about his views on the moral issue most important to many liberals: homosexuality.
Just before the interview, Oprah attended a service at Lakewood Church where Osteen warmly welcomed her and announced, “[it is] awesome to have you. We love you, we pray for you.” Things quickly turned cold though during the interview when Osteen said he believes Christianity is the only true way to God, and Oprah asked: “Does that mean that all people, all races, obviously in your church we see all people, all races; I can’t imagine that you would have 16,000 people in there and none of them would be gay. So, are gay people also included?” Osteen replied, “Absolutely … you know, sometimes the Christian community makes a bigger deal out of being gay -,” when Oprah cut him off, and pressed further: “Will a gay person be accepted to heaven as you see it?” Again, the mega-church pastor responded affirmatively and explained: “Sometimes we look at being gay as a bigger sin than being proud … I don’t think God categorizes sins.”
A third time, with a skeptical brow raised, Oprah questioned, “But does that mean that you’re saying, because I want to be clear, I don’t want to interpret anything that isn’t [true], does that mean that you’re saying you believe being gay is a sin?” Osteen cautiously answered, “I believe homosexuality is shown as a sin in the scripture, I do.” The video cuts off without showing Oprah’s response, but the interrogation about homosexuality seemed misplaced in an interview focusing mainly on faith, prosperity, and Osteen’s challenge to resist pride as the pastor of the largest church in America.
The mega-church pastor has been criticized in the past for hesitating to discuss sin with detail openly and articulating vague positions on homosexuality. He has previously stated simply that “homosexuality is not God’s best” for people, without labeling it a sin. Only in the past year has he defined what he means by “not God’s best.” In January, 2011 CNN’s Piers Morgan asked the preacher, “What is your view, because it seems to have changed depending on the interview I have read or seen, is homosexuality a sin in your eyes?” Osteen answered: “The scripture shows that it’s a sin, but … there are other sins in the Bible too … I don’t believe homosexuality is God’s best for a person’s life.” Surprised, Morgan replied, “You don’t normally talk about sin. That’s the first time you’ve actually spelled it out.” Morgan then went on to berate Osteen for holding that belief.
In another interview during October of 2011, Morgan questioned Osteen on the same issue and asked, in light of growing acceptance of same-sex marriage in the United States: “Has your position changed at all?” Osteen answered: “It really never changes because [my belief] is based on the scripture.” The host countered: “Doesn’t it [scripture] have to move with the times? Isn’t it up to people like you to interpret it in a way that evolves, when you’re known as a very progressive preacher?” Osteen replied, “We want to be progressive, but when I read it, I don’t see how you would change that [commandments on homosexuality].”
Osteen insists that he accepts homosexual individuals and even told Morgan that he would attend a commitment ceremony for a same sex couple. Though viewed as a “progressive preacher,” the 21st century televangelist fails on a central issue for religious and secular liberals, despite his attempts to sound moderate.
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