Be CAUTIOUS of ALPHA!

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Paddy1989

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Hey guys im a Catholic living in a vibrant Catholic Parish which i love as the people are amazing and most friendly but recently our Parish decided to start an alpha program which has it’s origins in Protestantism. It’s intentions is to be non denominational and to bring Christians together to learn and discuss the very basics of the Christian faith, being Catholic i was quite skeptical about a Catholic parish endorsing this but after a few weeks of going and very much enjoying it i found no conflict with it until half way in. First of all it is when one topic about God’s forgiveness where the host of the show advised Christians to simply ask for God’s foreignness and it is given to them nullifying the need for the sacrament of confession and contradicting what God instituted.

Most recently the hosts started to talk about laying hands on people and praying over to heal them like Charismatic groups, even inviting people to go to healing events where people will sit in a hall and have healers heal them in the name of God. At a recent Alpha retreat day during the charismatic praise music there were a number of Catholics with their hands up in the air speaking in what they believed to be tongues. These practices obviously influenced by modern charismatics are ruining the Church, in a world so skeptical of religion we must be very careful how we present ourselves as we must be able to present the Truth. Is God just a emotional high like these charismatics believe, is the choice to mumble in tongues which is a complete and utter nonsense interpretation of the bible to be accepted as normal in Catholicism today over language expressed through art rationally? I have been told by many that it is quite common now in certain parishes. How did this happen? How did we go from influencing the great poets, literature, science, music etc which all help explain reality to a pop cultured feel good gang of pop songs that are cheesy at best…
 
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Has this non judgmental approach by the Church gone too far where few believe in the essential nature of the sacraments anymore, where few will ever go to confession compared to the number who receive the Eucharist, is it not a mortal sin to do so in a state of non repentance??? I understand and LOVE the Church’s desire to reach out to non Catholics and relate to them, thats beautiful, it’s true love. The problem i have is when we reach out to them and enter into dialogue we are so frightened to express what we believe to be truth we remain silent and passive on the matter and instead it is the non Catholics who influence us because they are the ones more zealous in revealing what they believe to be truth. Isn’t the intention of dialogue with others outside the Church meant to bring them into the fullness of the Church yet how can this be done when we don’t express it in fear of being judgmental or calling them wrong. I really love that we dialogue with other Christians and non Catholics in general as reaching our our hand in love and humility is the first step towards unity but it’s clear that the state of this dialogue has allowed Catholics to be influenced by Charismatic protestants who have reduced God to being a feel good state.

I’ve always seen Catholicism as being faith invoked through reason while fundamentalism being reason invoked through faith. My anger here stems from the fact that my partner has been pursuing converting to Catholicism however she stated these recent charismatic influences have rattled her and would of made her turn away if thats what she thought the Church was. Should we be more stern in making sure we don’t fall away from the faith and the ESSENTIALS of our sacraments? Should we do better it trying to help each other understand them in the first place and instead have Catholic programs? I believe Bishop Barron started his mission to do just that and i’m on board him with this one
 
In your Alpha program, were the priests and deacons involved? In my parish they went through it and recommended it. Maybe your Alpha experience was just a one off. I haven’t been thru the Alpha program, but it looked interesting and harmless.
 
Yes they even recommended it but i feel that because there are good elements about it, learning about the basics on Christianity, it’s origins etc and discussing it in a very open environment. The problem however has been allowing heretical and nonsensical influences to creep it’s way into Catholicism. Even it’s music is charismatic which is cringe worthy to listen to as it’s lyrics that appear to be written by Children aswell as it’s tonality. It’s doing Catholics no favours. I haven’t dived much into Bishop Barrons Catholicism series but i’d like to see how that can be implemented for a whole parish.

It might appear harmless but it does advocate things that are in contradiction with Church teaching and common within fundamentalism. Many are afraid to speak out against it as they may be seen as spoil sports, judgemental but i have heard from a good few people who were very uncomfortable with it. It’s a complete and utter adolescent understanding of Christianity
 
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That’s not Alpha’s fault that’s your parish. Alpha is a very basic instruction on who God is and leading into discussions about that.
 
Alpha is very basic of course which is good to understand the basics of the faith but two areas it contradicted i felt Church teaching was on God’s forgiveness which proclaimed that one only need asked for it nullifying the need for the sacrament of confession and another week where it asked does God still heal today. Here the host talked about how effective charismatic healing groups were and encouraged others to go along to these. These spawned from the fundamentalist denominations in the US but have spread across the world. The fact is many Catholics don’t see the need for confession anymore and are all about these so called healing ceremonies, this charismatic influences has led to the most outrageous behavior, even the so called speaking of tongues which even Catholics at parish events are participating in with their hands in the air is horrendous. The cheesy pop music that goes with it makes it even worse
 
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I have no experience of this Alpha programme, but IMO rather than changing or altering or watering down Catholicism in an effort to be appealing to other Christian faiths, perhaps to find ‘common ground’ - my question is: whatever happened to presenting our Faith as it is, in its’ fullest and inviting and encouraging others to enter the Catholic Church instead? Surely we should be hoping that all would convert to Catholicisim, to the Church founded by Christ?
 
I agree, i feel after Vatican II which intentions were good to bring Christian unity closer by reaching out our hand has been taking by some in the Church to mean open ourselves up to the influence of these other irrational denominations. There needs to be a Catholic version of alpha as if we allow protestant influences to be the one to teach us Christianity then is it no wonder many Catholics are adopting the whole charismatic happy clappy speaking in tongues experience.
 
