Christian Countercult Website Profiles
Alpha and Omega Ministries
Statement of Faith Statement of Purpose Religious Groups Considered History Discussion
Group or Owners: James R. White
Education: B.A. (Grand Canyon University); M.A. (Fuller Theological Seminary-Arizona); Th.M. (Faraston Theological Seminary); Th.D. (Columbia Theological Seminary)
Position: Director
Date started: Unknown
Last accessed: October 23, 2000
Total hits on frontpage: Unknown
Religious Affiliation: Reformed Baptist
501(c)3: Yes.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Alpha and Omega Ministry's Statement of Faith is as comprehensive as that of any countercult ministry, beginning with their conviction about the nature of Scripture:
"We believe the Bible to be the written revelation of God, complete and sufficient in all respects. We believe the Scriptures to be 'God-breathed' and therefore fully authoritative in and of themselves; they rely for their authority upon no church, council, or creed, but are authoritative simply because they are the Word of God. The Scriptures, as they embody the very speaking of God, partake of His authority, His power."
Further articles delineate the nature of God, Jesus Christ, humanity, and the relationship between them. Abridged, they
include:
God
"We believe in one true and eternal God, unchanging, unchangeable. We believe God is the Creator of all that exists in heaven and in earth. The God who is described in the Bible is unique."
Humanity
"We believe that man was created in the image of God. Man rebelled against His Creator, and fell into sin. As a result, man became spiritually dead, totally unwilling and indeed incapable of seeking after God. God, from eternity past, having foreordained all things, joined a certain people to Christ Jesus, so that He might redeem them from their sin and in so doing bring glory to Himself."
Jesus Christ
"Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died in the place of this elect people,providing full and complete forgiveness of sins by His death upon the cross of Calvary. No other work can provide for forgiveness of sins, and no addition can be made to the completed and finished work of Christ."Alpha and Omega ministries website has no explicit statement of purpose; but from information on their donations page one gleans:
"This Ministry engages in taking solid biblical tracts and knowledgeable Bible Believing Christians to the frontlines of the Mormon Church. We travel to Salt Lake City, Utah for the General Conference of the Mormon Church twice yearly, standing outside the gates of the Mormon Temple passing out tracts and
witnessing to folks as they go by. Also, being right here in Phoenix, Arizona we are sure to do the same
every night as the Easter Pageant at the Mormon Temple in Mesa, AZ draws tens of thousands over five
nights every year at Easter.
James White engages in Schollarly [sic] debate with well known Roman Catholic Apologists such as Gerry Matatics, Dr. Mitchell Pacwa S.J. and Robert Sungenis. He has authored such books as 'The Roman Catholic Controversy', 'Mary:Another Redeemer?', 'The Fatal Flaw', 'Answers to Catholic Claims' and 'Justification by Faith.'"According to the biographical data provided by Alpha and Omega for a public debate between White and an L.D.S.
apologist:"Dr. White is a veteran debater, having engaged in twenty-four public, moderated debates against the
leading Roman Catholic apologists in the United States. He has extensive experience in evangelizing the
LDS people, having led a group of volunteers in passing out tracts and sharing the gospel at the past 29
consecutive General Conferences in Salt Lake City, and at the LDS Easter Pageant in Mesa, Arizona, for
the past fifteen years. He has also done numerous radio debates live on the air in Salt Lake City with LDS Apologists."Roman Catholicism; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Jehovah's Witnesses
Alpha and Omega ministries was begun in 1983, while White was still a student at Grand Canyon College (now University), a Christian liberal arts college in Phoenix, Arizona. His encounter with two Mormon missionaries led him to
begin not only the study of Latter-day Saints theology, but of his own faith stance as well. White shared his studies at the church he attended, and from those classes Alpha and Omega evolved.James White is one of the more credentialed of the countercult apologists, reserving the majority of his energy for what he terms "refutation" of Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, and the Jehovah's Witnesses. Whereas other sites offer brief
pages dealing with standard countercult issues, White's pages are extensive, detailed, and copiously annotated. It is clear that he considers himself one of reformed Christianity's most articulate defenders. The Netscape window titlebar reveals that Alpha and Omega is "The Christian Apologetics Ministry of James R. White." Indeed, while it is considerably more original and much more extensive than something like the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry, Alpha and Omega Ministries is still "just one guy"--in this case, James R. White. The website coordinators acknowledge that White can be reached by e-mail, but do not guarantee a response and do not provide an individual e-mail address.
The frontpage of the site is logically organised, albeit crowded with the myriad of topics on which White has written,
spoken, or debated. The site offers a "Book Ministry," which includes little more than books and tracts written by White; "Apologetics Help," covering the same topics as his books and tracts; Real Audio files from his radio programs and public debates; and a variety of specialised links, including a defence of Reformed theology, a chatroom link, an online debate center, and a donation page.
In an interesting series of notes on his biographical page, White illustrates some of the internecine tension within the
Christian countercult community. Apparently, Texe Marrs has called him "a devil," while KJV-only proponent Gail
Riplinger refers to him as a "rude, crude heretic" and a "serial soul killer." One of his Roman Catholic debate opponents is less graphic than Riplinger, calling White merely "a cocky fundamentalist."
Douglas E. Cowan, Ph.D.
The University of Missouri-Kansas City
Copyright © 2000 Douglas E. Cowan