Alpha Exposed

Well, to begin with, Alpha is 100% linked with Holy Trinity Brompton - if you follow the link you
will see that their International Head Office is located at the church.
Please know that I do not take the following subject matter lightly. I struggled for months over
whether I should even explore the perils of the Alpha Course, because doing so means risking a
personal loss. But when God first opened my eyes to this deception, He made it very clear to me
that I had to speak up and forsake the hesitation that accompanies the possibility of any negative
outcome or backlash. May God be honored in what follows.
In the post Bill, Bono, and Blair: An Unholy Trinity? I alluded to providing further information
regarding Nicky Gumbel, the Anglican who is a member of Tony Blair's Faith Foundation. My
main goal, however, is to expose the dangers of the Alpha Course, of which Gumbel is the head.
You may or may not have heard of the Alpha Course. In the past two decades or so, it has swept
across the UK, finding particular success amongst Roman Catholics (right there--you should be
raising an eyebrow!) Alpha likes to describe itself as "a practical introduction to the Christian
faith." Interesting, but if it is truly introducing the Christian faith, then why do Catholics who
participate continue to attend their Catholic churches after they've completed the course? But I'm
getting ahead of myself.
The Alpha Course has found moderate success in America as well, with evangelical churches
hurrying to include it as a new, non-threatening way to present the Gospel. But why do we need a
catchy logo and an elaborately developed program to present the Gospel? Funny, but it seems to
me that Jesus and the apostles just preached the Gospel, plain and simple. No tactics or techniques
required. And we can be certain that they offended people in the process because the Gospel of
Christ is offensive and foolish to those who are perishing! Oh, silly me, I guess that straight
preaching just wouldn't be relevant enough to today's culture. I keep forgetting that God's Word
nowadays has to conform to society rather than the other way around!
I want to start with a brief history of Alpha because the history that Alpha itself provides is
terribly lacking in truth and detail. It's true, Alpha began in the 1970s at Holy Trinity Brompton
Church in London. But it's not Alpha's early history I want to focus on so much as it's recent
history, namely since Nicky Gumbel took the stage as leader and head. I've decided to tackle this
topic in multiple posts in the interest of time and attention. Throughout these posts I hope to
present the idea that the Alpha Course does not teach the Gospel as presented by Jesus Christ and
the apostles and, as if that wasn't dangerous enough, that it's roots lie in New Age, anti-Biblical
practices. Putting it bluntly, I believe that the Alpha Course is being used as a tool of Satan, with a
"Christian" mask of "Christian" terms and "Christian" supporters. If you have any questions or
comments, please feel free to contact me and I would be happy to share my research with you.
Alpha likes to tout and advertise that "Over thirteen million people have explored the Christian
faith at Alpha courses all over the world." Well, that's great. So how many of those people
genuinely accepted Christ and continue to serve Him today? Numbers mean absolutely nothing,
especially when it comes to true faith in Christ. Was it not Jesus Himself who said, "Enter
through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and
many enter through it."?
Nicky Gumbel took over Alpha in 1990 and is the main architect of the course as it now exists. He
happens to be Vicar at Holy Trinity Brompton church in London. HTB is an Anglican church, a
denomination that has been widely accepting and tolerant of error (ordination of women and
moral issues to start) for quite some time. This leads to my first hesitation: If Nicky Gumbel is so
faithful to the Word and Truth of God, then why does he continue to hold a position in an
Anglican church?

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But my bigger issue with HTB is that it was this church that helped spread the Toronto Blessing
across England. While I don't wish to go into great detail about the Toronto Blessing here, a brief
examination is required in order to realize the gravity of the reality that this is where Alpha's roots
lie.
The Toronto Blessing is a New Age movement that infiltrated some churches in the early nineties.
With a few Christian terms tossed in to aid in the deception, the Toronto Blessing emphasizes
experience and a realization of a higher self as truth. In fact, those who receive "the blessing" find
themselves "drunk" with laughter in a "slaying of the spirit" experience. Once Gumbel received
"the blessing" himself from Eleanor Mumford (who is greatly responsible for bringing "the
blessing" to England from Toronto) he wasted no time effecting the same phenomenon in his own
church. Author and apologist Dave Hunt wrote that HTB "...became the center of holy laughter
for England and Europe." Following services and prayer meetings, the church would provide taxis
for those in attendance who were too "drunk in the Spirit" to even drive home!
A 1994 Time Magazine article entitled "Laughing for the Lord" says:

