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Dangers within the Alpha Courses


turtletwo

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19 minutes ago, frienduff thaylorde said:

Believer or whoever he spells his name ,  BROUGHT THIS .      May all read it

@B3L13v3R Thanks, brother for posting this. It was helpful. (Frienduff re-posted it here in my thread.)

 

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33 minutes ago, frienduff thaylorde said:

THANK YOU DEAR SISTER .     Read this micheal 37. ITS ON THEIR ON SITE .   AND let all who name the name o JESUS flee the alpha course and anyone connected to ROME also .

Can you spell my name correctly please, and I am happy to have clarified the OP which was in error.

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Here is an article to point out further problems with the Alpha Course.

 

Problems of the Alpha Course

The Alpha Course tends to generalize Christianity and glosses over many of the distinctive doctrines of the many different denominations.  For example, Roman Catholics have complained that there is no emphasis on the Virgin Mary.  Baptist’s are upset that teachings on baptism are ignored.  What is not ignored, and in fact is overemphasized, is the infilling of the Holy Spirit, the baptism of the Spirit, tongues, and healing by prayer and therein lies some of the problems with this course.  For example, the Book of Acts is taught as normative doctrine instead of its intended use as a historical account of the church.  Conversely, the letters (epistles) of the New Testament are not so much normative but address specific issues that affect churches and are not construed as specific doctrines.  This is just the opposite of the way the books in the New Testament were intended by their writers.  This course tends to over emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit instead of Jesus Christ and His glorification.  There is also a gaping hole where major doctrines are not taught, like sin, sanctification, glorifying Jesus Christ, and loving one another.

The narrowness of these courses do little to allow an all-encompassing view of the story of redemption, the fall of man, the work at Calvary by Christ, and the duty of Christians in the church.  What theologians say about Jesus is emphasized above and over His actual ministry and commands.  It tends to completely ignore the Great Commission, even though Jesus’ imperative command was given 5 times just before His Ascension.

The Alpha Course, by not defining sin properly, fails to give the emphasis of Jesus sacrifice, the reason for His sacrifice, and for His resurrection.  These are the main themes of the Gospel, yet they are glossed over by the course and instead give ambiguous information about Christianity in general.  The course is highly superficial and there are very few specifics except in the gifts of the Spirit.  Actually the role of the Holy Spirit is over emphasized giving a  slightly different view of the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit in many cases, Whose purpose is to always point too and glorify Christ, is elevated in status and importance over Jesus Christ and the Father.  The gifts of the Spirit are sought after, prayed for, and raised in importance above that of Jesus Christ’s rightful place in the church.   The central focal point is not Christ but the gifts of the Spirit, which is contrary to what Christ taught the disciples in His High Priestly Prayer in the Gospel of John.

Dangers of the Alpha Course

The Alpha Course is now the fastest growing Christian education course in the world, according to Christianity Today, and it is growing at an exponential rate.  Dangers are that the main message of the gospel is glossed over to make it have basically little or no effect.  The crucial elements of Communion, Calvary, the cross, the reason for Christ’s sacrifice, and the inerrancy of the Word of God, and the Bible, are not emphasized.  Even the importance of the Great Commission is missing.

Also missing is the essential element of salvation by grace alone in Christ alone by faith alone.  The tendency of the course is to speed through or do a fly over of the Bible in general.  A crash course of the framework of the Bible can never replace the essential doctrines of the faith.  For example there is nothing given of the desire of Christ to make disciples of all nations, to come out of sin, to repent and be baptized, to grow in grace and knowledge.  A simple rote memorization of the Bible or of God is nothing short of being called the great omission.  Even the Devil and his demons know God exists and Satan could quote the Bible.  The demons believe in God and tremble but this doesn’t mean that they are acting on this belief.  What is missing is the desire to be hungering and thirsting after righteousness or to have practical applications like loving and serving one another that is covered by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 and Romans 12.  There is a lack of focus on being regenerated, being renewed in mind, or growing in holiness through a lifelong sanctification process.

