I'd heard mixed reviews of the Alpha course. In its original form, it had a reputation for pushing an uncompromising brand of evangelical christianity which scared off as many people as it attracted. But many churches from across the spectrum have found it a useful resource to adapt to their own needs - now there's even a Catholic Alpha. It's certainly successful, and claims significant numbers of converts. For me, its popularity and methodical approach were the main attractions. Over the last few months, I've been approaching Christianity from a rather unusual angle, and I felt it was time to take a cold hard look at the solid core of Christian teaching. Perhaps Alpha would give more of a structure to my thoughts about Christianity, and act as a useful counterbalance to any warm fuzzy ideas I might have picked up from liberal christian friends.
Now I've seen the Alpha phenomenon at first hand, it's hard to say whether I'm disappointed or pleasantly surprised. From everything I'd heard, I expected the course to be as slick, effective and unimaginative as its marketing - a production-line for transforming fashionably skeptical Young People(TM) into trendy Christians just buzzin' with the Spirit. In fact, it was pretty much like any other Church group. We were a small, friendly group of predominantly women, and I was the only non-Christian there.
On the one hand, it was clear from the outset that these were not the scary biblical fundies I'd expected. There wasn't going to be any hell-fire, any gay-bashing, and certainly no risk of speaking in tongues. One woman even asked with some trepidation if we were "all powerfully believing Christians", and was deeply relieved to find that we weren't. The vicar, leading the session, was an intelligent and compassionate man who actively encouraged "honest doubt". On the other hand, it quickly became apparent that this was unlikely to be the structured taught course in Christian basics I'd been expecting.
In the first part of the session, we watched a videoed lecture by Nicky Gumbel, rector of Holy Trinity Brompton and the creator of Alpha. This was the first time I'd heard this well-known preacher, and he was certainly engaging, with a personal and humorous style. However, I was less impressed with his train of argument. The first concern he addressed was the textual transmission of the New Testament - an interesting academic subject, but not first in the mind of most doubters. He appeared to think that possible changes in the biblical text were the only reason one might doubt the Bible. He didn't address the possibility that the gospels could have been inaccurate from the beginning; nor did he consider the claims of other religions - such as Islam, which can put forward at least as good a case for accurate transmission of its holy book. The rest of the points he made were relevant and interesting - did Jesus claim to be God? Was Jesus insane? Why was the tomb empty? - but there was no time for him to really discuss these questions. Instead, he 'answered' them with biblical passages, as if the case for biblical inerrancy had already been made.
Maybe it was inevitable in half an hour that he would raise more questions than he could answer; perhaps that was the job of the discussion afterwards. But I got the distinct feeling that the creators of Alpha knew they would be preaching to the converted. Consulting my handy green course-book, I saw that the third talk in the series (which usually lasts ten to fifteen weeks) is 'How can I be sure of my faith?' - a question hardly likely to arise in a group of atheists! By the fifteenth week, Gumbel and co. are confidently predicting speaking in tongues and healing through prayer. The posters offer an exploration of 'the meaning of life', but there was nothing in this course to suggest why anyone should look for personal meaning in religion.
Since most of the others were churchgoers to a greater or lesser extent, and most had attended an Alpha course before, we quickly moved on from discussing the questions raised in the video. Nevertheless, the discussion gave me an insight into mainstream anglicanism. Most of the people there were what you might call 'rank and file' Christians - sincere in their faith, but cautious of academic theology and charismatic zeal alike. None of them had unanimously churchgoing families and none denied that they had doubts and 'gaps' in their faith; their faith was something personal and important to them.
My final verdict? If the only thing putting you off Alpha is the fear of forced conversion, find a small church and give it a go - you're just as likely to get a glass of wine and a friendly chat. If you want a thought-provoking course in Christian basics for non-christians, Alpha may be a disappointment. If you're looking for the meaning of life... you're unlikely to find it on a DVD.