What does Tolle think of Jesus? Tolle, like other New Agers, portrays Jesus as a mere man; just another avatar (or spiritual teacher) in a long list of avatars who were also “saviors” in their own right. All of them were mere “way-showers” whose purpose was to lead others to enlightenment—i.e., the realization of one’s own divinity. Jesus was somewhat unique only in that he had a highly developed sense of his god-self. Just like everyone else, he came to possess (i.e., he had to discover) his own Christ Consciousness, but when he did so, he realized it more completely than others. Nevertheless, he was no more divine than we are, which something he allegedly tried to help others see. He did NOT come to necessarily die on the cross! In fact, the cross was a defeat. It showed that Jesus had fallen victim to those who did not want to embrace their own divinity. As Tolle has stated, “[W]hat [the cross] points to is the very thing that seems to stand in the way of realizing who you are."

Oprah Winfrey put it most succinctly during a special April 9, 2008, edition of The Oprah Winfrey Show, which featured Tolle’s fans praising his teachings. She brazenly declared: "I thought Jesus came, died on the cross. That Jesus’ being here was about his death and dying on the cross, when it really was about him coming to show us how to do it. How to be. To show us the Christ Consciousness that he had, and that that consciousness abides with all of us."

Bear in mind that this is the same Oprah who continues to publicly claim she's a Christian and believes in Jesus Christ. Well, forgive me if I use uncharacteristically blunt words at this point, but it must be said: Oprah is not a Christian, nor does she believe in the Jesus of the Bible. By the teachings/beliefs she espouses make her a classic New Ager who exalts a different Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel (2 Cor. 11:3–4). I wish that both she and Tolle would, for the sake of truth, just stop claiming that Tolle's teachings are compatible with Christianity. They're not compatible with the Christian faith. The only way he and Oprah are making it SEEM compatible is by twisting and perverting scripture to say whatever Tolle wants it to say in contradiction to the context and language of the Bible verses he always quotes. What he and Oprah are doing is deceptive, in my opinion—perhaps not deliberately, but deceptive nevertheless. They might be sincere, but they are sincerely wrong, and they are leading many people down a dead-end path of false spirituality.  

In his view, why did Jesus die on the cross and does it mean anything positive for us today?

Tolle actually doesn't say very much about why Jesus ended up dying on the cross. But from the precious little that Tolle does say, he seems to feel the cross was a defeat which occurred at the hands of the reactionary, violent, religious, and unenlightened. There is no sense at all in Tolle's teachings that the cross was, in reality, the essence of Christ's mission, which is what scripture consistently teaches (see Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:33–34, 45; 12:1–11; Luke 13:33; John 12:24-27; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Tim. 1:15).

To Tolle, the cross is at best "a strange dualistic symbol." As he says, "To me, Jesus stands for humanity. So this man is nailed to the torture instrument, totally helpless, in deep suffering. At that point comes total surrender to what is. ‘Not my will, but thy will be done.’”

Tolle then goes on to explain that ultimately, however, "the symbolic significance of the cross is changed from being a torture instrument to a symbol of the divine" because "[t]he very suffering that comes with being here in this physical realm---because eventually some form of suffering comes to everybody--can become an opening into that which we call the divine."

We again see Tolle perverting scripture in order to make it say what he wants it to say. Christ's death on the cross in this view, is nothing a but a tragic event used to picture humanity (i.e., Jesus) nailed to the instrument of suffering that we all face in life (i.e., the cross), which is something we all must simply surrender to because it usually cannot be avoided for fought. This is hardly the Christian view.

In itself, this perspective is not very shocking when taken in light of Tolle's New Age mindset. But what is indeed somewhat surprising is how both he and Oprah are seriously trying to push this resoundingly heretical view into a Christian mold. First, by Tolle quoting so much scripture to support his views. Second, by Oprah relentlessly calling herself a "Christian" and assuring faithful fans that what Tolle is saying is completely compatible with Christianity.