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Paddy1989 said:
many Catholics are adopting the whole charismatic happy clappy speaking in tongues experience.
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1 Cor.12:7-10; Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom , to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,
10 to another miraculous powers , to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits , to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
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1 Cor.14:2-5; For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.
3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.
4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.
5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy.
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CCC 2003; There are furthermore special graces , also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning “favor,” “gratuitous gift,” “benefit.” Whatever their character - sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues - charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church.
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As you see Paddy, those Catholics who are adopting the whole charismatic “happy clappy” speaking in tongues, etc. experiences they know their Scripture and the teachings of our Catholic Soteriology on the subject.

Maybe it is good if you Paddy go down to your knees and ask God’s forgiveness that you called His extraordinary gift of graces of speaking tongues, etc. “happy clappy speaking in tongues experience” and to asking God to grant you His extraordinary gifts of graces of speaking tongues, etc. for yourself.
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Acts 2:4, 17-18; All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.”
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God bless
 
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Please don’t make connections to gifts from the holy spirit and a modern practice INVENTED by the Pentecostal movement which was created to create a hyper emotional experience based on their own adolescent understanding of worship. A speaking of tongues where one need only practice their hardest to attain it. Protestants do this regularly to give foundations for their sometimes irrational beliefs. We have many with specific Gifts given by the holy spirit, mystic, healers, prophets etc. Compare that to charismatic healing events where it’s like some sort of show, even when the so called healer invokes the holy spirit he sings and shouts with enthusiasm as if saying only the correct words the correct way will heal them as if it’s some sort of spell. Also St Paul was very much against the use of such Gifts by the holy spirit unless intelligible by those who heard it rather than the nonsense mumbled by fundamentalists.

These Catholics were inspired by over enthusiastic Protestants at a time of Great change within the Church. Many end up leaving the Church to attain what they see as a more spiritual transcendence based on what lifts them emotionally.
 
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It is, it’s aimed at those that have no faith or know very little about Christianity.

It would be up to the person leading it to decide how to address the topics.
 
I agree and it’s not all bad which is why the topic is to be cautious of Alpha, not demanding we stay away from it however if things are advocated and taught in contradiction to Catholicism it can cause problems which it has with some members who have grown unsure about it.
 
Mass Healing ceremonies which are essentially all about a show and mumbling in so called tongues erratically getting caught up in hysteria
 
Sadly, the Church is being lured into many - many - over-simplified, inadequate, misleading attempts at “parish renewal” these days. Alpha is only one of them. The pathetic irony of this is that we - the Church - have holy saints who have lived and experienced and recorded for us their experience and knowledge of actual renewal!!!. But we are too easily sold on the quick and the easy, and we have become blind to the true.

There is a famine in the land - the Church - and all the while we are standing in line for junk food. And the saints are safely stored on the dusty back shelves of the parish library.
 
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I have a great deal of respect for Alpha if it’s done in the right way which, sadly, it often isn’t. Last year, I had the privilege of hearing Fr James Mallon speak - he’s a Canadian priest whose parish renewal program is based on Alpha. Here’s the thing though - it’s not enough just to run Alpha; there’s nothing wrong with the content (it’s designed by an Anglican priest and intended for an ecumenical audience) but if that’s all that’s being delivered then it’s pretty much like junk food - short term satisfaction but nothing more than that. For any program to work, it needs to meet people where they’re at (there’s no point in giving them Aquinas if they’re struggling to understand the basics of the faith) without leaving them there - in other words there needs to be something which comes next otherwise it’s just a waste of time.
 
Paddy1989 said:
Mass Healing ceremonies which are essentially all about a show and mumbling in so called tongues erratically getting caught up in hysteria
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Okay but what heresies have crept into Catholicism.

CCC 2089 Incredulity is the neglect of revealed truth or the willful refusal to assent to it. " Heresy is the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the same; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him."
 
Paddy1989 said:
Mass Healing ceremonies which are essentially all about a show and mumbling in so called tongues erratically getting caught up in hysteria
Click to expand...
CCC 2003; There are furthermore special graces , also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning “favor,” “gratuitous gift,” “benefit.” Whatever their character - sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues - charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church.

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GIFT OF TONGUES: WITHOUT GOING INTO GREAT DETAILS

a. Speaking in tongues and everyone understand in their own language. – Acts 2:4-8.
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b. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself (1 cor.14:4a, 39b; Rom.8:26).

Those who are speaking to God in tongues/ preying in tongues to God edifies themselves and the edification/ teachings/ enlightenment comes from God.

Many members of the Charismatic Catholic Churches are the receivers of God’s gift of tongues, these days also more and more Catholic Priests are the receivers of this gift.
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c. Prophecy in tongues, (1 Cor.14:3, 4b, 5, 39a; 1 Cor.12:10).

Those who are prophesies in tongues edifies/ teaches all members of the Church.
The interpretation of the prophecy comes from the same person or another person.
Many prophecies comes from God in the Charismatic Catholic Churches.
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d. To sing in the spirit/ to sing in tongues, (1 Cor.14:15b).

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To tell the truth, before God has given me His gift of speaking/ praying in a tongue I couldn’t understand how can those edify themselves when they praying to God in tongues when they couldn’t understand even one word of prayer. – Those who are praying in tongues the Holy Spirit controls/ moves their tongues, this is really supernatural experience.
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When God has given me His gift of speak in a tongue and I prayed to God in the Spirit/ tongue I realized very fast the way the edification comes.

God enlightens the minds in a Supernatural way of those who are prying in tongues.

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1 Cor.14:2-5; For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.
3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.
4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.
5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy.

1 Cor.14:39 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.
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God bless
 
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