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| − | ==A talk with theologian John Whitcomb== | + | ==Alpha – Dealing in Death, Not Life== |
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| − | ''First published: December 2000''
| + | By: K. B. Napier |
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| − | '''by Ken Ham'''
| + | The spread of the Alpha course is a marketing consultant’s delight. Oh, how any expert in mass-buying would welcome inventing such a great device for earning cash! |
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| − | Dr John Whitcomb was co-author, with Dr Henry Morris, of the famous 1961 book The Genesis Flood, widely regarded (by friend and foe alike) as launching the creationist revolution of the late twentieth century.
| + | Did you know that Nicky Gumbel receives a large percentage of the ‘sales’ of Alpha courses and products? |
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| − | '''KH: ‘Dr Whitcomb, in my travels, I’ve found that the majority of Christian colleges, seminaries, Christian leaders, pastors, etc., don’t take a stand for literal Genesis. They allow for millions of years and/or evolution, the ‘gap’ theory, progressive creation … Do you find that too?’'''
| + | But what about the influence of Alpha around the globe? It is ‘making Christians’ faster than rabbits reproduce their young and Christians (or those who say they are) everywhere are bowled over by its success, all wanting a piece of the action. |
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| − | JW: ‘Yes, I’m sorry to say. Everywhere I go, right around the Christian world, there are many fine ministries, missionaries, church planters, etc., dedicated to the Gospel message that Jesus Christ is Lord and only by His precious blood can we be saved—through what He did on the Cross, and His Resurrection from the dead. But tragically, Jesus Christ, the Lord who is presented as the only Saviour, is robbed of much of His dignity and glory when it turns out they regard what He said about Genesis as really not true after all.’
| + | Yet, nothing has changed – Alpha remains a deception, a false gospel! So-called Christian leaders around the world have publicly praised the course, as have celebrities like Cliff Richard and, more recently, pop-diva Geri Halliwell. It is significant that she adopted Alpha at the same time as promoting her new Yoga video!! A good bed-pal for Alpha! |
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| − | '''What do you mean?''' | + | <u>'''The course is also adopted by Roman Catholics and is approved by no less a person than the pope. Why? Not because it preaches the authentic gospel of Jesus Christ – but because it does not. We have said it before - if the Roman Catholic ‘church’ approves of something, you can be very sure that it is because it reinforces its own position. If Alpha really did preach the true Gospel, you can be assured that the Roman Catholics would ban it or warn their followers to keep away.'''</u> |
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| − | Many Christians, myself included, have been raised and discipled in uniformitarian, evolutionary Earth history. But the Lord Jesus says, ‘Have you not read that He who made them '''in the beginning''' made them male and female?’ (Matthew 19:4, cf.Mark 10:6) The human race was not made five billion years '''after''' Earth was created. Why would Jesus mislead us? Why did He say that we must believe Moses (John 5:45–46) if Moses presents, in the early chapters of Genesis, six literal days of creation, a global Flood, with death (and fossils!) resulting from the Curse only after Adam rebelled? I’ve been devastated to find out that many, many things that Jesus taught are simply not believed, and yet these same people are saying, ‘Here is the Saviour of the world.’
| + | Alpha was, and remains, Arminian. It is one arm of charismatic spiritism, as its ‘weekend away’ proves. This weekend is nothing other than the Toronto Blessing applied to unwitting attendees. |
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| − | '''But many say, ‘As long as people are saved, and are born again, it doesn’t matter what they believe about Genesis.’'''
| + | Does the Alpha course ‘make Christians’? No, it does not, as the rest of this article proves. Based on Alpha’s own newspaper, Alpha News, November 2001, I analysed what it says. I did not need to dig deep, for all I needed was blatantly on the surface. |
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| − | I believed that kind of thing myself until I realized that I’m not in charge of the Bible or of the God of the Bible. I am His disciple and His servant. And He has told me in the Great Commission inMatthew 28, among many other places, that I am to teach everything (v.20) whatsoever He has taught. And that begins with Genesis, as Jesus over and over quoted that book as literal history. Who am I to say to my Lord, ‘Well that’s not important,’ or, ‘I don’t believe all that you wrote about ultimate origins.’
