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The Alpha Course is a course that has been used by many as a way to attempt to introduce the false doctrines and practices of the Third Wave into mainstream denominations.
I was dumbfounded when I found out some of the people who endorse this course. Among them were the Salvation Army and, most notably, Luis Palau. Here is his endorsement that is featured on the Alpha Course web page:
"Alpha seems especially blessed in that the Lord is using it to reach all sorts of people in all sorts of spiritual condition." (http://www.alphana.org/alendo01.htm)
The Alpha Course, though teaching some truth, also lays truth alongside error. The wooing of people using the gospel message, only to later enslave them in ritualism, works salvation, and occult manifestations is one of the great deceptions of our time. One of the cleverest ploys of the enemy in our day is to allow "unprincipled" men to use the salvation message as an enticment to unsuspecting and untrained people, while they secretly introduce false doctrine, thereby giving "the devil a foothold" for fleshly manifestations and temptations in their lives. The men who designed this course are laying error alongside truth, introducing error secretly ("pareisaxousinin" in Greek) the result of which will ruin the faith of the believer in the end. The Bible says of this process:
"But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves." (2 Pet. 2:1)
Beware of the Alpha Course!
Perhaps the preachers and evangelists who have endorsed this course need to take a longer look at their Bibles. Jesus NEVER laid hands on his disciples, the result of which were "manifestations" of uncontrollable laughter, mayhem, shaking, animal noises, vomitting, or any of the other demonic disorder of the Toronto and Brownsville "things". Luis Palau, of all people, had better wake up to this deception that is sweeping the churches of Europe and is now being used around the world.
For a good critique on the dangers of this course, visit this web site:
"The Alpha Course" by Chris Hand
http://www.banner.org.uk/misc/alpha.html
Also, ready this analysis at the same site:
"Alpha Course Goes Nationwide In Britain" by Tricia Tillin
http://www.banner.org.uk/news/9804.html#Alpha
Following are two e-mails, then an article detailing the dangers of the Alpha Course. The first e-mail confirms that Luis Palau has indeed endorsed this dangerous course. The second alerts Christians to the fact the the Church of Rome is now using the course for its own purposes. The article following is a critique of the Alpha Course. We hope you will find this information useful when some member of your church attmepts to introduce this course into your church!
From D. C.
Alpha 10-3-98
Blessings!
The foundations of the Alpha course were originally laid in 1979 through the work of Charles Marnham. During his time at Holy Trinity Brompton in west London (one of the main proponants of the Toronto "Blessing" and where Steve Hill of Brownsville picked up his ability to "slay people in the spirit"), he sought to devise a course to look at the basics of the Christian faith in a way that would be helpful to new Christians.
After Marnham's initial input, Alpha gradually evolved. One of the key figures in this and the main architect of the Alpha course as it now exists is Nicky Gumbel, currently curate at Holy Trinity Brompton. It was through Gumbel's vision and work that Alpha grew to have the impact it has today.
Alpha has some well-known champions and supporters......
George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury
David Hope, the Archbishop of York
Alistair McGrath of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford and Regent College, Vancouver
Luis Palau, international evangelist
J.I. Packer of Regent College, Vancouver
The late John Wimber of the Vineyard churches
R.T. Kendall of Westminster Chapel
Joel Edwards of the Evangelical Alliance
Interesting to say the least...beloved let us discern the times!
D.A.C. <@}}}><
From I.C.
Alpha 10-2-98
Dear Friends,
The plot thickens and yet becomes at the same time more clear. This note concerns what we already know about Alpha courses, and two recent reports in the Daily Telegraph. The first DT item was on 30th Sept. p10, about the World Council of Churches. The second on 1st. Oct., about the Church of Rome and the Eucharist.
We all (I hope) know that Alpha has become a front for both Ecumenism and Toronto. It is therefore not surprising that its Theological content is lacking in many respects. Any course that can appeal to the range of traditions and denominations that Alpha does; must of necessity sacrifice many essential truths. It is to be expected, and yet sad to observe, so many "evangelicals" going happily and willingly down this "broad" road. This fact alone, of course, begs the question; just exactly what is an evangelical today? It is suggested by this aspect of Alpha alone, that every evangelical participating in Alpha, is betraying the very Gospel they claim to uphold. When people ask me how can I be so critical of something of which I have no personal experience; my usual reply is that I do not need to put my hand into a fire to prove if it will burn.
