The Alpha Course
September 13, 2013 at 5:09 am
(This post was last modified: September 13, 2013 at 5:12 am by Fidel_Castronaut.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_course
If you haven't heard of them, they're like meetings arranged by Churches or Faith Groups with the guise of 'getting people talking about Christianity', and are aimed specifically at non-believers or people who are waivering on losing their faith (although anyone can join).
People sit on tables with strangers and topics are brought up whilst food and drink is served, with the main focus obviously being on Christianity. People are then invited to a meet afterwards somewhere else where there's activities and more discussions about Christianity etc etc.
I've never considered going to one, and I wouldn't ever go on one, mainly because they operate on a scam basis whereby they place stooges on tables during the initial meetings that guide the conversation in the direction that organisers prefer. However I have no experience of what they say to skeptics who attend as I've never met any who have.
However, I post this topic because one of my sort of friends has become an organiser of AlphaCourses in my local area, and he's also not an idiot (Graduated top of his college at Oxford in Medicine. Actually probably one of the smartest people I know, academically at least). It perplexes me though because when he first attended he gave me a rundown of how the stooge system works (pretty girls, generally, sitting on tables, subtly influencing conversation and lying about their lack of beliefs), yet still endorses the AC as a way of getting more people into the church.
It's just the contradiction of saying the structure is not ok but then following (and endorsing) that structure.
Anyway, anyone ever been on one, or knows anyone that has?
If you haven't heard of them, they're like meetings arranged by Churches or Faith Groups with the guise of 'getting people talking about Christianity', and are aimed specifically at non-believers or people who are waivering on losing their faith (although anyone can join).
People sit on tables with strangers and topics are brought up whilst food and drink is served, with the main focus obviously being on Christianity. People are then invited to a meet afterwards somewhere else where there's activities and more discussions about Christianity etc etc.
I've never considered going to one, and I wouldn't ever go on one, mainly because they operate on a scam basis whereby they place stooges on tables during the initial meetings that guide the conversation in the direction that organisers prefer. However I have no experience of what they say to skeptics who attend as I've never met any who have.
However, I post this topic because one of my sort of friends has become an organiser of AlphaCourses in my local area, and he's also not an idiot (Graduated top of his college at Oxford in Medicine. Actually probably one of the smartest people I know, academically at least). It perplexes me though because when he first attended he gave me a rundown of how the stooge system works (pretty girls, generally, sitting on tables, subtly influencing conversation and lying about their lack of beliefs), yet still endorses the AC as a way of getting more people into the church.
It's just the contradiction of saying the structure is not ok but then following (and endorsing) that structure.
Anyway, anyone ever been on one, or knows anyone that has?
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