| + | '''Alpha is simply a life-style changer, not a Gospel message.''' As we deduced seven years ago, Alpha takes people through a series of intellectual and emotional steps, to arrive at a mental summation. Nothing has changed, except for the sophistication of the process. |
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| − | I’m increasingly realizing how drastically far short the true church of Jesus Christ has fallen in not teaching people the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). Genesis is the foundation, apart from which we can’t really understand the magnitude of sin. Or the redemptive program of God, begun when God shed the blood of an animal to provide coats of skin for Adam and Eve, after He had given them His cryptic Gospel announcement in Genesis (3:15).
| + | We urge all Christians to show no sympathy at all for Alpha, for it is opposed to God and His word, and produces people who become even harder to win for Christ, because they think they have already ‘arrived’. Do not accept even one small part of Alpha, for, in doing so, you will retain a bond to what is of Satan, and he can use it against you. |
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| − | Where do we begin history—only at Genesis 12? Why not later on? Let’s be honest—if history doesn’t begin with Genesis 1, then our Lord, who repeatedly referred to the early chapters of Genesis as literal history, is simply wrong.
| + | I watched several of the television documentary programmes about Alpha recently and was not impressed. The usual old comment has been made – how can I possibly decry Alpha when I have not attended a course myself? The same call went up when I refused to attend a Toronto Blessing meeting. That is like saying a judge must kill someone before he can properly judge a murderer, or that I must become a Muslim before I can oppose Islam! What utter nonsense! |
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| − | The Apostle Paul had a very different perspective from many today. He said, ‘We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom that we may present every man complete in Christ’ (Colossians 1:28).; In other words, we shouldn’t just be producing "half-born" Christians,* who compromise the opening chapters of the Bible. We want, under God, to produce people, through the Holy Spirit, who are fully mature and spiritually healthy and wholesome; who know Genesis to Revelation as the only context within which the Gospel can be clearly understood.
| + | There is no need to attend an Alpha meeting when there is an abundance of evidence before us. The TV series merely confirmed my already substantial data. |
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| − | After all, the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15 is not that Christ died for our sins, and rose again the third day; the Gospel is that Christ died for our sins '' '''according to the Scriptures,''' '' and rose again the third day'' ''' according to the Scriptures.'' ''' Unless we know the background of Scripture as to who the Christ is, why He died, and how He rose, those are just empty ‘gospel words’ in this generation of materialistic atheism.
| + | <u>'''Alpha is a life-changing course, but after the fashion of a subtle psychological technique. It does not preach the Gospel. Any mature Christian who has read the latest Alpha News will attest to that fact.'''</u> |
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| − | '''What do you think becomes of these ‘half-born Christians’ you mentioned?'''
| + | I would repeat that when I worked as a psychiatric nurse I was involved in psychotherapy groups. I learned how to literally manipulate people. If I wanted to ‘guide’ people toward a particular way of thinking or acting, I would simply disorientate them…whilst talking I would switch suddenly to another topic, completely different. |
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| − | They become very susceptible to all the spiritual diseases that Satan and our own sin nature make available to us wherever we live, move and breathe. We find distortions, denials, and rejections of every basic moral standard the Bible establishes for us as His creatures and His people. We therefore need the whole armour of God, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God—a two-edged sword, not half a sword, or a broken or rusted one, but one fully designed by the Holy Spirit to deal with the enemy (Eph. 6:12–18). Without it, we become dangerously vulnerable. The enemy is not some little force that can be easily crushed by our finite human resources. It’s Satan, the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4), and he will attack us at the weakest places in our armour. And if we’re not really solid on the whole Bible, we won’t be able to stand.
