Open Letter to the Leaders
of the Alpha Course
From Bayith Ministries
Sent: 4th April 2003
Reply: None received as yet (apart
from a letter merely confirming receipt)
Letter #1:
Alpha’s ‘Holy Spirit Retreat’
Dear Rev. Nicky
Gumbel,
Certain important questions
are being asked regarding aspects of Alpha’s ‘Holy Spirit Retreat’. Some of the main ones are given below and we
wondered if it might be possible for you to help clear them up - as we cannot
find the answers in any Alpha publications.
We realize you yourself are
extremely busy, but if a member of your large staff could possibly furnish
replies to each of these queries it would be very useful. We will undertake, God-willing, to put your
full response onto our website (bayith.org) as soon as we receive it. Many thanks in anticipation. [Webnote: Nicky Gumbel’s secretary wrote to confirm
receipt on 9th April 2003, but no further response has yet been received by
us.]
1 You rightly say that the Bible is “the supreme authority for
what we believe”.[1] Would you
therefore agree with the Lord Jesus when He said, in Matthew 7:13-14, that “broad
is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in
thereat: … and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few
there be that find it”? (We ask this
because it doesn’t appear to line up with what Alpha currently teaches – e.g.
in chapter 9 of 30 Days[2]
and chapter 2 of Searching Issues.[3] Would you not agree that Alpha is ‘post-millennial’?[4])
2 You have also said that the Bible is “our authority for what we teach”[5] and is “our authority for
how we act”.[6] Would you therefore agree that all Christian
teaching ought to be founded solely on Holy Scripture? (The relevance of this question will become
clear in a moment.)
3 Alpha participants often report feeling
physically forced, by an unseen power, to do something (e.g. laugh
uncontrollably),[7]
yet we can find no examples in Scripture of God doing this to people who are
seeking Him. He sometimes forces His
will on those opposing Him, but not on those who are trying to walk with
Him. Can you list all such examples you
know of in the Bible?
4 You teach that “Jesus came to set us free”,[8]
so would it be possible to explain why there are so many reports of Alpha
participants not having the freedom to stop the manifestations they are experiencing?[9] Surely someone in a relationship based on
love would not force their will on the object of their love – and would
permit the other party the freedom to stop some advance if they wanted to?
5 From official testimonies, common experiences
on the Alpha retreat include: shaking uncontrollably; powerful electric shocks;
a voice in the head; laughing for no reason; being knocked to the
ground; white lights in the head; and unnatural heat. (Examples are available in our book Alpha
– the Unofficial Guide: Overview.[10]) Unfortunately we cannot find a single
unambiguous verse in Scripture showing God doing any of this to His
People. Please can you point us to all
the relevant ones?
6 There are many instances of people
experiencing manifestations on Alpha whilst still unsaved.[11] Since the unsaved are spiritually dead
to God and therefore cannot receive the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17; 1
Cor. 2:14), and since their most pressing need is for salvation, can you
explain why the Holy Spirit would give them ecstatic experiences rather than
convicting them of their sinful nature at this stage?
7 Alpha teaches that the manifestations
themselves don’t matter,[12]
and that we should simply judge by the resulting fruit. Is this due to the absence of biblical support
for these manifestations, and because of their amazing similarity to those
things experienced in pagan religions such as the New Age movement?[13]
8 You cite John Wimber and his 1982 ministry
team as being “very significant” in your life.[14] You quote Wimber regularly and glowingly,[15]
and you recommend his books. Do you not
feel that such strong endorsement legitimizes the people whom he cited as being
influential on him? These
include: Morton Kelsey, Agnes Sanford, Kenneth Hagin, and John & Paula
Sandford.[16] Would you not agree that, in each case, their
teachings are dangerous, and that they have admitted deriving aspects of
their doctrine from New Agers?[17] In view of verses like 1 Cor. 5:11 and Titus
3:10, are you not concerned about this, and about the fact that none of them
have repented of their cooperation with such people?