The second aspect of my note is about the Roman Catholic position in ecumenical matters. Here again most evangelicals must be either blind or ignorant of Rome's way of doing things. Rome has never changed one iota of the articles of the Council of Trent. Her attitude has always been one of waiting and persuading all to return to the "One True Church". While everyone else it seems is only too willing to compromise in the ecumenical cause, Rome has steadfastly given nothing away. It never ceases to amaze me, that so many think Rome is somehow different since Vatican 2. This is the cleverness of the Roman system. She lulls everyone into a sense of false security before swallowing them up. Just look at how many of our institutional churches and others are making overtures to Rome, and you begin to see how successful Rome has been. She lulls everyone into thinking she is sharing, when all the time she is taking over. This is why Alpha is a ready tool for Rome to exploit. While everyone is enjoying a meal and warm company, totally unaware of what is really going on under their very noses.
A futher point to notice since the Songs of Praise program devoted to Alpha, is the dishonesty of the propaganda. Did any of you notice how Alpha's history was glossed over in half a sentence; and how Nicky Gumbel was strangely absent in voice. You have to admit the propagandists have done a very skillful piece of work, but then this is precisely what you would expect from something that will be a major factor in the World Church scene.
To speak against Alpha is being made very difficult, but is all the more necessary. We see churches and fellowships going headlong into this abyss, but some will listen and be saved, and so we carry on. Incidentally, I just received in today's post a leaflet from the Salvation Army promoting Alpha for young people.
God help us all. God bless you all,
I.C.
Looking at - THE ALPHA COURSE
by
Tricia Tillin
http://www.banner.org.uk/ms/ms2962.html
The following article appeared in The Times, 11 May 1996,
WOMAN LEADS CHURCH BOYCOTT IN ROW OVER
EVANGELICAL PIG-SNORTING
A WOMAN has walked out of her church and is holding services in her living
room, because she says she cannot bring herself to "snort like a pig and
bark
like a dog" on a Church of England course. Angie Golding, 50, claims she
was denied confirmation unless she signed up for the Alpha course, which
she
says is a "brainwashing" exercise where participants speak in tongues,
make
animal noises and then fall over.
She has left the evangelical St Marks in Broadwater Down, Kent, with 14
members of the congregation and founded a church at home in Tunbridge
Wells. She said: "I'll be a fool for the Lord any day, but I won't be a
fool for
man."
However, the church last night denied that she had been refused
confirmation, and course organisers said she had misunderstood the nature
of
the event... "St Mark's is running an Alpha course at the moment which
a
number of people are attending. Those being confirmed this summer are
attending the course as well."
Mark Elsdon-Drew, of Holy Trinity Brompton, said the Alpha course included
lectures on the Holy Spirit. "It affects different people in different
ways." He
said the course had the "overwhelming support" of Church leaders and
theologians: "The suggestion of animal noises in connection with the course
is unwarranted and could not have been made by anyone who is familiar with
the material."
Everyone is asking "What about Alpha?" What is it, and what are we to believe
about it?
The Alpha course is an evangelistic initiative begun by Holy Trinity Brompton
-
perhaps better known now for its promotion of the Toronto Blessing.
The official history of the Alpha Course begins 16 years ago when a member
of
HTB, Charles Marnham, set up an informal home group to present answers
to
basic gospel questions. However, HTB curate, Nicky Gumbel, transformed
the
course into what we see today. [see endnote] It is designed to appeal to
non-believers, with every detail - the food, flowers, hospitality and questions
-
aimed at disarming the unchurched.
The final weekend away is a vital part of the course - and this has attracted
the
most criticism, as it gives a chance for the leaders, if they are so disposed,
to
present the Holy Spirit in an experimental fashion to a captive audience.
The course
always ends with a Supper laid on to which more non-believers are invited,
and so
the process continues.
