Alpha is the world’s most successful programme to convert agnostics (neither churchgoers nor committed Christians) to Christianity. Founded by Nicky Gumbel, an easy-going, non-confrontational West London minister, the church has 30,000 Alpha courses currently running in 168 countries. In this four part series, Jon Ronson follows a group of eight agnostics who sign up for a 10-week course in Oxford. Will any of them find God?
Everyone who attends an Alpha course, for whatever reason, needs to be convinced that this is the right way forward for them. Over two million agnostics in Britain have done an Alpha course, and one in eight have been converted. Whether one takes the slightly cynical view that Alpha is a very successful business, or a group of committed believers who want to save as many souls as possible, there is no denying that for some it works
Easy, Relaxed Atmosphere
Perhaps fearing it would be depicted as some strange religious cult, Ronson was turned down by 19 churches before finding one which agreed to let him film an Alpha course. Rather than a high pressure, hard sell pitch, Rector Charlie Cleverly and his team at St Aldates Church begin week one by assuring the doubting course members it is not illogical to believe in Jesus. The congregation then splits into small groups, each presided over by two table leaders, where each member is given a chance to air his or her opinion on Jesus.
Group members waste little time in voicing what seem to be long-held doubts. Why does Christianity set itself up as the one and only true path to God, rather than embracing everybody regardless of their faith? 62-year-old Ed sees Jesus as “a religious extremist, a bit of a jihadist”
Whether this is his real opinion, or if he is voicing it to see what sort of a reaction he will get from the leaders is not clear. But rather than engaging in a heated debate, leader Rich simply tells the group about friends who had recently converted, “how they’ve had great joy and their lives and spirits have been transformed”. Nobody appears convinced.
Will Anyone Be Converted?
As the course progresses Ronson launches into the game “guess which agnostic is going to have a life-changing moment”. Will it be Ed, whose brother and sister-in-law are convinced he is going to hell if he doesn’t convert? Or student Dave, who is starting to wonder if there’s more to life than drinking and one-night stands. Most likely candidate is Mel, who in the past has felt a “surge of energy” which helped her in times of stress. If Ronson was attempting to build tension, sadly it doesn’t work. A man who is just a little too much in love with the sound of his own voice, he could easily have cut out half the voiceover and just let the people talk.
What emerges at the end of How To Find God is for the most part a balanced portrayal of what each member, including Ronson, experienced on the course. The nearest thing to a criticism comes in the summing up. “Alpha is all about rigorously structured, almost mathematical, niceness. And this structure is a huge success.” Even the weekend retreat, where members are encouraged to speak in tongues, is “engagingly flaky” rather than weird or sinister. No hatchet job here, more of a “you never know until you try it”.