| + | After a while, I’d do it again, and again. By doing this the person would lose his or her grip on the proceedings and I would control the situation. With experience, I could do this very quickly. Once I had gained control the person could be ‘moulded’. That was only one of the techniques I used to good effect. How did it work? Well, a person who attends any place where there is supposed to be an ‘expert’ with answers, is making himself susceptible to suggestion. That is why I warned people never to enter a ‘Toronto’ meeting – it was the chink Satan was looking for. |
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| − | Now I don’t believe that a true, born-again Christian can lose his salvation, but he can lose his effectiveness, and at the judgment seat of Christ before which all Christians must appear, we are warned repeatedly that we could be ashamed before Him at His coming (1 John 2:28), and suffer great loss—not our soul, but our reward—at the time when Christ appears (1 Cor. 3:10–15).
| + | <u>'''With Alpha, people are curious. Many are fed up with their lives. Others are finding some kind of religious feeling. It is even possible that a few are genuinely being prompted by God, but have sadly been channelled in the wrong direction. So, whoever attends an Alpha meeting is already declaring their intention, deep down.'''</u> |
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| − | What a joy, however, to be able to say to Him, ‘Lord, I didn’t understand everything in the Bible, but I believed what You said, obeyed what You told me to do, to take the whole Bible and to proclaim it faithfully by the Spirit of God who authored it, that people might be fully equipped to every good work.’
| + | A single session may not work on most people, but over ten or so weeks, most will come under the spell of Alpha. That is because everyone has a different ‘button’ that has to be pressed before they will become ‘hooked’. As a hospital nurse I used to search deliberately for this ‘button’. Once I had found it I knew I was going to win and alter the person’s thinking. |
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| − | '''Looking at the big picture in, say, America or England, the church is losing its effectiveness, as the standards of people in it become more like the world’s. And yet millions are spent running big crusades, with some saying they’re seeing thousands ‘come to know Jesus’. What do you make of that?'''
| + | I do not think the majority of Alpha leaders realise that they are merely looking for ‘buttons’ to press. Indeed, the fact that these ‘leaders’ fall over themselves to become Alpha leaders strongly indicates to me that they are not leaders at all, but sheep. They want some of that stuff that makes people come to church! Alpha is successful, so let’s grab some before it starts to fail!! They follow the pattern set by Holy Trinity, Brompton, so they are not leaders. The real leaders are very few, headed by Sandy Millar and Nicky Gumbel. They are superb manipulators. |
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| − | I would ask, which Jesus have they accepted? The Jesus of the Bible, or the ‘Jesus’ of modern imagination, one who can be moulded and reshaped to fit our own philosophic presuppositions? The Jesus Christ of Holy Scripture is the second person of the triune Godhead, through whom the universe was created (John 1:1–3). He has infinite authority, and He is not about to be compromised for the sake of currently popular theories or influences. He is the Lord of Heaven and Earth. [For more information on the Triunity of God and the deity of Christ, see the Q&A sections on God and Jesus Christ]
| + | Because most folk attending a course are there for a variety of reasons, but all are curious, there is a ‘captive audience’. Yes, some might attend because they want to see what all the fuss is about, but it does not matter, because curiosity can also be used to good effect. |
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| − | '''So what is your opinion of such mass evangelism?'''
| + | When talk ranges widely over many topics, and humour is used to break the ice, someone, somewhere, at some time, will respond inwardly. Add the social aspect of a cup of tea and some food, and you have a winning combination of circumstances! It is all about breaking down one’s defences. That’s all there is to it. It does not matter if a person is hostile or warmly attracted to the course – mere attendance is enough to start the process of assimilation, because the mind is already attuned to some kind of response. |
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| − | This is an extremely difficult issue. Though the majority of those who ‘come forward’ backslide to an extent that one must question whether they were truly saved (1 John 2:19), many thousands of people have been saved through such efforts. But their salvation is in spite of, and not because of, the compromises that have gone into many such ministries, where those who totally deny the basic Gospel are invited to help sponsor the crusades in order to bring more thousands of people. But what kind of message are they hearing? They’re hearing a message that is in harmony with the lowest common denominator of the sponsoring organizations, basically some major apostate systems that deny the essence of the Gospel.
| + | Because the leader talks along one party line, those listening are slowly but surely guided along the path of pseudo-Christian thinking. Using jokes and humour is a well-known method of making ideas more attractive and acceptable. It reduces opposition to the one speaking and creates a ‘softer’ image that tends to break down barriers of resistance. |
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| − | So I say yes, people can be saved—why? Because the whole Gospel has not been totally compromised. Some Gospel still comes through, but when we appear before the Lord we’re not going to say, ‘Lord, I only compromised part of Your Word.’ God says, you will believe everything I tell you, and preach and teach it to the ends of the earth till the end of this age (Matthew 28:20). I would be deeply ashamed to appear before Christ and say, ‘Well, I knew better than You, Lord. I revised, reinterpreted, or eliminated from your Word all the things that might offend people, in order to win them to You.’