Whatever else can be said about the Alpha Course, it has been a runaway
success.
In 1991 there were just four courses involving 600 people; in 1993 there
were
fewer than 10 courses being held in Britain. Now there are an estimated
3,000
being run regularly three times a year, more than 500 of them overseas.
These are
being run by every denomination, including Catholic.
One difficulty in pinning down the problems with the Alpha Course is that
each
church running the course will use the materials in a different way. Thus
it is
feasible, in theory at least, that a church might avoid all controversy
and simply use
the course to preach the gospel to unbelievers. This does leave unanswered
the
question - why does any church need to buy a course to be able to preach
the
gospel?
However, there are deep concerns. Below I present some thoughts on the
Alpha
Course by a Christian (i) who grew alarmed when viewing the course materials.
It
is a personal view but I believe it speaks for many.
Alpha certainly starts by preaching the gospel; the first three talks on
Video One
focus on the person and work of Jesus Christ, and the three talks on video
Two
which cover fundamental steps for new Christians, such as 'How can I be
sure of
my faith?', 'Why and how should I read the Bible?' and 'Why and how should
I
pray?' are all good. But as the course progresses, some of the talks tend
to wander
off into lengthy accounts of HTB's experiences of the Toronto Blessing
and
associated ministries, novel exegeses of various Biblical passages common
amongst
pro-Toronto preachers, calls for unity despite truth and an over-emphasis
on the
Holy Spirit, all of which are less than helpful, to say the least, to potential
Christians.
Clearly the aim is to bring as many into God's Kingdom as possible but
by the end
of the course I cannot help feeling that the Toronto Blessing may have
been the
greater beneficiary.
The Alpha course was virtually unknown until Eleanor Mumford of the South-West
London Vineyard church brought the Toronto Blessing from the Toronto Airport
Vineyard church in Canada to HTB, via Nicky Gumbel in May 1994, (ii) and
Nicky Gumbel spends a substantial amount of time relating to Alpha participants
in
video 3 talk 9, exactly how it occurred:
"Ellie Mumford told us a little bit of what she had seen in Toronto...
.it was
obvious that Ellie was just dying to pray for all of us.. then she said
'Now
we'll invite the Holy Spirit to come.' and the moment she said that one
of the
people there was thrown, literally, across the room and was lying on the
floor, just howling and laughing....making the most incredible noise....I
experienced the power of the Spirit in a way I hadn't experienced for years,
like massive electricity going through my body... One of the guys was
prophesying. He was just lying there prophesying. . ."
Gumbel's description of the antics that went on in the vestry of HTB after
their
invocation of the Spirit seems to me to bear no resemblance at all to what
happened on the day of Pentecost. (iii)
Yet Alpha participants are being taught all this as part of an evangelistic/Christian
Living course as though it is normal and desirable, with absolutely no
mention made
of the need to test the spirits (1 John 4:3), and at the end of this talk
are prayed for,
corporately, to receive it. Thus, they are initiated into the Toronto Blessing
without
a whimper of protest amongst them.
"I believe it is no coincidence that the present movement of the Holy Spirit
[TB] has come at the same time as the explosion of the Alpha Courses. I
think the two go together." [Nicky Gumbel, 'The Spirit and Evangelism',
Renewal, May 1995, p15].
So one of my concerns is whether the TB, which is being experienced at
HTB, can
possibly be divorced from the Alpha Initiative. In view of the similarities
of
emphasis and content between the two, I'm not sure that it can. Alpha also
promotes, as does the leadership of the TB, 'unity' between Protestants
and Roman
Catholics, with no consideration, or perhaps realisation, of the unreconcileable
doctrines of the two Churches, and so another concern is its trend towards
ecumenism.
POWER EVANGELISM
Heavily influenced by the 'Signs and Wonders' ministry of John Wimber in
the
1980s, power evangelism has been one of the preparation grounds for the
Toronto
Experience. It focuses on a pragmatic/experiential rather than a
proclamatory/doctrinal approach to spreading the gospel. As such it tends
to shift
the focus away from the shed blood of Jesus on the cross and onto the supernatural
works of the Holy Spirit carried out by men. This is the method of evangelism
favoured by Alpha. [Telling Others pp21-24;29-31].