9 Would you accept that Matthew 7:17-18 teaches
us that the roots of a movement are very significant when determining if that
movement is of God or not? Are you aware
that Wimber largely attributed his ‘anointing’ to a man called Lonnie Frisbee
who had been traveling with him for 18 months prior to Wimber’s team
ministering to you in 1982? Are you
aware that Lonnie Frisbee worked with Bob Mumford and Kathryn Kuhlman during
the 1970s? What do you think of them,
given that they too derived much from New Agers?[18]
Lonnie Frisbee, who was a practicing bisexual, died of AIDS in 1993, and is buried at Crystal Cathedral
10 Alpha only took off - i.e. went beyond Holy
Trinity Brompton (HTB) - after Paul Cain ministered there in 1990.[19] Are you aware that his mentor, William
Branham,[20]
was a man who denied the Trinity[21]
and who was greatly influenced by at least two New Agers?[22] What is your definition of a heretic? Despite verses like 1 Cor. 5:12-13, John
7:24, and the whole of 1 John, Alpha seems to suggest that we cannot judge
whether someone is a true brother or not.[23] If that is so, how can HTB make the judgment
that Paul Cain was “a man of God”?[24]
11 Biblically, if a supposed disciple of the
Lord produces a prophecy that they claim is from God but observably fails to
come to pass, that person is to be accounted a false prophet. Cain, Wimber, Branham, Hagin, Kuhlman (and her
protégé Benny Hinn) have all demonstrably produced false prophecies, yet far
from alerting the sheep about these people, HTB seems prepared (directly or
indirectly) to legitimize them. Since
the Lord Jesus Christ took the trouble of warning us to “Beware of false
prophets” (Matt. 7:15), what is your definition of a false prophet?
12 Aside from Wimber, have you ever personally
been prayed over, or otherwise ministered to, by any of the above people? If so, please can you supply details? For example, was it Frisbee himself who
prayed for you in 1982? Did Cain
minister to you personally in 1990?
Which of the above have you met?
Do you think they are the sort of people whom God would honor by making
instrumental in ‘channeling’ a major outpouring to His People?
CONCLUSION
13 HTB’s view regarding spiritual roots appears
to be that, since Alpha leaders say “come Holy Spirit”, then any
resulting manifestations must be from the true Holy Spirit.[25] But surely it is the way in which
someone approaches God that matters, not just the name used? Not everyone using the name “Jesus” is
referring to the Jesus of the Bible. The
Lord Himself warned of false Christs (Matt. 24:24), and Paul pointed
out, in 2 Cor. 11:4, that some people believe in “another” Jesus – i.e. a
counterfeit one. Likewise, Paul said
there was “another spirit”.
(Incidentally, if making
supplication to the Holy Spirit is acceptable to God the Father, can you point
out all the places in Scripture where God’s People did this? We ourselves cannot find any.)
14 Would you acknowledge that, if indeed judged
by the fruit alone, the results of the Alpha retreat still strongly indicate
that the manifestations are not from the Holy Spirit? There are many examples we could cite; the
following is only a fraction of them:
(a)
You teach, “the
fruit of the Spirit [includes] … self-control”,[26]
yet Alpha manifestations are frequently uncontrollable. (We note that, in your book Searching
Issues, you admit it is “evil powers which seek to control”.[27])
(b) You state that the fruit of
the Spirit includes “love, … goodness, [and] faithfulness”.[28] It is a small point, but HTB has recently put
general notices up asking for volunteers to help with HTB’s activities. Whilst HTB runs various such things, it also
has a membership of thousands. Given that you already advertise these
activities, do you really find you also have to put general notices up
requesting volunteers? If HTB is filling
its people with the true Holy Spirit, surely they are only too keen to serve
the Body?
(c) Your Bible version says
that the fruit of the spirit includes “joy, peace, patience, kindness
[and] gentleness” yet HTB sometimes seems to prefer using lawyers
or lawyer techniques in place of these things[29].
15 In Searching Issues you confess,
regarding the “power and gifts of the Holy Spirit”, that an apparent “counterfeit”
exists.[30] The manifestations on Alpha: look exactly
like those experienced by New Age initiates; are all listed as marks of apostasy
in Scripture;[31] and
can readily be linked - in terms of both personalities and doctrines -
to the New Age. Would you thus not
sympathize greatly with church elders who suspect that graduates from Alpha
retreats are merely undergoing a New Age counterfeit of true salvation? Do you accept that they would be very wise to
investigate these things extremely carefully (and to wait for your reply to
this letter) before proceeding with Alpha?
