@(name removed by moderator)
@Reuben J
Friends, I’m sorry, but I’m afraid you’re not doing much to prove your position.
(name removed by moderator), don’t just say “You’re factually wrong.” If that is true, and I am indeed wrong, then show me the specific facts that support your claim.
Also, if you’re willing to make the statement, “The statistics say you are wrong,” then please, produce said statistics. Let the numbers speak and show me that the majority of Alpha students go on to become good, solid, militant Catholics who are able to take a stand against social evil, fully participate in the life and work of the Church, and are completely faithful to the Magisterium.
Re: Michael Voris. Right, the man may not be popular with some clergy. It may be his flawless orthodoxy, or maybe his hard-hitting style isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. Regardless, he is an extremely faithful Catholic and theologian. Therefore, he is a perfectly valid source that we can turn to in this debate. We’re trying to assess the Catholicity of a catechetical program, and that kind of assessment is precisely what an orthodox, faithful theologian like Voris is qualified to do.
Then, please, stop trying to undermine his authority as a source simply on the grounds that you or other people do not like his approach.
Beyond Voris, though, there are other solid Catholics who share my perspective that Alpha is not a truly Catholic endeavor (among them, Cardinal Raymond Burke). We can address their critiques and concerns later on, if you want.
Now – I raised the question, “Why push a heavily Protestantized program on our dioceses, when we could turn to more Catholic programs right from the get-go?”
The counter-question: “Why not? Why can it not be both/and? That is, why not simply complement Alpha with other programs, once the basics have been taught?”
My response: Because Protestants inject their vision of the faith and their ecclesiology into all their evangelization efforts, all their materials, and basically everything they do. The Protestant tradition undermines crucial concepts such as the true nature of the Eucharist, the objective nature of Church teaching (introducing the tyranny of feelings and the subjective) and the true nature and importance of the Church. It is not sufficient to introduce a Catholic module that basically rushes the person through the basics of Catholicism. The Protestant worldview is embedded in every sentence and paragraph of their discourse, and if Alpha is going to be used in its entirety with only the addition of the Catholic module, then those Protestant assumptions, values, and ideas are still being sneaked in, à la Trojan Horse. It has been remarked that those errors can be corrected on the fly as they pop up during the program, but I think it’s safe to assume that most often no such correction happens, and the errors are allowed to go unchallenged.
Both of you guys mentioned earlier, “It’s meant to be really basic, for absolute beginners.” I don’t really buy that line of thinking. Alpha claims to bring in the absolute basics, which everyone who is Christian can affirm. That is a false premise; in truth, they bring in the fundamentals of the Protestant faith. I’m pretty sure anybody who’s willing to do a textual analysis of it can figure that out – and indeed, people have done so, which is the reason there are all these complaints and criticisms about it in the first place.
If you want to teach the Catholic faith to absolute beginners, here is what you do: You situate the teaching always in the context of the Catholic Church and doctrine. Even a very young child can understand the Church and Church teaching if you explain things correctly. You don’t even have to be “judgmental” to explain the Church and show it to someone in all its beauty and integrity. You do not strip the Church away from the teaching, because, by imagining a Kingdom of God wherein the Church occupies only a secondary role, you ipso facto Protestantize the content.
Not to mention that the program’s treatment of the Eucharist could be outright condemned as heresy. But more on that later if you want to discuss that point.
So – yes, as I said before, I don’t think Alpha is completely useless; the Holy Spirit can work through any sincere effort that a person makes to know God, or make God known to others. However, while Protestants might find it cool, I think Alpha’s spiritual nutritional value for Catholics is quite low. Even if my child were to not starve on a chips-and-skittles diet if I complement it with veggie soup at the end of the day, I would absolutely not feed them that. In the same way, even if some benefits can be derived from Alpha, I am just completely appalled that we would feed our flocks with scraps from the Protestants’ table when we have this amazing wealth of Truth in our very own Church that we’re neglecting to communicate in its unadulterated fullness.
Lastly, I have one request – this again goes for you, (name removed by moderator). Please refrain from breaking down my posts to insert commentary. I’d appreciate it if you’d simply type up your thoughts and comments within the structure of your own prose.
And, to wrap things up, just an afterthought. Clearly we hold to our stance on this subject with quite a bit of conviction. However, though my position is staunchly opposed to yours, I just wanted to remind you that there are no enemies here. Just siblings in Christ discussing a matter we care about deeply. Therefore, I think we should let mutual charity reign, abstain from taking anything personally, and simply stick to debating the topic at hand.
Be well, friends.
I think you should go through it first, see for yourself and then give a more informed comment.