“…... or
why should we be so surprised when cult groups fail to abide by the
traditions (which they largely do) when we ourselves so blithely
ignore them?
“Tradition 3.
Our membership ought to include all who suffer from alcoholism. Hence
we may refuse none who wish to recover. Nor ought A.A. membership
ever depend upon money or conformity. Any two or three alcoholics
gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group,
provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation.”
The AA
Preamble:
“Alcoholics
Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their
experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve
their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.
The only
requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no
dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our
own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination,
politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in
any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary
purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve
sobriety.
Copyright ©
The AA Grapevine, Inc.”
(our emphases)
Whilst not
claiming that a Wikipedia entry may be regarded necessarily as a
definitive source it does seem quite evident that the Lord's Prayer
is in fact Christian in origin and forms a central part of Christian
practice. From this there follow some quite serious implications (if
taken together with the above tradition and preamble), which suggest
that any group that uses such a prayer demonstrates an outside
affiliation and therefore (and according to that tradition) may not
even call itself an AA group. Its members may hold whatever views,
beliefs etc they like (individually) but even if every member of the
group were a practising Christian (of whatever denomination) this
group would still be in breach of this tradition. Moreover the prayer
presents a set of ethical precepts (and concepts) which may be quite
alien to any non-Christian attendees and although a moral review is a
central component of the recovery programme (together with some
indicated categories) there is no suggestion that such an appraisal
should necessarily comply with a particular religious tradition (eg.
as outlined in this prayer). Finally, although AA and its programme
are undeniably derived (in part) from this tradition it could equally
be argued that Christianity itself is based upon necessarily “pagan”
origins. Whereabouts in the time line therefore does AA establish
finally its foundations? In practical terms, and given the present
public debate about the supposed “religiosity” of AA (and its
possible negative impact on AA attendance), it is probably not very
helpful for the membership (collectively) to engage in any practices
which clearly have a primarily “religious” (and denominational)
component - rather it would be better to focus on those that may be
regarded as essentially “spiritual” (and which would be inclusive
of all religions and philosophies).
Again referring
to the above source:
and in
particular the following:
“Spirituality
can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality;[1] an
inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her
being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people
live.”[2] Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and
contemplation, are intended to develop an individual's inner life;
spiritual experience includes that of connectedness with a larger
reality, yielding a more comprehensive self; with other individuals
or the human community; with nature or the cosmos; or with the divine
realm.[3] Spirituality is often experienced as a source of
inspiration or orientation in life.[4] It can encompass belief in
immaterial realities or experiences of the immanent or transcendent
nature of the world.”
None of the
above definitions come into conflict with AA's traditions and taken
together form an inclusive approach which avoids altogether any
problems of affiliation (religious or otherwise).”
Think on that!
Cheers
The Fellas
(Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)
(PS Our usual
thanks to this correspondent)
