Alpha Video Series....Any Good?

[HolidayJim]

Can some of you give me an evaluation of a series of 5 video tapes called The Alpha Course? I saw one tape last night and I wondered what others' reactions have been.

Be patient if I placed this new subject in wrong place on the site.

 

[duke]

They are not great. The Alpha course is rather weak on the doctrine of sin and the nature of repentance. It also has a significant charismatic element to its teaching. I know some churches who have adapted it somewhat for their small group evangelism. They do not rely on the videos and do supplement the material quite a bit.

Also, many evangelical churches are suspicious of using Alpha because it also finds a welcome home in Roman Catholic churches. The developers of the Alpha course would see no issue with this ecumenical aspect and would actually see it as a positive move.

If you do a quick search on the web you can find a huge amount of material about alpha and also some critiques of its theological position.

A much better set of videos and material is called Christianity Explored. I really like these and they were developed as a more biblically faithful alternative to Alpha. Check out the website - www.christianityexplored.com

Hope this helps a little.

Duke

 

[Scott]

Banner of Truth has a review contrasting Alpha and Christianity Explored. In it you will learn alot about Alpha even if not interested in CE:
http://www.banneroftruth.org/pages/articles/article_detail.php?64

That said, Christianity Explored is outstanding and I highly recommend it. It is endorsed by Michael Horton, JI Packer, and Banner of Truth, among others. Duke already posted the website for CE.

BTW, here is another BOT article on Alpha:
http://www.banneroftruth.org/pages/articles/article_detail.php?563

Scott