OSTEEN ON 60 MINUTES

I finally had an opportunity to watch the Joel Osteen feature on 60 Minutes. And although many parts of his interview were distrubing, the part of this feature that really grieved me was when Osteen was at a book signing and was greeted by a husband and wife, who were Jewish and Roman Catholic respectively. The man stated how much they enjoyed watching him every week, and surprisingly Osteen was touched by this statement.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying that it is a crime for Jews and Catholics to watch what would be perceived as "Christian" preaching. However, this situation does show the lack of Christ-centered preaching that is within Osteen's messages. It never bothered Osteen that the Jewish man was denying the deity of Christ, and the Catholic was living a life of "works righteousness", instead of trusting in Christ alone for salvation. And despite the fact that Osteen passes himself off as Orthodox, thus--by default--adhering to beliefs that both the man and his wife reject, Osteen seemed not to be focused on the couple's radical doctrinal differences--especially among themselves. Because, in the Osteen theology, the most important thing is that the person taps into their "God-given" potential to produce a "victorious" life.
But the question we must ask is: Is is possible to be victorious without Christ? Well, Paul states very plainly in 1 Corinthians 15:57:

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST"

So, Mr. Osteen, real victorious living comes through being in the LORD Jesus and not in responding to "Easy Listening" preaching (as Dr. Michael Horton called his preaching in the segment). Truth be told: While there was a lot of emotion from his followers, as well as Osteen himself, the lack of Christ's atoning work in his messages makes them weak when it comes to acheiving a true victorious life. So, in summation, I would have to agree with Dr. Horton and state that the Osteen message is a dangerous one indeed. And sadly, his popularity reveals the gullibility of many in the body of Christ that refuse to be "Good Bereans" when it comes to the messages that they listen to.