Joel Osteen’s wife accused of ‘blasphemous’ remarks
Published: 31 August 2014 
Victoria Osteen, wife of megachurch minister Joel Osteen and co-pastor of the Houston, Texas, Lakewood Church is under fire for comments being called blasphemous made during a recent Sunday morning service.
They were captured on video and posted to YouTube.
Osteen, addressing the church’s large congregation as her husband stood by nodding his head in agreement, said, “I just want to encourage everyone of us to realize when we obey God, we’re not doing it for God – I mean, that’s one way to look at it – we’re doing it for ourselves, because God takes pleasure when we’re happy.
“So I want you to know this morning: Just do good for your own self. Do good because God wants you to be happy. When you come to church, when you worship Him, you’re not doing it for God really. You’re doing it for yourself, because that’s what makes God happy. Amen?”
While Osteen’s perspective on obedience and worship appears compatible with the theme of her latest book, “Love Your Life,” it’s out of step with the Bible, according to online critics. Steve Camp, pastor of The Cross Church in Palm City, Florida, told Christian News Network Osteen’s words were essentially blasphemous. “It’s the age old sin of idolatry – that it’s not about God, it’s about us,” he said. “True worship for the humanist is about how we feel at the end of the day and what gives us meaning, as opposed to what gives God glory.”
“She honestly believes that God exists to make us happy rather than holy,” Camp said. “She honestly believes that worship is about our fulfillment rather than His glory. That’s the bottom issue here.”
Camp continued: “First Corinthians so clearly says that whether we eat or drink, do it all to the glory of God. It’s not just self. Jesus said … in Matthew 16, ‘Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me.’
“The Osteens have just inverted that. They think it’s not the denial of self, but the exaltation of self,” Camp said. “They’re not trying to pursue a cross; they’re trying to pursue prosperity. And they’re certainly not following the biblical Jesus. They’re following whatever brings happiness and contentment.”
Camp was not Osteen’s only critic. Christian Post reported Desiring God writer Tony Reinke’s tweet:
“Victoria Osteen: God’s glory and your joy are at odds.” Erick Erickson, editor-in-chief of RedState.com, offered a quote from the 1995 movie, “Billy Madison”: “What you’ve just said is one of the most insanely, idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point, in your rambling, incoherent response, were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. May God have mercy on your soul.”
In what might be this week’s most severe criticism of the Osteens’ ministry came Thursday morning when Michael David Fletcher, 30, entered the bookstore at Lakewood Church and began knocking books off shelves, throwing books and overturning display stands, all the while refering to the Bible verse Matthew 21:12, reported Houston’s KHOU-TV News.
“Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.”
Fletcher was escorted out of the bookstore by security personnel who had to hold him down when he attempted to return. A felony charge of criminal mischief is pending.
“What’s the chief end of man? To bring glory to God and enjoy him forever,” said Camp, quoting from the Westminster Confession. “I think that’s the thing that’s been lost in our culture. “The chief concern in this life is not us. The chief concern is that we bring glory to God, that we further His gospel, and that we testify of His grace. We’re here to do his bidding.”
Blog Editor’s Note:
Compare the Osteens’ definition of success, with Van Halen’s song “Best of Both Worlds”. “You don’t have to die and go to Heaven…Or hang around to be born again Just tune in to what this place has got to offer… We may never be here again. I want the best of both worlds…I know what it’s worth Give me the best of both worlds…I want Heaven right here on earth.”52
Anton LaVey, the high priest of the Satanic church, explains the essence of Satanism: “….knowing this, realizing what human potential is,… here is one of the essential points of satanism; (to) attain his own godhead in accordance with his own potential. Therefore, each man, each woman, is a god or goddess….” 53
Romans Chapter One says the same thing
21″ Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man”
The shocking truth is Hillsong and the other counterfeits like Warren, Prince, and Osteen are promoting health, wealth, prosperity and human potential, the antithesis to true biblical Christianity! [see Phil 2:5 – 10, 2 Cor 5:14,15, Matt 6:24] We cannot serve God and money! Yet most people believe these churches are just another Christian ‘flavour’.
Their goal is to make God famous, at the same time making themselves famous. This popular ‘faith’ is Robert Schuller’s self esteem, and Freemason Norman Vincent Peale’s possibility thinking repackaged; this insidious seduction slithered into the church over a jubilee ago.