ALPHA AND THE NEW AGE
All of this heightened interest amongst Charismatic Christians in 'Signs
and
Wonders' and the supernatural experiences of the Toronto Blessing is a
reflection
of spiritual and cultural changes going on outside Christianity, in which
New Age
experiential mysticism predominates.
Nicky Gumbel is aware of this paradigm shift from reason to experience:
"In the
Enlightenment reason ruled supreme and explanation led to experience. In
the
present transitional culture, with its 'pick-and-mix' worldview in which
the New
Age movement is a potent strand, experiences lead to explanation". [Nicky
Gumbel, Telling Others, p19].
Post-Christian neo-mysticism is already so pervasive that virtually every
non-christian participant of Alpha - or any other evangelistic initiative
- will reflect
to some degree New Age thinking. In New Age philosophy "experiences lead
to
explanation" yet, like the Toronto Experience, the thrust of Alpha is towards
the
experiential, not the written Word. One pastor who has made use of the
Alpha
course writes: "One of the problems of proclaiming the gospel in a post-modern
world is that culture itself warms much more readily to lifestyle than
to doctrine. But
the Christian lifestyle is not Christian faith... .I am sure that many
people are being
converted through the Alpha course, but I have a suspicion that some of
those
people are being converted to a Christian lifestyle rather than to Christ.".
[Ian
Lewis, 'The Alpha Course', Evangelicals Now, Dec 1995].
The two testimonies given by Alpha participants at the beginning of the
first Alpha
video are prime examples of this. There are certain basic elements one
would
expect to hear in a classic conversion testimony: the conviction of sin
leading to
repentance and subsequent assurance of God's forgiveness and salvation
through
the death on the cross of Jesus Christ. But these are not there in any
form in these
two testimonies.
A relationship with God is referred to, as is the experience of the baptism
in the
Holy Spirit, prayer, an interest in Bible reading, church-going, Christianity
and what
Alpha has done for them. But Jesus and what He has done for them and a
relationship with Him is not mentioned at all. Yet the Lord Jesus is the
gospel, He is
salvation, He is their new life so how can He possibly be so completely
overlooked
in a basic conversion testimony?
Adherents of false religions claim a relationship with God, and a prayer
life, but
they are not saved. Many church goers read their Bibles and have an interest
in
church and in Christianity, but they are not saved.
Likewise, more compassion/understanding at work, more patience, tolerance,
confidence and deep feelings of contentment can equally well be produced
by a
sense of psychological well-being. Without the cross they do not constitute
salvation. The attempt by Nicky Gumbel to bring Jesus into the testimonies
by
asking exactly what had made these differences, was met with a blank look
and the
response: "Just the relationship that I've developed with God. Simple as
that."
These testimonies seemed to me to be, as Ian Lewis suggests, only evidence
of
conversion to a Christian lifestyle, not to Christ. And when the "Christian
lifestyle" is
an endless round of blessings', supernatural 'experiences', spiritual 'parties'
[see
video talk 14] and 'play'-times (iv), then the transition from the counterfeit
spirituality of the New Age to Christianity is really only one of degree,
not kind. In
which case I would echo the question of one evangelical minister who asked:
"What is it they are converted to?"
EVANGELISM OR CHRISTIAN LIVING?
"Scripture tells us that salvation comes through hearing the gospel, and
I would
expect any course aimed at non-christians to concentrate primarily on the
facts of
the gospel. The Alpha course deals with the basics of the gospel in two
sessions...
While these are unequivocal gospel presentations, the remainder of the
course
deals essentially with what may be described as Christian living... When
we used an
adapted version of the course in our church, non-christians were left behind
by
about the sixth week. They still had very fundamental questions about what
Christians believe, which were not answered by talking about how Christians
live
and for this reason the course seemed more suited to people who have already
made a commitment to Christ." [Ian Lewis, Evangelicals Now, Dec 1995].