The greatest problem may be the elevating of the gifts of the Spirit and the lack of not glorifying Jesus Christ, to Whom the Holy Spirit is to testify of, speak of, and Who strives to glorify.  It seems to be more of a me-centered teaching.  The greater proportion of teaching about the gifts of the Spirit indicates that the gifts are more important than the Gift Giver.  Despite the Alpha Course’s best intention, it is overtly charismatic and under emphasizes the holiness of God, thus the “works” of the Spirit are seen as more important that true worship of God in Spirit and in Truth.  The experiences are seen as a validation of the Spirit’s presence more than an inner conversion and the outward expression of that conversion.  For example, there are testimonies of hundreds who have attended their conferences who have been “bounced” from them due to their lack of speaking in tongues rather than Jesus saying that we would know them by their fruits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Alpha course laugh in the spirit flourishes because itching ears r having fun at churches.

Edited by R. Hartono
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I can't say I know much personally about the Alpha Course, ...what I know comes from men of God that I trust,

...however I do "know" about the so called "holy laughter," ...after I graduated from high school in '67 came the famous "Summer of Love," I tuned in, turned on and dropped out and became an Acid Freak, ...in my druggie group were heroin addicts, ...many a night I watched them shoot up, as they came on to the drug they would double over and start to hysterically laugh, mouth stretched fully open but no sound coming out of it, they would remain "paralyzed" like that for hours, ...holy laughter coming from the Holy Spirit, ...that's blasphemy, ...just like it has been stated above,the "church" participants were in an altered state of conciseness just like the junkies!

Be careful folks, we've been in church worship services here in Tahiti where the name of Jesus was repeated over and over and over in a monotone voice, to hypnotize the people into an altered state of conciseness, ...then there was a ripple in the time-space continuum, ...just like when we would "come on" to acid, ...that's when the circus began and all sorts of weird and bizarre things were done under the so called "influence" of the Holy Spirit, ...hogwash, demons were now running the show.  

Test all things, ...hold on to what is good...

Lord bless

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Yes, stay away folks. Run the other way from this, and instead run to the biblical Jesus. The real, true Jesus.

I did this alpha course, in my naivety, 20 years ago, when I was 25.

Thank the Lord, I can’t remember a lot about it. Only the basics of having a meal, watching a video and then chatting about it afterwards.

Until @frienduff thaylorde and @turtletwo brought it up the other day, I had forgotten about it.

On reading up on it in the last couple of days, it is definitely not biblical and by trying to re-focus people away from Jesus and instead onto the gifts of the Holy Spirit is exceedingly alarming.

The Holy Spirit indwells in us as the Spirit of Christ, to constantly point us to Jesus, to remind us of what Jesus said, to help bring scriptures to mind. He is our comforter, counsellor, advocate. But the main reason He is in us, is to keep pointing us to Jesus. To be able to have direct access to Jesus.

As turtle said, when Jesus was down here, he was constrained by time and space, so He could only be in one place at a time. By sending us His Holy Spirit, we all have direct access to Him, all the time.

We need to go back to the bible. The bible was written for all generations, right until Jesus returns. Trying to modernise it so that it fits in with the world culture, is not what the Lord teaches us. He wants us to live according to what He says in the bible and not the other way round.

It all comes together with this false unity. Trying to unite false religions together, to water Jesus down so people won’t be offended by Him. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! Flee away from this.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved.

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13 hours ago, turtletwo said:

Here is an article to point out further problems with the Alpha Course.

