Jaebius
Canadian in Korea
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Cousin, I thought you had said the church was charging for The Alpha Course - which is not an employment course. I see nothing wrong with the church charging for an employment course.
Heaven and Hell
- Thread starter crazyheart
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Cousin, I thought you had said the church was charging for The Alpha Course - which is not an employment course. I see nothing wrong with the church charging for an employment course.
blackbelt1961
Well-Known Member
first kind gesture i have seen from you since you came on this site ,
hopefully it will continue with good debate less the ridicule
Isn't it kind of a strange paradox to charge people, several who are unemployed or underemployed, for an employment workshop?
Jaebius
Canadian in Korea
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Non-Christians can attend Alpha.
From the Alpha Canada website -- "Do I need to be a Christian to do the course? No, you don’t need to be a Christian. The course is designed for anyone who is interested in asking questions or learning more about the Christian faith. Many guests have never been to church before." [Source - http://www.alphacanada.org/faq/]
I'd be happy to help you find an Alpha Course in your area.
Jaebius
Canadian in Korea
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It's not something I'd do in my church. I'd run the course at no cost to the participants - perhaps with a suggested donation attached.
dreamerman
Well-Known Member
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Hey maybe chansen is starting to soften. Maybe you are also starting to soften blackbelt. I see you haven't said anything about karate kicking chansen's ass this time around. You two keep up the good work. It makes things a little more exciting.
blackbelt1961
Well-Known Member
agreed, i have made it a point to myself not to do that
thanks for noticing , i am improving
chansen
Had a point all along
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You're threatening people by proxy. You're gonna have to expect ridicule for that.
And now this is my "first kind gesture...on this site". We've had this discussion before as well, and after that one, you disappeared with your tail between your legs for four months.
I do not identify the posts you've been making lately as something to treat with kindness. They need to be repudiated and nuked from orbit. My point with the post in question is that you strutting around and claiming my arguments aren't intelligent isn't leading to anything, and that I'm happy letting you have the last word, and letting others make their own call about who is making intelligent arguments and who isn't.
I'm not going to convince you, or Jae. I know that. The challenge for me is to mitigate the potential damage your beliefs can do. You'll dismiss that, but others here, even Christians, know what I'm talking about.
They charged for both. These were seperate occassions. There was no meal at the employment one, just coffee and tea and cookies. Like I said, maybe the charge for Alpha was about the food. But there was a charge.
Jaebius
Canadian in Korea
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On the Alpha Canada website they say -
"How much does it cost?
There is no charge for attending the Alpha course, although courses may ask for a contribution towards the food and / or refreshments." [source - http://www.alphacanada.org/faq/]
They just set a price. There were lots of people there so the food was easily well covered.
Jaebius
Canadian in Korea
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What did they serve? I attended Alpha at a Christian Reformed church. About 80% of the time they served chili.
At my Baptist church - we've run several video courses but never Alpha. We prefer Christianity Explored.
I buffet of different things. I can't remember but there was variety.
I took the Alpha course and enjoyed it. The course and food were free (very good meals actually) It is designed to answer basic questions about Christianity. If someone requires more in depth discussions I would think they would find a more advanced group discussion. Our table actually carried on a Bible study for 4 years together because we all hit it off so well. It was there that the deeper questions were explored. The couple who were in charge at our table continue to remain good friends today.
Chansen, would you go just to be disruptive or to actually try to grasp more understanding of those you disagree with?
Chansen, would you go just to be disruptive or to actually try to grasp more understanding of those you disagree with?
chansen
Had a point all along
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I don't think it would be difficult to counter what the instructor was saying. There are good arguments against any reason to embrace Christianity that I've found, so if an Alpha course leader would want me chiming in during discussions, I'd consider going. I think it could be entertaining, and it would be interesting to see how the others would vote with their feet.
I don't think of that as "disruptive", just countering what would otherwise be a Christian propaganda session.
I don't think of that as "disruptive", just countering what would otherwise be a Christian propaganda session.
Jaebius
Canadian in Korea
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The role of an Alpha Course leader is more that of facilitator than instructor. They ask questions - then welcome feedback from all participating in their small group.
You should give it a go then....I am not so naive to think they will convert you but I think it would give you some useful insights....of course it depends if you land within a good group. I chose a mennonite based church that offered the course.
You didn't find it sexist or anything?
Jaebius
Canadian in Korea
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When I took the course we actually had a Muslim man in our group. We shared with us about his faith - and compared it in a respectful way with Christianity.