THE HOLY SPIRIT WEEKEND
White Alpha training manual pp26-36/Video III talks 7-9 "We live in the
age
of the Spirit." [p29].
Christians have always referred to the period of time between the first
and second
advents as the age of Grace, or the Church age. That has not changed. Why
encourage now, in such a precarious spiritual climate, the New Age concept
of the
Age of Aquarius (the spirit)?
Continuing his observations on the New Age Nicky Gumbel writes: "I have
found
on Alpha that those from an essentially enlightened background feel at
home with
the parts of the course which appeal to the mind, but often have difficulty
in
experiencing the Holy Spirit. Others coming from the New Age movement find
that
rational and historical explanations leave them cold, but at the weekend
away they
are on more familiar territory in experiencing the Holy Spirit." [Telling
Others, p19].
But it is the "rational and historical explanations" of sessions l and
2 which are the
essence of the gospel (Acts 2:22-41; 6:9-7:60; 8:26-38; 17:16-33) and which
the
unbeliever must grasp and accept with his mind, under the convicting and
illuminating power of the Holy Spirit, if he is to repent and experience
salvation in
his heart (Romans 10:13,14). Nevertheless: "At the end of the course I
send out
questionnaires... if there is a change I ask when that change occurred.
For many the
decisive moment is the Saturday evening of the weekend." [Telling Others,
p120].
This is the time when Nicky Gumbel invites the Holy Spirit to come and
participants are filled with the Spirit. [Telling Others, pp117,120,123;
Blue Alpha
training manual p18]
I find this extremely worrying. The "decisive moment" should surely be
the point at
which a person steps over from eternal death to eternal life through the
conversion
experience (John 3:16; 5:24; Romans 10:9,10,13 and other refs). But most
of the
testimonies in 'Telling Others' seem to confuse the experience of conversion
with
the experience of baptism in the Holy Spirit.
But is this surprising when Nicky Gumbel himself seems to treat conversion
as a
preliminary to the main event? The breath of new life into a repentant
sinner is
taught in talk 7, but Nicky Gumbel does not make it clear that this happens
at
conversion (2 Cor 5:17). Rather, he suggests this is due to a second experience:
the baptism in the Spirit.
The following testimony is an alarming example of the confusion between
conversion and baptism in the Holy Spirit, but it is by no means the only
one:
"....my wife encouraged me to read an article in a magazine about the Alpha
course at HTB. What had stuck in my mind was how the work of the Holy
Spirit was described as of paramount importance. I knew in my heart I had
to have his power in my life at any cost. So I... enrolled on the course
and
focused on the weekend where the work of the Holy Spirit is discussed...
.Never mind the weeks of pre-med, I just had to get into the operating
theatre... .I looked at the order of play, saw that the third session on
'How
can I be filled with the Spirit (which I identified as the main one) was
at
4:30pm and simply hung on like a marathon runner weaving his way up the
finishing straight with nothing but the finishing tape as the focus of
his
attention... .the prize was so near but we were getting there so slowly.
I
literally wanted to scream out 'Do it now! Do it now! I can't hold out
any
longer' I'm not exaggerating when I say I was in agony Then Nicky Gumbel
invited the Spirit to come and oh, the relief." [Interview in Renewal,
Oct
1995, p16; Telling Others pp36-37].
Though the prayer at the end of these talks includes repentance, the gospel
talks
are not at this point uppermost in participants minds, and the corporate
request
"inviting the Holy Spirit to come and fill us" is then made by all in the
room.
HOW CAN I RESIST EVIL?
Session 9 White Alpha training manual pp39-45/Video IV Talk 10.
In section II of this session Satan's tactics are listed: destroys; blinds
eyes; causes
doubt; tempts; accuses. All of these Gumbel applies to the area of Christian
behaviour. Deception, the tactic focusing on belief, is omitted. This oversight
can be
deadly. Deception concerning doctrine is Satan's most powerful weapon against
the Church and new Christians need to be made aware just how practised
Satan is
at deceiving Christians through false doctrines and false spiritual experiences.