 

Problems of the Alpha Course

The Alpha Course tends to generalize Christianity and glosses over many of the distinctive doctrines of the many different denominations.  For example, Roman Catholics have complained that there is no emphasis on the Virgin Mary.  Baptist’s are upset that teachings on baptism are ignored.  What is not ignored, and in fact is overemphasized, is the infilling of the Holy Spirit, the baptism of the Spirit, tongues, and healing by prayer and therein lies some of the problems with this course.  For example, the Book of Acts is taught as normative doctrine instead of its intended use as a historical account of the church.  Conversely, the letters (epistles) of the New Testament are not so much normative but address specific issues that affect churches and are not construed as specific doctrines.  This is just the opposite of the way the books in the New Testament were intended by their writers.  This course tends to over emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit instead of Jesus Christ and His glorification.  There is also a gaping hole where major doctrines are not taught, like sin, sanctification, glorifying Jesus Christ, and loving one another.

The narrowness of these courses do little to allow an all-encompassing view of the story of redemption, the fall of man, the work at Calvary by Christ, and the duty of Christians in the church.  What theologians say about Jesus is emphasized above and over His actual ministry and commands.  It tends to completely ignore the Great Commission, even though Jesus’ imperative command was given 5 times just before His Ascension.

The Alpha Course, by not defining sin properly, fails to give the emphasis of Jesus sacrifice, the reason for His sacrifice, and for His resurrection.  These are the main themes of the Gospel, yet they are glossed over by the course and instead give ambiguous information about Christianity in general.  The course is highly superficial and there are very few specifics except in the gifts of the Spirit.  Actually the role of the Holy Spirit is over emphasized giving a  slightly different view of the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit in many cases, Whose purpose is to always point too and glorify Christ, is elevated in status and importance over Jesus Christ and the Father.  The gifts of the Spirit are sought after, prayed for, and raised in importance above that of Jesus Christ’s rightful place in the church.   The central focal point is not Christ but the gifts of the Spirit, which is contrary to what Christ taught the disciples in His High Priestly Prayer in the Gospel of John.

Dangers of the Alpha Course

The Alpha Course is now the fastest growing Christian education course in the world, according to Christianity Today, and it is growing at an exponential rate.  Dangers are that the main message of the gospel is glossed over to make it have basically little or no effect.  The crucial elements of Communion, Calvary, the cross, the reason for Christ’s sacrifice, and the inerrancy of the Word of God, and the Bible, are not emphasized.  Even the importance of the Great Commission is missing.

Also missing is the essential element of salvation by grace alone in Christ alone by faith alone.  The tendency of the course is to speed through or do a fly over of the Bible in general.  A crash course of the framework of the Bible can never replace the essential doctrines of the faith.  For example there is nothing given of the desire of Christ to make disciples of all nations, to come out of sin, to repent and be baptized, to grow in grace and knowledge.  A simple rote memorization of the Bible or of God is nothing short of being called the great omission.  Even the Devil and his demons know God exists and Satan could quote the Bible.  The demons believe in God and tremble but this doesn’t mean that they are acting on this belief.  What is missing is the desire to be hungering and thirsting after righteousness or to have practical applications like loving and serving one another that is covered by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 and Romans 12.  There is a lack of focus on being regenerated, being renewed in mind, or growing in holiness through a lifelong sanctification process.

The greatest problem may be the elevating of the gifts of the Spirit and the lack of not glorifying Jesus Christ, to Whom the Holy Spirit is to testify of, speak of, and Who strives to glorify.  It seems to be more of a me-centered teaching.  The greater proportion of teaching about the gifts of the Spirit indicates that the gifts are more important than the Gift Giver.  Despite the Alpha Course’s best intention, it is overtly charismatic and under emphasizes the holiness of God, thus the “works” of the Spirit are seen as more important that true worship of God in Spirit and in Truth.  The experiences are seen as a validation of the Spirit’s presence more than an inner conversion and the outward expression of that conversion.  For example, there are testimonies of hundreds who have attended their conferences who have been “bounced” from them due to their lack of speaking in tongues rather than Jesus saying that we would know them by their fruits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See how its really an hybrid of the faiths which is in turn starting to become a hybrid that will fit all religions and even the secular .

This was all about bringing folks together with FEELINGS and thus they are entertained with what seems as signs and wonders .

