On Victoria Osteen’s Remarks

Posted on September 5, 2014 by jamesbradfordpate

A lot of Christians are upset by Victoria Osteen’s claim that we worship God so that we can be happy.  See here.  Victoria Osteen is the wife of megachurch pastor Joel Osteen.  She recently said that God wants us to worship him, not to benefit him, since he does not need our worship, but rather so that we can be happy.  God, as one who is loving, desires our happiness.

Personally, I’m surprised by all of the outrage, for, over the years, I have heard similar statements to that made by Victoria Osteen within evangelicalism and Christianity.  C.S. Lewis made such a point in Reflections on the Psalms: that God does not want praise because of any insecurity on his part, but rather because praise is his gift to us—-we benefit from it.   I have heard evangelicals make similar points, as they refer to evangelical outlets that they have heard and read.

What’s more, God in Psalm 51 says that he does not even need our sacrifices, for God already owns all the animals!  Worship is for our benefit, not God’s.

I would say that Victoria Osteen’s comments are a bit one-sided, but not wrong.  God has an agenda of hallowing his name and renewing creation, and I believe that we should honor and join God in what God is doing.  That’s what the Lord’s Prayer is about.  But God is loving and desires our personal happiness, and that, in my opinion, highlights—-not so much ourselves—-but God’s love, the love that we should imitate by desiring other people’s happiness.  As Rick Warren said in Purpose-Driven Life, it’s not all about you.  But I still think that you and your happiness and well-being are important to God.

About jamesbradfordpate

My name is James Pate. This blog is about my journey. I read books. I watch movies and TV shows. I go to church. I try to find meaning. And, when I can’t do that, I just talk about stuff that I find interesting. I have degrees in fields of religious studies. I have an M.Phil. in the History of Biblical Interpretation from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio. I also have an M.A. in Hebrew Bible from Jewish Theological Seminary, an M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School, and a B.A. from DePauw University.
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2 Responses to On Victoria Osteen’s Remarks

  1. laurieanichols says:
    September 5, 2014 at 9:08 pm

    I think that the outrage against Victoria Osteen isn’t very Christian like, she loves God as she sees it, so where is the problem. I agree with you James

    Liked by 1 person

  2. LanceThruster says:
    October 15, 2014 at 10:34 am

    Proof that Xians can say anything as doctrine and get offended by anything. Sure would have been an easy sentence to put in the bible if it was part of the revealed knowledge meant to be disseminated to mankind. The Osteen’s are grifters who might as well preach, “God wants us to live in a multi-million dollar mansion, well…because.” Atheists like myself blaze our own trails.

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