(v)
Gumbel points out in this talk that occult activity "always comes under
the guise of
something good". The Toronto Blessing is seen as "something good". How
strange
then that neither he nor anyone else at HTB thought to test the Toronto
spirit before
accepting it and then passing it on to everyone else. (vi)
HOW DOES GOD GUIDE US?
Session 10 White Alpha training manual pp46-51/Video IV Talk 11
The "Guiding Spirit" and "more unusual ways" of guidance referred to in
this talk,
especially guidance by angels, need thorough testing against Scripture
in today's
religious climate in which false prophets and occult 'spirit guides' masquerading
as
angels of light abound.
A testimony in HTB in FOCUS: ALPHA NEWS, Aug 1995, in which Jesus is
referred to as "a guiding light" (p14), is just an inkling of what may
be to come.
DOES GOD HEAL TODAY?
Session 12 White Alpha training manual ppS8-62/Video V Talk 13
During this talk Nicky Gumbel tells Alpha participants of the visit by
John Wimber
to HTB in 1982 to demonstrate God's power to heal. He says: "John Wimber
then
said 'We've had words of knowledge' these are supernatural revelations,
things that
they couldn't have known otherwise about the conditions of people in the
room...
specific details were given, accurately describing the conditions... .as
the list was
responded to, the level of faith in the room was rising."
Gumbel says that he still felt "cynical and hostile" until the following
evening when he
was prayed for: "So they prayed for the Spirit to come....I felt something
like
10,000 volts going through my body....The American had a fairly limited
prayer.
He just said 'more power'....it was the only thing he ever prayed. I can't
remember
him ever praying anything else... Now we've seen many kinds of these
manifestations of the Spirit on the weekends... these manifestations...
and the
physical healings themselves are not the important thing... .the fruit
of the Spirit...
these are the things that matter, the fruit that comes from these experiences.
So we
began to realise that God heals miraculously...."
Nicky Gumbel gives no indication here that he or anyone else attending
that
meeting tested the spirits to ensure that everything came from the Holy
Spirit.
And, of course, the fruit of the Holy Spirit does not come from "these
experiences"
but from the daily sanctification by the Holy Spirit through obedience
to the Word
(John 14:15;21;23-26;15:l-7;10;14-15).
Once again Alpha participants are not being warned of the very serious
dangers of
accepting anything and everything from anyone and everyone. So they will
walk out
of the cocoon of Alpha and straight into the path of the "enemy the devil
[who]
prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour". (1 Peter
5:8).
WHAT ABOUT THE CHURCH?
Session 13 White Alpha training manual pp63-68/Video V Talk 14
(1) ROMANISM
"The Alpha course is... adaptable across tradition and denominations...
.I
know of its uses in Catholic... churches." [Martin Cavender in Telling
Others].
Adaptable in what sense exactly? Alpha's publications manager advises that,
while
presentation of the material can be adapted to suit, the content should
be followed
exactly. (He makes particular reference to the weekend dealing with the
Holy Spirit
in this respect) [Christian Herald, 9:12:1995].
If the content of the course teaches the fundamental historical and theological
facts
and doctrines of the Christian faith as recorded in Scripture, then, having
tested and
proved that to be so, any Protestant church using Alpha could follow the
course
exactly. But could a Catholic church do that?
In talk 8 and in section II of this talk Gumbel teaches Alpha participants
that the
differences between Protestants and Catholics are "totally insignificant
compared to
the things that unite us... we need to unite around the death of Jesus,
the
resurrection of Jesus; the absolute essential things at the core of the
Christian faith
on which we are all agreed. We need to give people liberty to disagree
on the
things which are secondary."
I agree wholeheartedly with the last sentence but that is not the issue
here. It is on
the essentials that Protestants and Catholics do not have unity. That was
the whole
point of the Protestant Reformation. Discussing the price of unity in the
Church,
Bishop Ryle wrote: "Our noble Reformers bought the truth at the price of
their own
blood, and handed it down to us. Let us take heed that we do not basely
sell it for
a mess of pottage, under the specious names of unity and peace." [Warnings
to the
Churches, 1877, p128].
