I have been attending the Alpha course with my buddy Fauzia (aka F-Dawg) for the last three weeks. I am a Christian, F-Dawg is not, although her mom is a recent convert and to say that poor F-Dawg has received her fair share of bible-bashing is probably the understatement of the year. The course has been cool so far and the group sessions are mostly dominated by F-Dawg and I debating issues that we have debated on numerous occasions before – so, pretty much, the other ten people may as well be paintings on the wall. Occasionally somebody makes a comment and very rarely is it relevant to the debate we are having. Last week F-Dawg and I were chit-chatting about the fact that Christians preach that Christianity is the only way. She cannot accept the narcissism and arrogance of this view and wants to know why all religions are not correct. Why is Christianity the only right one? It is a valid point and, of course, makes many Christians uncomfortable as exemplified by the half-assed response from the Christians in our Alpha group: there is some truth in all religions. That’s it. That’s the whole response. I got so mad that I thought my heart was going to jump right out of my chest and splatter all over my increasingly red face. Here’s the reason: in a world that preaches relativism, Christians are afraid to say that what they believe is right. So they pussy-foot around it, not wanting to chase people away, by skirting the truth of the matter. Yes, there is some truth in all religions but the whole point is that Christianity is the truth. The whole irony is that Alpha is an evangelical course designed to show non-believers the truth of Christianity – so when confronted by someone at Alpha who wants to know why Christianity is right and other religions are wrong, to bullshit around the issue is like a slap in the face.
What happened to keeping it real? Tell the people what they don’t want to hear: that Christianity is right, otherwise there would be no such thing as an Alpha course. The course, or so I thought, would be designed to educate attendees about Christianity and its fundamental principles. Instead it seems to be a mish-mash of experiential stories that prove how much Jesus loves us. This is very nice and I am sure that many people are ‘reached’ this way but the whole thing ends up sounding like an evangelical pitch. The Alpha course is not designed for Christians who want to argue theology and I am finding it difficult to refrain from engaging in ideological debates with members of my group when I feel that they are being purposefully vague. By focusing only on God’s love and acceptance, much of God’s nature is ignored. I have thought about this a lot and have concluded that if Alpha acknowledged the God of the Old Testament – a Kingly being who engages in righteous wrath and discipline – people would probably avoid Alpha like the plague. So what then? Suck ‘em in with free love and then nail ‘em with the truth afterwards?
I am not an advocate of bible-bashing and the ‘hell, fire and brimstone’ method of conversion but this hippie notion of ‘God is love’ seems to undermine the meaning of Christianity. Love is hard-core and Christianity is hard-core, and love is characterised by many things including truth – all of it. The bible clearly states that if one does not accept Jesus Christ as one’s personal saviour, hell it is. And that is it – a simple truth. Whether F-Dawg chooses to believe this or not is entirely up to her and of course I don’t judge her but I a certainly am honest with her about the nature of Christianity. The reason she and I can have such candid conversations about religion and Christianity is because neither of us euphemise the truth of our respective beliefs. Only God knows the heart of each individual and he will judge accordingly. Some people realise the truth of Christianity experientially and others intellectually and whatever the deal, I do feel that non-Christians should merely be presented with the truth, in its entirety, as is laid out in the bible – in whatever context: a course, a conversation, a debate or a mission field. The truth at the core of Christianity is Jesus’ love for each individual, which is why he gave his life for us, but that love takes on many forms and there are consequences if we deny that love. It is what it is. Take it or leave it.
I absolutely love this piece and agree with you 100% because I have been a believer for many years now and it amazes me when I am approached by the “hippies”. It always makes me laugh and I sometimes just listen to hear what the hell they are on about. Thanks for saying it the way it is.