Alpha course

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The Alpha course is a basic course on the Christian faith, commonly advertised as "an opportunity to explore the meaning of life". Originating with the Church of England, the course is currently offered in 152 countries by many different denominations including Anglican, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal and Orthodox churches.

Contents

[edit] History

Alpha was started by the Revd Charles Marnham, a curate at Holy Trinity, Brompton, a Church of England parish in London. It started as a course for church members on the basics of the Christian faith but then began to be used as an introduction for those interested in the faith. In 1990 the Revd Nicky Gumbel, at that time a curate at Holy Trinity took over the running of the course at the invitation of the Revd Sandy Millar, the then vicar, and oversaw its revision and expansion.

In 2007, over 33,500 courses were offered in more than 160 countries and in many Christian denominations. By 2007 it was reported that over 10 million people worldwide had attended an Alpha course.

[edit] Structure

The Alpha course is organized as a series of sessions over ten weeks, typically preceded by an 'Alpha Supper' which often includes the talk "Christianity: Boring, Untrue and Irrelevant?" and with a day or weekend away which includes three or four of the talks asterisked [*] below. Each session starts with a meal, followed by a talk (often a video of one by Nicky Gumbel) and then discussion in small groups. The talks aim to cover the basic beliefs of the Christian faith. The complete list of talk titles, which follows the chapters of Nicky Gumbel's book Questions of Life, is:

  • Is there more to life than this? (previously Christianity: Boring, Untrue and Irrelevant?)
  • Who is Jesus?
  • Why did Jesus die?
  • How can I be sure of my faith?
  • Why and how should I read the Bible?
  • Why and how should I pray?
  • How does God guide us?
  • Who is the Holy Spirit? [*]
  • What does the Holy Spirit do? [*]
  • How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit? [*]
  • How can I resist evil?
  • Why and how should I tell others?
  • Does God heal today?
  • What about the church?
  • How can I make the most of the rest of my Life? [*]

Attendees are issued with The Alpha Course Manual, which contains an outline of each talk, and space for making notes.

Special versions of the Alpha course tailored for specific demographics exist, including Youth Alpha and Alpha for Prisons.

[edit] Doctrine

The teaching on Alpha is intended to centre upon the aspects of the Christian faith about which all the denominations are agreed. The Revd Nicky Gumbel, pioneer of the course, says "What unites us is far greater than what divides us". Catholic distinctives, for instance pertaining to saints and the Virgin Mary, are absent, as is Baptist teaching on baptism. Instead, individual denominations are invited to provide follow-up courses of their own.

The New International Version of the Bible is quoted in the course materials. St Paul's reference to the Bible being "God breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16) is referred to, although whether this view of scripture implies strict inerrancy is not made clear.

Within evangelical Protestantism, the most controversial element of the Alpha Course is what is considered to be its charismatic slant. Three of the fifteen sessions are given to the person and work of the Holy Spirit, and cover the infilling of the Spirit; speaking in tongues and healing via prayer. Conversion stories in the book of Acts (see 2:1ff, 9:17-19, 10:44-46, 19:1-6) are seen as normative.

As it is an introduction to the key teachings of the Christian faith, the Alpha Course does not incorporate divisive issues such as homosexuality, pre-marital sex and astrology, although these are addressed in one of Nicky Gumbel's other books Searching Issues.

[edit] Praise

The Alpha course has attracted praise as a technique for spreading an understanding of the basics of the Christian faith. Although begun in the Anglican church, it has subsequently been used by a variety of denominations and groups and is increasingly used by Roman Catholic Churches. It operates through unpressured (albeit directed) discussion in a non-threatening environment.

The Alpha course has been endorsed by a number of leaders, including many Roman Catholic cardinals, Anglican archbishops and leading figures of all the main Christian denominations. The current Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams was an enthusiastic supporter when he was Bishop of Monmouth and Archbishop of Wales and has carried on his support into his new role, opening Alpha conferences, even accepting an invitation to speak at an Alpha supper in London in 2005. He describes it as "a very special tool" and "a unique mixture of Christian content and Christian style".

Father Raniero Cantalamessa, a monk of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and Preacher to the Papal Household for Pope Benedict XVI wrote a document praising Alpha in June 2005. Faith Which Overcomes The World - London, Alpha Course, 27 June 2005

Other Christian leaders who have endorsed Alpha include:

[edit] Critics

The Alpha course has been criticized for a charismatic emphasis, and some critics[citation needed] suggest that the course is insufficiently focused on the Bible. A particular problem for non-charismatic evangelicals is what is seen as Gumbel's emphasis upon the person and work of the Holy Spirit. As a result, some churches have chosen to teach a modified version which avoids the subject of the Holy Spirit, although this is discouraged in Gumbel's book How to Run the Alpha Course.

Another source of intra-Christian criticism is Nicky Gumbel's suggestion in his other book Searching Issues that evolution may not be incompatible with Genesis, and that the earth may not have been created in six 24-hour days. Searching Issues also contains a chapter criticizing homosexual practice. The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association has produced an Alpha Briefing in response.

Some aspects of the doctrinal position promoted (see "Doctrine" heading above), most notably that regarding homosexuality, are controversial within the Anglican Communion, as well as in the wider church.

More conservative critics (especially from a Reformed and Evangelical perspective) have complained that the course does not adequately define sin and therefore does not properly explain the reason for Jesus' death and resurrection. The competing Christianity Explored course is an attempt to go beyond what the Alpha Course teaches on sin.

Michael Marsden, in the New Humanist magazine, has argued that the Alpha course works by appealing to vulnerable and emotionally weak members of society with a community of friends.

The Revd Dr John Vincent of the Urban Theology Unit in Sheffield has suggested that Alpha presents too narrow a version of Christianity, and one too centred on what theologians have said about Jesus, rather than allowing students the freedom to draw their own inspiration from studying Jesus's life and teaching. "The Alpha course, because of its didactic style, its narrow mindedness and its closed nature, doesn't facilitate alternative views," he says. "I happen to believe it therefore leads people into a self-centred religion which is not the same as the genuine Christian discipleship". [1]

[edit] See also

[edit] Books

[edit] External links

[edit] Alpha courses


[edit] Related and alternative courses