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| − | '''Do you think that many from other religious backgrounds, who say they’ve trusted Christ, have just added Jesus to all their other gods in some sort of subjective, experiential way hoping it will benefit them?'''
| + | As Alpha leaders tell us – it works. Of course it does! It works because it is a psychological technique and because people attending already expect some sort of reaction, and most secretly wish that the hype was true. (Even though I heard some in the group using swear words). They have had enough of their lifestyle and want a change. |
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| − | The name ‘Jesus’ in many cultures today has a kind of magical effect, which to some people is wonderful. But Jesus is not some spiritual magician among many other so-called gods. No, He has said, in Exodus 20, ‘You will have no other gods before me.’ He said in the Gospel of John that all those who came before Him were thieves and robbers’ (John 10:1,8). Jesus declared: ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by me’ (John 14:6) That’s terrifying. In other words, we could be leading people into a false submission, a false confidence in their submission to the name ‘Jesus’, which they have somehow coloured and filled in from their own presuppositions, to the point where He couldn’t be the Saviour of the world at all.
| + | <u>'''Did you know that Nicky Gumbel believes there is no hell? He thinks that sinners simply vanish when they die (annihilationist theory) – no judgement or punishment from God. This will have a significant effect on his preaching and teaching. You will note this when listening to him, for he does not preach the authentic Gospel of Jesus Christ, referring to sins being the result of inborn wickedness. No, he only talks about coming to God and accepting His gifts. No real hint about repentance…just listen to Alpha and accept it, and you’ll be fine. '''</u> |
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| − | '''So does the ‘Jesus’ film, shown around the world, really help people understand Christianity?'''
| + | The approach is exactly the same as that of Toronto – just accept whatever comes because it is all of God. It is the same because it is from the same stable and is part of the same deception. Charismatic heresy, yet again. |
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| − | Well, let’s trust the Lord to use any kind of instrument that says anything that’s correct about the Jesus of the Bible, to attract them to actually do the ultimate thing, to open the Bible themselves—and read what God says about His beloved Son.
| + | Alpha causes people to change their lives, but not their hearts. Many come to learn the language of Christians, but their sin remains intact, covered with a veneer of Bible texts. |
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| − | '''You and I have met many great men of God, who love the Lord, who preach the authority of the Word and its infallibility, but when it comes to Genesis 1–11, they don’t want to accept six days. They want to add the millions of years. They don’t even necessarily want to believe in evolution, they just want to have the millions of years in there. Why do you think that is?'''
| + | I watched and listened as the TV series showed us a group of people with many opinions, which they carried with them throughout the series. The leaders chatted about these opinions and threw in a few Christian platitudes. A kind of ‘mix ‘n match’. By being ‘reasonable’ the leaders gained the attention of the attendees. Contrast that with the preaching of Peter on the Day of Pentecost and you’ll find no comparison! On that day thousands of hardened Jews were brought face-to-face with their own sins. They were not given tea and crumpets. They heard no jokes. They were not asked their opinions or about their lifestyles and fears. They were bluntly told they were sinners heading for hell. They were told that they had killed the Messiah. The result was a huge crowd torn apart by their own sins and prompted by God to seek the remedy. |
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| − | Obviously, it’s not because the Bible teaches it, or even allows it. It’s because the academic, scientific, philosophic environment in which we live today demands millions of years as a foundation for intellectual credibility. We don’t even think through this, asking what the Bible really says, we just swallow it as part of the atmosphere in which we live. I think this is why God has given one reason after another for taking those days literally. In Genesis 1 He’s saying something to us about Himself—who He is, how He works—that otherwise could not be understood or communicated apart from the grid of a literal, six-twenty-four-hour-day block of time.