Repetitive chants ,  which I know what that does , cause personally as  a teenager I did this and it put me into a euphoric state and uncontrollable laughter too .

I did this on my own ,   not even following Christ ,    yet had folks seen it some would have called it holy ghost laughter .

And the word we chanted , me and my brothers was Spoon .  Don't even begin to ask me why we even did this ,  but that was the effect .

The repetitive chants , ALSO OPEN the mind , IT opens something up inside of a person and makes the mind very subjective to what is next taught .

Secular would call it a state of mild hypnosis or altered conscious in the new age , or in evangelical circles they think its of the Spirit .

In truth ,  lambs know it for what it is .    Its a doorway in to spirits all right , but not THE HOLY ONE , rather SEDUCING ONES .

While all true lambs know the gifts have never ceased ,  they would also know how to rightly divide the word of truth .

JESUS told his own desicples something real clear .    THEY were making the power into a ministry , RATHER than just being focused on JESUS and then using the power

as needed when its needed .

Many a folk , a person , a man or a woman has either long forgotten or never knew something , SO I will remind us of what some of us know .

LUCIFER was given great gifts  , great wisdom , great power ,

To receive such is not a sin .  TO BECOME ENAMOURED WITH IT ,  IS SIN and leadeth to PRIDE which causes HIS OWN DOWNFALL from heaven .

Now back to the example in the gospel .

And they returned REJOICING in that they had POWER over the demons and etc .

AND JESUS SAW IT , AND JESUS SAID THESE VERY WORDS

BEHOLD I saw satan FALL as lightning from heaven .  YES I have GIVEN YOU POWER over serpents and to cast out demons , BUT IN THIS REJOICE NOT . 

REJOICE RATHER that your names are wrote above .     YET the charismatic movement ,  has turned the entire FOCUS on the gifts , so is it any wonder

that they sit around as though some great thing , and holler TOUCH THOU NOT GODS ANNOINTED , TEST THOU NOT GODS ANNOINTED

and all they do is sit around and talk about the signs and wonders and wait for the next big EXPERIENCE , and SPEAK so little on sound doctrine .

Here is something else they forgetting .

WHEN phillip had told the eunach about JESUS and then the eunach said , what does hinder me from being baptized .

PHILLIP said , IF YOU believe with all your heart you may be baptized .

NOTICE phillips heart was ENSURING he BELIEVED ON JESUS with NO DOUBT at all in his heart .

Rather odd that today , when folks come on into these wild events ,  they don't FIRST even ask anyone if they have heard the gospel

or if they even believe ,  ITS LETS LAY HANDS and SLAY THEM In the SPIRIT ,  lets pray the baptism of the HOLY ghost on them .

BUT the baptism of the HOLY GHOST ,  that is given ONLY UNTO TRUE BELEIVERS .

SO WHERE ON EARTH is the real focus ABOUT THE REAL GOSPLE and ENSURING FOLKS are FIRST SAVED , before moving into the second phase .

 

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3 hours ago, marvelloustime said:

Yes, stay away folks. Run the other way from this, and instead run to the biblical Jesus. The real, true Jesus.

I did this alpha course, in my naivety, 20 years ago, when I was 25.

Thank the Lord, I can’t remember a lot about it. Only the basics of having a meal, watching a video and then chatting about it afterwards.

Until @frienduff thaylorde and @turtletwo brought it up the other day, I had forgotten about it.

On reading up on it in the last couple of days, it is definitely not biblical and by trying to re-focus people away from Jesus and instead onto the gifts of the Holy Spirit is exceedingly alarming.

The Holy Spirit indwells in us as the Spirit of Christ, to constantly point us to Jesus, to remind us of what Jesus said, to help bring scriptures to mind. He is our comforter, counsellor, advocate. But the main reason He is in us, is to keep pointing us to Jesus. To be able to have direct access to Jesus.

As turtle said, when Jesus was down here, he was constrained by time and space, so He could only be in one place at a time. By sending us His Holy Spirit, we all have direct access to Him, all the time.