"It's Sunday evening in London's fashionable Knightsbridge neighborhood. Though pathetically

tiny flocks of Londoners attend many Anglican services, Holy Trinity Brompton has a standing-
room-only turnout of 1500. After the usual Scripture readings, prayers and singing, the chairs are
cleared away. Curate Nicky Gumbel prays that the Holy Spirit will come upon the congregation.
Soon a woman begins laughing. Others gradually join her with hearty belly laughs. A young
worshipper falls to the floor, hands twitching. Another falls, then another and another. Within half
an hour there are bodies everywhere as supplicants sob, shake, roar like lions, and strangest of all
laugh uncontrollably. This frenzied display has become known as the 'laughing revival' or
'Toronto Blessing'. After first appearing at Holy Trinity only last May, laughing revivals have
been reported in Anglican parishes from Manchester to York to Brighton. At London's Holy
Trinity, schoolteacher Denise Williams says she 'came here a little skeptical' but soon was caught
up in the fervor. 'There was a lovely feeling of warmth and peace.' Lines outside Holy Trinity now
start forming an hour and a half before services."
I ask you, does this sound like the services of the early church as described by the apostle Paul?
This description sounds like the exact opposite of the type of orderly worship that Paul describes
in 1 Corinthians 14.
Those of you who may be willing to give Gumbel the benefit of the doubt are saying, "Okay, but
that's the church, not Alpha per se." Well, to begin with, Alpha is 100% linked with Holy Trinity
Brompton (if you follow this link you will see that their International Head Office is located at the
church). Secondly, Gumbel has most assuredly brought these same practices into the Alpha
Course proper. Not only does the course focus greatly on the Holy Spirit (as opposed to the
repentance of sins and Christ crucified and resurrected for our salvation) but Alpha culminates
into one great weekend experience known as the Holy Spirit Weekend. Let's be honest, if his
religious beliefs lie in something as ensnaring as the Toronto Blessing, surely those beliefs will
filter into his other religious endeavors!
In the Personal Freedom Outreach article "The Alpha Course - Final Answer or Fatal Attraction?"
the author indicates, "Gumbel unashamedly is trying to move people into esoteric experiences,
altered states of consciousness, self-hypnosis and mindless emotionalism and then tell his
followers it is all of God. Gumbel uses "God's words" to move people toward the ultimate end
which is hysteria, loss of control, and mindlessness."
Gumbel himself has stated that the purpose of these weekends is to expect and experience various
types of odd manifestations and loss of control of one's own body. In the same article, Gumbel
himself is quoted as saying, "Sometimes, when people are filled, they shake like a leaf in the
wind. Others find themselves breathing deeply, as if almost physically breathing in the

