For anyone with alcohol issues, Alcoholics Anonymous is the most well known source for battling against their demons but what i didn't know was that what the AA want you to do is swap that double gin for a good old dose of religion.
They may have their famous 12 steps but how many people know that step two is to accept that only a Power greater than ourselves can restore our sanity or the third step is to turn our lives over to God. The fifth step is to admit to God the nature of our wrongs which leads on to the sixth step which is to ask God to remove these defects of our character and the seventh to ask God to remove our shortcomings.
The eleventh is to improve our conscious contact with God by praying and the final twelfth step is to have a spiritual awakening and carry this message to other alcoholics. Apparently every meeting then end with a rousing rendition of the Lord's Prayer.
The NHS website has a link to the Alcoholics Anonymous website for people who think they may have a problem with alcohol but nowhere does it mention that it is a religious group which follows the line that 'You’re a sinner and your only chance of salvation is through our God' which you would have thought would be a major consideration if you are going to direct vulnerable people there.
Some people may have the view that if AA works and it stops people killing themselves with drink, then turning them onto religion is a fair trade off and i could accept that if AA advertised itself as a religious programme but it doesn't and the UK website describes itself as spiritual, not religious but when seven of its twelve steps involve asking God to 'fix you' in some way that screams of religion to me.
While they claim to only want to help people, it is clear that this help comes with strings attached, and these AA organisations are religious recruitment agencies aimed to sign up people at their lowest ebb and asking for help.
I also have a real problem with people who want you to believe that you need God to help you through your darkest times because if you do overcome addiction
then YOU deserve all the credit because YOU did it, not some mythical man in the clouds who decided that he wanted to help you because you offered up a prayer to him because there are millions of people doing the same thing everyday in far worse situations who deserve to be helped who are ignored. Think about it.
5 comments:
yes lucy and the "strings" attached are our human flaws. something like 75% of the world believe in a god. if the chinese were given a chance most of them would give god a try too... tha would take it up to around 99%...
we can't all be enlighted geniuses like you.
hey, are you one of those 1 percenters that the democrats hate?
q
"yes lucy and the "strings" attached are our human flaws."
I think the 'strings attached' that Lucy is referring to is the religion that comes along with the treatment.
My two cents worth: AA is staffed by loads of very dedicated & well-meaning people who have helped a very large number of people with their addiction problems. A fair chunk of the people who have gotten help from AA are atheists and/or agnostics; this has been possible because AA have written a version of the 12 step program for non-religious people. And, if you still don't think AA is for you, then fair enough - there are plenty of other groups running programs along more secular lines e.g. SMART, Rational Recovery etc.
concur Cheezy, the local AA meets in the methodist church that I attend and their 12 step posters are agnostic. in fact, i was surprised by lucy's data... as i had not seen the religous version.
q
ps - cheezy about 99% of the time i get lucy's point. she talks about what she wants to talk about and spins things her way, and i do the same bro... but thanks for all the times you have helped me understand the "real" meaning
I find that surprising. The AA over here (and in NZ for that matter) is well known for invoking God in their 12 steps... not necessarily a particular flavour of God, but God nonetheless. I'm surprised and impressed that a church runs an agnostic version.
There you go q, the UK 12 step guide to trading in your G&T for a big dollop of holy father.
http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/?PageID=56
You get 99% of what i say? I do sometimes think my jokey asides sail over your head, usually the initial 'humorous' introduction in the first few sentences which i admit, if you don't get, can colour a post quite another shade.
I didn't know the AA was a religious group at all Cheezy and my major problem is with the logic that God is the one who can remove your 'illness'. That sticks in my craw.
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