Still
Gumbel says: "We need to unite... there has been some comment which is
not
helpful to unity. Let us drop that and get on. It is wonderful that the
movement of
the Spirit will always bring churches together. He is doing that right
across the
denominations and within the traditions... we are seeing Roman Catholics
coming
now... Nobody is suspicious of anybody else... People are no longer 'labelling'
themselves or others. I long for the day when we drop all these labels
and just
regard ourselves as Christians with a commission from Jesus Christ." [Renewal,
May 1995,p16]
'Adaptability' of the Alpha course to include Catholics, not necessarily
to convert
them, is referred to in Alpha as 'unity' and I am concerned that Alpha
is contributing
- albeit unintentionally - to the undoing of the Protestant Reformation
through the
promulgation of ecumenism disguised as Christian Unity.
(2) UNITY AND FALSE DOCTRINE/TEACHERS
"A disunited church, squabbling and criticising makes it very hard for
the
world to believe". [Gumbel, Renewal, May 1995, p16]. Consequently "we
make it a rule on Alpha never to criticise another denomination, another
Christian church or a Christian leader." [Telling Others, p114; and this
talk,
section II].
Yet there are times when failure to 'criticise' - or rather to rebuke and
correct (2
Tim 3:16; 4:2-5) - is actually to be disobedient to the Word of God. Although
in
talk five Gumbel only applied the rebuking and correcting to Christian
behaviour, it
also applies to false teaching. We must certainly not judge one another's
sins or
their hearts (e.g. Matt 7:1-5), or their personalities, but we are to test
all teachings
prophesies and practices against Scripture and judge whether they are true
or false
(1 Cor 2:15;16; 1 John 4:1).
According to Ephesians 4:3-6 Christian unity comes through our being baptised
through one Spirit into "one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and
Father of
all".
Unity is also essential to Latter-Rain doctrine, to enable the incarnation
of Christ
into His physical body (the Church), because He cannot incarnate a divided
body.
But Latter-Rain is a "different gospel" (Gal 1:6-7) with a faulty eschatology
which is
insinuating itself into Charismatic fellowships these days; one of its
most successful
routes being the Toronto Blessing (vii).
It is vital that we "earnestly contend for the faith that was once for
all entrusted to
the saints" (Jude 3). If not, we may find ourselves, and those new believers
we
have nurtured, part of the Apostate church.
(3) THE PARABLE OF THE PARTY
In section IV, Gumbel says the Church, though God's Holy Temple, so often
loses
"the sense of the presence of God in its midst". He is making reference
here to the
Sunday meetings of believers rather than to the Church as the body of Christ
and
uses the parable of the Prodigal Son to explain that Sunday services should
be like
a 'party'. "Jesus was saying that....the Church is like....a feast and
a celebration, and
at a party everyone has a good time. There's fun, there's laughter... .Why
shouldn't
there be laughter at the biggest party of all? and that's what we're seeing
today,
laughter and fun, and people getting drunk - not with wine, Paul says 'don't
get
drunk with wine - be filled with the Spirit, Come to a party where you
can get
drunk on God... .I was at a party like that last night. It was a whole
load of church
leaders, and we invited the Spirit to come... It was a party thrown by
the Holy
Spirit. It was a fun place to be. The Church is meant to be a party..."
The Church will celebrate the marriage feast of the Lamb when the Lord
Jesus
returns, but I find no references to "fun" or "parties" anywhere in Scripture,
except
in denunciation. In 1 Corinthians 10:1-11 for example. Until Jesus returns
and we
attend the marriage feast of the Lamb, there is no place for "parties"
or "festivals";
not even "to the Lord".
CONCLUSION
It may only be part of Alpha's teaching which does not accord with Scripture,
but I
would say with Paul: "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough."
(Gal
5:9).
Every Christian and every fellowship is able to witness to the gospel.
Many
fellowships create their own evangelistic courses under the guidance of
the Holy
Spirit. It should not be necessary to rely on the methods and techniques
of another
fellowship when we have all the instruction and teaching material we need
in
Scripture, all the experience we need in each of our relationships with
the Lord
Jesus and are each empowered by the Holy Spirit to go and do it. But if
leaders do
decide to use the Alpha course they should at least consider the following
points in
light of the concerns above:
That they ensure non-believing participants have fully understood the meaning
of
the cross and are saved (sessions I and 2) before propelling them into
a course on
Christian Living. (sessions 3-14).