See my article Desiring God or Desiring God Part 1 and 2 for more detail
Sources:
Coercion Code - "Dark Times are upon us" 
what just blows our mind, is that pastors world wide, believe these two are of God, and welcome them to their conferences They have their books in their bookshops for their flock to buy, and retweet their tweets to their loyal followers. So it’s become the blind leading the blind. And everyone just stays blind. The lack of spiritual discernment in so many christians is horrendous. What’s even worse, is when they are confronted with such things as this, christians just shrug it off, as if its not offensive or blasphemous, and continue to follow these type of leaders.They simply refuse to see the sins of these pastors, no matter how often they do it, and no matter how often these leaders are preaching falsehood. And no matter how often they are confronted with the truth. Talk about being dumbed down.. If only christians would pick up the bible themselves,and read it. But not that Message one, cause that is so blasphemous itself. No wonder these type of pastors use the Message bible. Because its one way to keep their flock from being biblically discerning. The church of today would have to be the most dumbed down church in the history of it. How sad ,but again just goes to show how close we are to the end times doesn’t it. Because the bible continually warned us what the church and its leaders would be like in these days.
These two are of God!!! These two make mistakes, just like all of us! Judge Not!!
Me
I think that there is more to christianity than exuberance, excitement, success and large numbers.
If what you say is correct that it was a mistake, has Victoria clarified or apologised?
I would be pleased to know.
BTW when Joel suggests that the church at Lakewood forms an alliance with the pope, amd the Roman catholics, will you be joining them?
You are off your rocker! ll those two care about is stuffing their pockets and a disgrace as human brings! And you call all they do is mistakes… People are starving and those two couldn’t care less! Especially children are starving to death! They are two evil people and you agree with them so you must be evil also! Read the Bible and be totally honest and say you REALLY BELIEVE they are TRUE CHRISTIANS!!!!
Me
No. These two are not of the true GOD (Heavenly Father). They are of SATAN. Joel denied the LORD Jesus Christ on TV interviewed by Larry,.. Oprah. When asked “Is JESUS CHRIST the only way to the Father?” Joel replied “NO”.
John 14:6 in the True HOLY BIBLE: “Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”.
Victoria Osteen is not to blame, but her husband is. She has been brainwashed by her husband.
Right on, judge not, but denying the LORD on TV broadcast-ed throughout the world, what makes you think you can continue to trash the words of GOD, for SATAN?
Vid
I find it appalling that you would grab 37 seconds out of a 2 minute speech by Victoria Osteen in order to criticize her. You are dishonest.
You deleted her opening statement that obedience to God is the best way for us to live our lives. You conveniently left out the part where she talked about how we as parents want our children to be obedient not for our own edification but because we know that it will result in the best outcome for them. She said that God requires our obedience for our own good. YOU LEFT ALL OF THAT OUT!!! Shame on you!!!!!!
Don,
This is what was available on youtube. And surely that cant be your best defence for dear Victoria. 2 mins of what?
Even at the end the congregation still werent sure where she was going with it all?
The reason that youtube was even uploaded in the first place is it shows an underlying disquiet that our religion has become completely ‘subjective’, what we can get out of it ‘WIFM’. God becomes our heavenly Father Christmas showering down blessings….our reasons to follow Christ become warped, and end up being based on consumer wants and needs. Something the gospel was never meant to be!
Yes… God may and does require obedience for our own good. But The Lord Jesus had times where he had to say ‘not my will, but yours be done’, it was to save mankind.
Ultimately we obey God because He requires it, and this is the point. Not that we will necessarily get something out of it.
What kind of child would you like to have in your family? One who respects you and does what is required without questioning, or a child you have to coax and incent to mow lawns, or put out the trash?
One is mature, the other is still a child.
Don doesn’t the bible say we have been bought with a price, and that our bodies belong to God, and we are no longer our own. We obey God ,not just because it’s for our own good. But we obey him ,because he paid the ultimate price for our freedom.And we obey him in honour and worship of him, and what he has done for us at the cross. The type of religion these type of leaders share, is not the true gospel of the bible.It’s a lukewarm, mish mash of twisted scripture with humanistic feel good ,new age philosophies. But one requires Godly discernment and wisdom, and not worldly discernment and wisdom to see what these type of leaders preach is apostasy. The very apostasy the bible itself warns every believer about over and over again. God would not of warned us about false leaders and apostate teaching, if it wasn’t going to happen within the church. Lance is just doing what God has required him to do. And that is warn the believer about such unbiblical teachings. You call him dishonest, yet you stand up for apostasy in the Olsteens who have taught so many unbiblical doctrines over many years. People like the Olsteens are the dishonest ones. Because they preach a prosperity doctrine, and get the vulnerable and needy to give them millions of dollars in tithes and book sales etc ,by selling these vulnerable and needy people a lie ,that God will make them all rich. And the only ones really prospering out of this ungodly doctrine is the Olsteens themselves,and pastors like them.
Let’s open our eyes to the real truth of what she is doing. God tells us here in Revelations.
Revelation 2:20-23
20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.