| + | '''But Alpha? It messes about with ‘questions of life’! In God’s eyes, our lifestyles are not the real issue when it comes to the Gospel. He does not try to get us ‘interested in the church’ or in ‘Christianity’. No, He warns us that we are sinners bound for hell unless we repent and are saved by Jesus Christ. The cups of tea can wait! ''' |
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| − | '''You would think that such leaders who want acceptance from the majority would realize from Scripture that men love darkness rather than light.''' | + | '''Evangelism is the act of telling people they are sinners who must be saved by grace. It does not try to persuade people that Christianity is not so bad after all, because we can laugh and sup tea. The authentic Gospel hits people between the eyes with the hard fact of their own sin and God’s Almightiness. The Gospel resulting in salvation certainly brings a change of lifestyle. But Alpha only brings a change in lifestyle, because it has nothing else to offer. ''' |
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| − | Let’s face it. You and I still have a sin nature within us. The Apostle Paul did, too—read his agonizing testimony in Romans 7. Something in us says, I want to be accepted and popular. I don’t want to be hated, despised, persecuted. I want to go with the flow. And—I hope you’ll understand me—so do I. I don’t go out of my way to be despised and persecuted, and I suspect you don’t either. It’s not fun. But God promised us—in this world, we will have persecution, and tribulation (Mat. 5:11, 10:22; John 15:20). Now that doesn’t mean we deliberately attempt to create this negative impact. Just graciously, prayerfully present the whole counsel of God and don’t be shocked if people that you have confidence in, and expected more of, say, ‘No, we can’t identify with you and your position. You’re taking the Bible too literally, and millions of people will therefore not follow us.’ That’s the sin nature within us which will vanish forever one moment after death or Christ’s return, at which point compromise will end.
| + | As I have said elsewhere, Alpha believes salvation is just a move along a continuum. That is, we can ‘slide’ from being unsaved to being saved, by thinking about it and accepting the ‘offer’ made by God. This is typical charismatic theology. Now, if one can slide from being unsaved to being saved, logically, that same theology must teach we can move back again – from saved to unsaved. And if sin is no big deal, then hell is not real. And if it is not real, sinners will not be judged or punished. Hence no real preaching about sin and hell and repentance. |
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| − | '''Would you have a word of encouragement for those in the churches battling to uphold the authority of the Word of God, some a little disillusioned as they struggle to influence the leaders in their church?''' | + | '''Nicky Gumbel asked the TV cameras to leave the hall when, at the weekend session, he was about to introduce the audience to the demonic delights of tongues. No wonder! They would have captured the crudity and foolishness of it all! Gumbel told the audience that tongues could be either foreign languages or angelic. Thus, he mixes truth with lies. There is no evidence in scripture for angelic tongues being given to men…if such tongues exist. ''' |
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| − | Humbly and prayerfully before the Lord Jesus Christ, hold your Christian leaders, your friends, your loved ones—yes, even your parents—accountable for what they’ve done to God’s Word. Let’s be careful here—we respect our parents, and our teachers. But there are ways in which we can lovingly hold people accountable. Mostly, by praying for them, that the Spirit of God, who is infinite in His authority, will bring them, sooner or later, one way or another, but ultimately and finally to a total acceptance of God’s Word. I thank the Lord for those He used to help me understand His Word more accurately during the past 57 years since I believed the Gospel as an evolutionist at Princeton University. And don’t give up if you’re in a minority, even if you’re the only one. The majority is one person who believes the Bible and God.
| + | The audience were then ‘prayed for’ by church members, who went from person to person asking if they could pray for them – and thereby pass on the tongues. Friends, Alpha is a deception. It is the theological arm, albeit in its embryonic stage, of charismatic heresy. |
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| − | '''Dr Whitcomb, thank you so much.'''
| + | Bible Theology Ministries © |
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| | [[File:Pin.png]]'''I got a Watchman "What If?" for ya....'''<br> | | [[File:Pin.png]]'''I got a Watchman "What If?" for ya....'''<br> |