That they ensure converts are fully aware of their conversion experience
and are
becoming stable in their daily relationship with the Lord Jesus before
thrusting them
into the baptism of the Holy Spirit, for which they are not yet ready and
which
could allow into their lives the influence of an alien spirit through ground
given,
albeit unintentionally.
That they ensure participants understand the different nature of the work
of each
person in the Trinity.
That they ensure the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and his convicting and sanctifying
work in a believer's life is not submerged beneath the gifts and the power
of the
Holy Spirit.
That they ensure participants are taught to proceed from the Word to experience,
not from experience to the Word.
Following from this, that they ensure participants understand that deception
regarding doctrine and supernatural phenomena has always been Satan's main
weapon against the Church and that knowing and standing fast in the Word
is our
weapon of defence, as it was for Jesus (Matt 4:1-11).
That they ensure participants are taught to become Bereans (Acts 17:11)
able to
test everything against Scripture for themselves, not relying on leaders,
who are not
infallible (e.g. Gal 2:11-14), to do their thinking and living for them.
That they revise the booklist on pp72-75 of the white Alpha training manual
as it
tends to display a bias towards writers sympathetic to the Vineyard/Toronto
Experience/Restorationist persuasion, while omitting other sound and more
obvious
choices in several of the sessions.
In 1877 Bishop Ryle wrote: "The Lord Jesus Christ declares, 'I will build
My
Church'....Ministers may preach, and writers may write, but the Lord Jesus
Christ
alone can build. And except He builds, the work stands still....Sometimes
the work
goes on fast, and sometimes it goes on slowly. Man is frequently impatient,
and
thinks that nothing is doing. But man's time is not God's time. A thousand
years in
His sight are but as a single day. The great builder makes no mistakes.
He knows
what He is doing. He sees the end from the beginning. He works by a perfect,
unalterable and certain plan." [J.C. Ryle 'The True Church' in Warnings
to the
Churches, 1877, pp13-14].
[Note: Nicky Gumbel dates his call to evangelism (Tape Five of the video
set) to
the 1982 incident in which he received prayer from John Wimber. On that
occasion, he experienced such supernatural power that he had to call out
for it to
stop. Wimber gave a "word" that Gumbel had been given "a gift of telling
people
about Jesus".]
A much expanded version of this paper is presently available from Jo Gardner,
price £1.25 incl. postage. Write to: Adullam Register/Alpha, 86 Manor
Way,
Croxley Green, Herts WD3 3LY. This paper and other material will also shortly
be
produced in the form of a booklet. Enquiries to Jo Gardner, not Banner!
FOOTNOTES
(i) Letters to the author should be directed to Banner Ministries.
(ii) HTB in Focus: Alpha News, Aug 1995 p9. See also Wallace Boulton, ed.,
The
Impact Of Toronto, 1995 pp2O-24.
(iii) See Richard Smith, "Spiritual Drunkenness", Sept 1994.
(iv) See Wallace Boulton, ed., The Impact Of Toronto, 1995, p19.
Also David Noakes, Dealing With Poison In The Pot, audio tape, CFCM 95/04,
side 1.
And Johannes Facius, 'Laugh? I Nearly Cried' in Prophecy Today, May/June
1995, p25.
(v) See for example, Robert M. Bowman, Orthodoxy And Heresy: A Biblical
Guide To Doctrinal Discernment, 1993. And J.C. Ryle, Warnings To The
Churches, 1877.
(vi) During the Leadership Consultation held in January and March 1995,
by the
Centre for Contemporary Ministry, it was noted that Wm Branham also practised
impartation of the Spirit, which others could then pass on. Arnott has
likened the
Toronto Blessing to a virus. (See Haggai 2:10-14).
(vii) See 'Birth of the Manchild' in Mainstream, Spring 1995, ppi-5 for
the
eschatology being taught at some Vineyard churches.