We need to go back to the bible. The bible was written for all generations, right until Jesus returns. Trying to modernise it so that it fits in with the world culture, is not what the Lord teaches us. He wants us to live according to what He says in the bible and not the other way round.

It all comes together with this false unity. Trying to unite false religions together, to water Jesus down so people won’t be offended by Him. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! Flee away from this.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved.

attention , attention everyone and all.    TAKE A READ ON THE EIGHT SENTENCE .

WHAT DOES THE HOLY GHOST DO AGAIN .    TO REMIND US OF ALL THINGS JESUS SAID , to bring the holy scrips to our mind

SO why on earth is so little of his sayings and doctrine even taught IN THESE EVENTS .

Rather the spirit they preach is here to entertain us ,  NOT give us DOCTRINE , NOT equip us to BE YE HOLY and do all things to POINT TO JESUS and HIS SAYINGS .

YOU RIGHT SISTER ,  it is all about this false unity,   and it sure aint hard to see the WHO that is behind it .

SINCE HER BIRTH she has pandered to all , in order to reach all and enlarge her borders , SO NO MARVEL that she so does this NIGH the end too .

SHE DOING what she has always done and though she cries peace , heed her not .

FOR this is not about peace , but about POWER ,  as in HER POWER and her RULE OVER ALL that does have breath .

Though she cry peace ,  in her fathers heart is ONLY WAR

for HE does all now , to have the world to embrace the inclusive lie in which he claims leadeth to peace

BUT it will lead to ONLY THIS ,  ALL OUT HATE AGAINST THE FEW WHO WOULD NOT CONFORM .

AND he was given POWER to overcome the saints .  

ITS Mother is ROME and its father is the DRAGON .

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10 minutes ago, maryjayne said:

I went to one a very long time ago.

I enjoyed most of it, but was put off by the heavy emphasis on charismatic stuff and the pressure to have to speak in tongues to prove Holy Spirit baptism.

Years back and only once did I speak with tongues .   and rest assured NO MAN had to TEACH ME HOW TO DO SO .  that should be a RED FLAG ALERT .

If men are teaching men HOW TO DO THE GIFTS ,   rest assured it cometh OF MEN and NOT GOD .

Number two .   PAUL said ARE ALL APOSTELS .     OF COURSE NOT

ARE ALL PROPHETS ,    of course not

DO ALL SPEAK WITH TONGUES ................

SO THEN how come they trying to force or entrap folks into DOING SOMETHING .

EITHER GOD GIVES or HE DONT .  AND NOT all have the same GIFT .

Not everyone has the gift of healing , not all will be a  prophet , or an apostel ,  

GOD giveth AS IT PLEASES HIM .  AND its not for the personal gain and glory of the man

BUT FOR the building up of the saints and FOR HIS GLORY  , that HE ALONE is exalted , honored , ,praised .

THE GOOD LORD GIVES ,   and most better watch out and be on guard ,  for THE GOOD LORD takes away too .

Rather odd these circus leaders of a ten ring circus of entertainment that allures ,  speaketh so little of all THINGS JESUS said or the apostels wrote .

But then it aint odd ,   if a lamb has eyes and ears ,   It wont take long to whiff  em out for what they truly are ,  ENTERTAINERS

and their prophets are in it for a PROFIT .    

and now a word from jeremiah .

For among MY PEOPLE are found wicked men .  They lay wait as one that sets snares , they set a trap and they catch men .

As a cage is full of birds so are their houses full of DECIET

therefore they have become GREAT and they have WAXEN RICH .

And this is why the false prophets have waxed SO RICH and BECOME SO GREAT AMONG MEN TODAY.

cause their houses are full of deceit and they teach lies for reward and for gain .

And the people who sit under them ENVY THEM and love to have it so and thus THEY GIVE THAT MONEY and these HEAP IT UP MAN .

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http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/alpha.html
 
The Dangers Of The Alpha Course.

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.

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