16 In light of the above, is it not exceedingly
unreasonable for HTB to make the ‘Retreat’ a part of the Alpha copyright, such
that it is now illegal to run Alpha without it? Do you not feel that this may well frighten
churches into doing something for which there is no genuine scriptural support?
Thank you very much for your
time. There is great confusion about
these things, but obviously God is not the author of confusion. If you could therefore make the reply as
clear and unambiguous as possible it would be hugely appreciated.
Sincerely,
Bayith Ministries
This letter and the book mentioned above is
distributed by:
Discernment Ministries,
Inc.,
Order Line: 908-638-6504
[1] Talk 5. All emphases in this letter are our own. All references to Alpha Talks relate to the
set released in transcript form by HTB in the Summer of 2000.
[2] 30 Days is a book
written by Nicky Gumbel. We have used
the 2001 edition released by Alpha Publications.
[3] See page 33. (Searching Issues is a book by Nicky
Gumbel. We have used the 2001 edition
released by Kingsway Publications for this letter.)
[4] The earthly reign of Jesus
Christ will, according to seven statements in Revelation 20, last one thousand
years - hence ‘millennial’. Alpha
overwhelmingly suggests that this reign has already started, even though the
Lord has to physically return first. The
ramifications of this error are enormous.
Please see our book Alpha - the Unofficial Guide: Overview for
examples and more details. Click
here for a list of outlets.
[5] Talk 5.
[6] Talk 5.
[7] See Part 5 of our book Alpha
- the Unofficial Guide: Overview for examples. Click here for a list
of outlets.
[8] Talk 1.
[9] For examples, please see
Part 5 of our book Alpha - the Unofficial Guide: Overview for
details. Click here for a list
of outlets.
[11] Please see Part 5 of our
book Alpha - the Unofficial Guide: Overview for details. Click here for a list
of outlets.
[12] Nicky Gumbel, in Talk 10,
says “What matters is not the outward
physical manifestation that you may or may not experience; what matters is the inward experience of the
Spirit”.
[13] Please see Part 5 of our
book Alpha - the Unofficial Guide: Overview for details. Click here for a list
of outlets.
[14] Talk 13.
[15] E.g. Nicky Gumbel, Telling Others, (Kingsway, 2001),
p143. From at least 1996, the teaching
tape sets used by HTB ‘home groups’ (now called ‘cells’) included six talks by
Wimber (see the UK edition of Alpha News, July 1996, p25).
[16] Al Dager, John Wimber and
the Vineyard, as recorded at
www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/wimber/john.htm.
[17] Kelsey: Morton Kelsey’s
mentor was the New Ager Assagioli, and Kelsey was also significantly influenced
by the New Ager Carl Jung.
[18] Mumford was close to the
Mason Cardinal Suenens, and to Ern Baxter of the New Age ‘Latter Rain’
movement. Kuhlman’s husband was close to
the New Ager Franklin Hall. Kuhlman
submitted herself to Pope Paul VI who was a fan of two open Luciferians.
[19] Stephen Hunt, Anyone For
Alpha?, (Darton, Longman and Todd, 2001), p25.
[20] S.R. Shearer, The
[21] William Branham, Adoption,
(Spoken Word Publications, 1960), pp21,104 as quoted in Roger Oakland, op.
cit., p70.
[22] The writings of the New Ager
E.W. Kenyon were “widely read by … William Branham” [D.R. McConnell, A Different Gospel, (Hendrickson,
1988), p23]. Branham was also heavily influenced by the
New Ager Franklin Hall.
[23] Nicky Gumbel says things
like: “we must stop judging one another” [‘The Spirit And Evangelism’, Renewal
magazine, May 1995, p16].
[24] David Hilborn, A
Chronicle of the Toronto Blessing and Related Events, as published by the Evangelical
Alliance (UK), p136.
[25] Wallace Boulton, Ed., The Impact of Toronto, (Monarch
Publications, 1995), p.83.
[26] Talk 4.
[27] Searching Issues,
p66.
[28] Talk 4.
[29] Please see the item by Roger Arguile in The Church Times, 19 July 2002, p16.
[30] Searching Issues,
p66.
[31] Please see Part 5 of our
book Alpha - the Unofficial Guide: Overview for details. Click here for a list
of outlets.