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Spirit...Physical heat sometimes accompanies the filling of the Spirit and people experience it in
their hands or some other part of their bodies." This loss of control seems to directly contradict the
God of the Bible, "For God is not a God of confusion but of peace." 1 Corinthians 14:33. In fact,
I would challenge Gumbel to present Scripture in defense of this loss of bodily control as a
necessary effect of the Holy Spirit upon the believer.
Sounds to me like Gumbel could be great friends with Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Phyllis Tickle,
and the like. All of these individuals draw from New Age thoughts and practices and dangerously
emphasize feeling and experience over the Truth of God's Word. As long as it feels like God is
making me warm and tingly it must really be Him, right? So who needs Scripture if I have a warm
fuzzy feeling and I'm shaking uncontrollably? Christian, beware of ANYTHING that promotes
feeling over God's already spoken truth. Realization of Alpha's approach to "truth" leads to the
conclusion that any conversions that are supposedly taking place are wholly emotional and stand
little chance of actually passing the test of true faith and a true walk with God.
An article at Deception in the Church entitled "The Dangers of the Alpha Course" quotes Gumbel
as admitting, "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." Is anyone else concerned by that quote? The Alpha
training manual and videos tell the participant that "We live in the age of the Spirit." Really?
Where is that in Scripture? Quite the opposite of God's Word, this instead sounds very
reminiscent of the New Age idea of the Age of Aquarius.
(If I may take a slight but brief detour: Indeed, far from being a brief fad of the eighties, New Age
practices and ideas have been running rampant for centuries--even in the early church--and they
continue to impact and infiltrate our churches today. For more information on the dangers of the
New Age, email me and I can send you a list of resources for further research.)
A quick glance at some of the "great" men who endorse Alpha should also cause eyebrows to
raise. Men like Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, and Tony Campolo among others. It should come as no
surprise that apostates such as these would give high praise to a "Christian" course that elevates
emotion over truth and that focuses more on meeting a temporary felt need than on the true
unregenerate spiritual condition of a person's heart.
On Saturday evening of the Holy Spirit weekend, Gumbel will pray for the participants and for
the Holy Spirit to come upon them. So how do we know that they have actually received the true
Holy Spirit. Well, I would argue that we don't know which spirit these people are receiving.
Believers are clearly called to test the spirits (1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but
test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the
world.) and it is quite obvious that Gumbel has chosen to ignore this call of Scripture. But for
Gumbel and proponents of the Alpha Course, one of the signs that the Holy Spirit has descended
is that the people begin to speak in tongues. I think it is safe to say, however, that there are many
true, Bible-believing Christians walking around today who have never spoken in tongues, so from
my perspective this can hardly be a definitive sign of the Holy Spirit.
How do we test the spirits? We use God's Word and if what is said or experienced is contrary to
God's Word, then we must reject it. And if it is contrary to God's Word, then we can only
conclude that the spirits being called upon and descending are anything but the Holy Spirit. In his
book Questions of Life Gumbel uses 1 Corinthians 14:2 as his proof that speaking in tongues is a
form of prayer. He does us a great favor here by perfectly illustrating the dangers of taking
Scripture out of context! Let's look at the verse in context, shall we?
1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2For one
who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters

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mysteries in the Spirit. 3On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their
upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4The one who speaks in a tongue builds up
himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5Now I want you all to speak in
tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks
in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.
According to my study, the gift of speaking in tongues as imparted in Acts 2 was actually the
ability to speak in a foreign language. Interestingly, the term used here in Corinthians to refer to
speaking in tongues was a word commonly used in the culture to speak of "pagan ecstasy, going
out of the body, connecting with the deity and, in a mystical way, beginning to speak the language
of the gods," (John MacArthur, "The Truth About Tongues, Part 1"). The Corinthian church was
one that was embroiled in it's pagan surroundings and they foolishly had allowed pagan beliefs
and practices to filter into their church. Of the Charismatic movement and churches today,
MacArthur says, "We have developed a sensual, feeling, experiential, erotic kind of approach to
Christianity, only we call it the work of the Holy Spirit when, in fact it is the counterfeit of Satan."
Back to the passage, we see that Paul is teaching that the gift of tongues is secondary. Why?
Speaking in tongues will not build up and edify the church, which is the sole purpose of the
church! And certainly the Corinthians' use of fake, pagan tongues will be even more detrimental
to the edification of the church. Instead, in verse 1, Paul urges the Corinthians to earnestly desire
and pursue after love and the greater gifts that edify rather than the showy, dramatic, ego-building
gifts.
MacArthur elaborates, "The obvious reason for the inferiority of tongues is that nobody could
understand what was being said." Furthermore, in verse 2 (Gumbel's proof-verse), "For one who
speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters
mysteries in the Spirit," the Greek literally says "But to a god". MacArthur explains, "What Paul
is saying is, 'You people with your pagan ecstasies are not doing what all spiritual gifts were given
to do, that is speak to men. Rather, your ecstasies are speaking to a god, nobody can even
understand what you're saying, you are all wrapped up in speaking pagan mysteries!' Do you see
what he's saying? Those aren't the mysteries...of God that Paul gave, those are the mysteries of
paganism. He that speaks in a tongue speaks not unto men."
MacArthur continues by explaining that spiritual gifts are given for us to minister to men, not to
God. God doesn't need us to minister to Him because He is complete! So, contrary to what
Gumbel is teaching, this passage is condemning speaking in tongues as a private prayer language
to God. These people may be communing and communicating with a god, but it is certainly not
the God of the Bible! MacArthur points out that in every prayer in the Bible, not once do we see a
suggestion that they were prayed in unintelligible gibberish. Actually, in Matthew 6:7, Jesus
himself condemned prayer that resembled that of the pagans!
So why does Paul say in verse 5 "Now I want you all to speak in tongues"? MacArthur feels that
Paul is exaggerating to make a point. We know from 1 Corinthians 12 that not all Christians will
be granted the same spiritual gift. So Paul is saying in verse 5 that while it would be wonderful if
all Christians could speak in (true) tongues, he knows that it's not going to happen.
As a final examination of this passage, read the following from MacArthur's sermon:
There's an interesting little footnote here that's just kind of snuck in there. Notice in verse 2 and in
verse 4 where it says 'tongues,' that the King James translators put the word 'unknown' in there.
But in verse 5 where it says 'tongues, the word isn't there. Do you know why? It seems that the
translators put the word 'unknown' in with the singular and left it out with the plural. Some Bible
scholars believe that's because when Paul was using the singular, he was referring to their
ecstatic gibberish (which was all one kind, a tongue, a gibberish) but when he refers to the true
gift, it's languages. Like in Acts, where every man heard him in his own language. So in verses 1-4

