Firetop

This evening I am at a lose end because last week saw the final session of the Alpha course I’ve been attending for ten weeks. Alpha is, in the words of the Alpha website, ‘an opportunity for anyone to explore the Christian faith in a relaxed setting over ten thought-provoking weekly sessions, with a day or weekend away’. Possibly the first thought to cross your mind about now is ‘Why did you do the Alpha course?’ and there a couple of answers to that. The first is that I wanted to make a qualified decision about whether of not to have my baby daughter Christened, and that in turn lead me to question the depth of my own basic Christian faith which has been waning over the past ten years.

Ironically, it was ten years ago this year that I had a spiritual experience of my own which was so strongly Christian in basis that it should have converted me to a devout Christian on the spot. However, when you’re a semi-religious 21-year-old, living a modern young person’s social life AND later working for a major science publisher, it’s easy to come up with a multitude of more rational atheistic explanations for what could and should have been perceived as a visit from the Holy Spirit.

I only now say ’should’ rather than ‘could’ with much more clarity than before because the Alpha course has enabled me to look much more deeply at my own faith, the life and teachings of Jesus and the experiences of other Christians who have engaged in a dialogue with the Almighty over the centuries. I won’t be going into detail about my spiritual experience, except to say that it really did change my state of mind and consequently my life, in five amazing minutes - the like of which I’ll probably never experience again.

About now you’re thinking, that’s it - Matt’s joined a cult, the next time I see him he’ll be wearing sandals, singing and strumming an acoustic guitar… but I’d like to reassure you that I’ve been very careful to make sure that I haven’t been brainwashed (almost too careful). I work in marketing, I understand sales psychology - I can see right through any well thought out pitch. Indeed I know how to spot suggestion techniques in part because of a very amusing experience I had when invited by a friend (now ex-friend) to a presentation from ‘Forever Living Products’ (a basic pyramid selling scam).

The Alpha course is no scam, a simple case of popping to the vicarage (or church), watching a 45 minute DVD and then discussing the topic openly with the group and without undue influence from the organisers. I was quite outspoken at times and not afraid to air my atheistic questions, after all I was only seeking some answers to questions that many of us have in 21st century civilisation! I really enjoyed the weekly DVD watching for its thought provoking content, I certainly started out with lots and lots of questions (logical questions that one has about evolution, history, scientific knowledge) and by week four I thought my head might explode (as if I was going backwards not forwards).

Eventually however, after a 5-hour day session in the Holy Trinity Church (Westcott) I rediscovered something very important - that I only have to turn my thoughts to god and I will get answers. The Alpha course helped me to break through the barriers of modern life and materialistic anxiety in order to open my mind to a new life perspective, one which seems much more natural and for too long neglected. I’ve found religion to be a little like marriage, you don’t want to make the wrong decision so it’s easy to ask endless seemingly rational questions, but in the end you have to listen to your heart and take a leap of faith - when you do you realise you should have done so long ago.

The DVD presenter Nicky Gumbel helped deliver the Alpha course message incredibly well; his presentation style and injected humour makes an easily cumbersome subject far more enjoyable. The Alpha course DVDs aren’t available publicly (there are a few short clips on YouTube), however I can recommend watching a 3-part Nicky Gumbel presentation I came across this week addressing the Richard Dawkins book ‘The God Delusion‘, it meets the subject of science vs. religion head on and is, like the Alpha presentation, very thought provoking.

> The God Delusion Series: http://www.htb.org.uk/audio/is-god-a-delusion

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