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he's saying, "Your false gift is all wrong." But in verse 5 he's saying, "The right thing is all right
when it's interpreted in its place."
I think that the above exegesis completely and correctly explains the true meaning of this passage,
and illustrates how terribly dangerous Gumbel's interpreation of it is.
It is terribly erroneous to presume that an experience in calling down the Holy Spirit that
manifests itself in tongues and shaking and laughter is necessary for conversion. Were that true,
then I must count myself among the millions of Christians who dearly love our Savior but who
have apparently missed the point of true conversion without this spirit experience. Instead, I am
inclined to boldly assert that these experiences are not with God the Holy Spirit but are instead
manifestations of evil spirits--demons. To invoke these spirits is to open wide the door for the
blatant and direct influence of Satan in your life.
From this brief peek into the New Age roots of the Alpha Course, one must acknowledge that
Gumbel has succeeded in twisting the Word of God in order to fit his own agenda. As a
"Christian" leader he has failed miserably to filter what he has been exposed to through the never-
changing lens of Scripture. He has succumbed to the New Age philosophy of experience over
Truth and he has woven this into his curriculum in order to lure young Christians and
nonbelievers far away from the Word of God and into the dangerous depths of demonic practices.
He has strategically placed a few good "Christian" terms here and there, with a brief out-of-
context use of Scripture now and again and has succeeded in deceiving countless unassuming,
trusting believers.
The Alpha Course may be offered at your church even now. The sad reality is that even our
church leaders fail to test every program against the light of Scripture. And so it has become
increasingly easy for Satan to slip into God's house unannounced and unnoticed. We trust our
church leaders, but the time has come when we can no longer place our blind faith in these men.
Test everything against Scripture. Even the weekly sermon--does it measure up to God's Word?
Christian, God never intended for us to put all of our faith into a mere man. He provided His
Word to us so that we could all study it for ourselves and see and understand it's clear meaning!
Do you realize what a phenomenal gift that is? That God would trust all of us with His Word--
whether we are formally educated in theology or not--is amazing! Don't take that gift lightly. Read
God's Word. Study it. Thrive on it. Treasure it. And when you are down on your knees, pray for
discernment in all things--especially in matters of the church. Do not allow Satan to deceive you
in your faith.
In Parts 2 and 3, I hope to examine the odd acceptance of Alpha by Roman Catholics as well as
Alpha's stress on unity and Gumbel's connection with Tony Blair, followed by a brief examination
of the difference between Nicky Gumbel's gospel and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting
themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 1 Timothy 4:1
There are videos on Youtube capturing the effects of the Toronto Blessing. I imagine that many of
the Alpha Holy Spirit weekends culminate in the same behaviour. I want to warn you that these
videos may be disturbing. At the risk of sounding extreme, I feel as though evil almost emanates
from them. At the same time, I feel it is necessary to share this in order for the reader to achieve a
full comprehension of the perils about which I just wrote.