Question
1:
“Would
the Fellowship share experience and make recommendations on how to
make AA more visible to the general public, particularly by
increasing awareness and understanding of how the AA programme
works?"
Extract
“I
agree [with] …....’s comments (page 2, Fri Mar 16) with one
exception. I think there is evidence of “a current movement against
spirituality in the UK” when this is applied to AA. It is spreading
from the USA with the promotion of outside published literature; star
spangled big shot speakers from the USA being invited to speak at UK
conventions and via the internet. This is inducing religious
emotionalism into AA and replacing non religious spirituality. It is
producing emotional experiences instead of spiritual awakenings. Dry
alcoholics with half cracked egos, emotionally dependent on
amateurish teachers and preachers, who are emotionally defensive of
the dogmas they have been taught. They appear to have not yet
experienced the truly open mind, humility and tolerance that is
associated with ego deflation at depth.
The
following definition of spirituality in AA is given on page 21 in the
pamphlet “Questions and Answers on Sponsorship”:
“First
of all, we can relax and remember that sponsorship does not mean
forcing any specific interpretation of A.A. upon newcomers. Most men
and women who have been in A.A. for more than a few months recognize
that its program is based on spiritual principles. At the same time,
they appreciate that some alcoholics have been able to achieve and
maintain sobriety without any belief in a personal Higher Power.
Perhaps the sponsor might point out the distinction between the words
"spiritual" and "religious." As our Preamble
says, A.A. is not allied with any sect or denomination, and no sort
of religious belief is required for membership - only "a desire
to stop drinking." On the other hand, the help offered by our
program is certainly neither material nor physical; we do not offer
money or medicine - only ideas and the A.A. love of one alcoholic for
another. In this sense, the entire program, rather than just a "side"
of it, may be called "spiritual," and almost any newcomer
can appreciate a concept so broadly defined.”
http://www.aa.org/pdf/products/p-15_Q&AonSpon.pdf
I
don’t think Great Britain ought to take a lead from the USA in its
public relations. Some of the high profile publicity undertaken by
individual AA members and individual groups in the USA is now
destructive. With some USA courts ruling AA is a religion, it is
evident that in some parts of the USA AA groups have totally lost the
plot with AA Traditions. Unless this religious impression can be
reversed, this is an unfolding public relations disaster for AA as a
whole. Potentially at least 75% of the world’s alcoholics could be
turned away from AA because they already have their own religious,
atheist, agnostic beliefs and would not want to be involved in
something they might believe to be contradictory to their beliefs.
This
departure from AA Tradition is undoing the work of over half a
century of a carefully managed AA public relations policy, reflected
in the extracts from articles by Bill W. and Dr. Bob below. It is
worth noting the term “standard literature” in the first extract
and also Dr. Bob’s comment that the steps are “simple in
language, plain in meaning.” and “no special interpretations”
have ever been necessary. These appear to rule out any notion that it
is OK for AA groups to affiliate with the teachings of non standard,
outside published literature.
“Suppose
then, all these years, we had been without those Services. Where
would we be today minus the A.A. Book and our standard literature
which now pours out of Headquarters at the rate of three tons a
month? Suppose our public relations had been left to thoughtless
chance? Suppose no one had been assigned to encourage good publicity
and discourage the bad? Suppose no accurate information about AA had
been available? Imagine our vital and delicate relations with
medicine and religion left to pot luck.” (Dr. Bob and Bill W.
Extract from “Your Third Legacy” AA Grapevine December 1950. the
Language of the Heart p 127)
“As
finally expressed and offered, they [The Twelve Steps] are simple in
language, plain in meaning. They are also workable by any person
having a sincere desire to obtain and keep sobriety. The results are
proof. Their simplicity and workability are such that no special
interpretations, and certainly no reservations, have ever been
necessary.” (Dr. Bob. Dr. Bob and the Good Old Timers page 227)
“…How
well we shall always remember that AA is never to be thought of as a
religion. How firmly we shall insist that AA membership cannot depend
upon any particular belief whatever; that our Twelve Steps contain no
article of religious faith except faith in God--as each of us
understands him. How carefully we shall thenceforth avoid any
situation which could possibly lead us to debate matters of personal
religious belief." (Bill W. Extract from “We Came of Age”
The Language of the Heart p 122. AA Grapevine September 1950)
“Any
concept of the Higher Power is acceptable. A sceptic or an agnostic
may choose to think of his inner self, the miracle of growth, a tree,
man’s wonderment at the physical universe, the structure of an
atom, or mere mathematical infinity.” (The Jack Alexander article
about AA page 19)
http://www.aa.org/pdf/products/p-12_theJackAlexArticle.pdf
“Alcoholics
Anonymous is not a religion, nor is it a medical treatment, nor does
it profess expertise in respect of unconscious motivations for
behavior. These are facts all too often overlooked.” (Bill W.
Extract from “Responsibility Is Our Theme” The Language of the
Heart p 332. AA Grapevine July 1965)
“It
is an historical fact that practically all groupings of men and women
tend to become more dogmatic; their beliefs and practices harden and
sometimes freeze. This is a natural and almost inevitable process.
All people must, of course, rally to the call of their convictions,
and we of AA are no exception. Moreover, all people should have the
right to voice their convictions. This is good principle and good
dogma. But dogma also has its liabilities. Simply because we have
convictions that work well for us, it becomes very easy to assume
that we have all the truth. Whenever this brand of arrogance
develops, we are certain to become aggressive; we demand agreement
with us; we play God. This isn't good dogma; it's very bad dogma. It
could be especially destructive for us of AA to indulge in this sort
of thing. Newcomers are approaching AA at the rate of tens of
thousands yearly. They represent almost every belief and attitude
imaginable. We have atheists and agnostics. We have people of nearly
every race, culture and religion. In AA we are supposed to be bound
together in the kinship of a common suffering. Consequently, the full
individual liberty to practice any creed or principle or therapy
whatever should be a first consideration for us all. Let us not,
therefore, pressure anyone with our individual or even our collective
views. Let us instead accord each other the respect and love that is
due to every human being as he tries to make his way toward the
light. Let us always try to be inclusive rather than exclusive; let
us remember that each alcoholic among us is a member of AA, so long
as he or she so declares.” (Bill W. Extract from Responsibility Is
Our Theme” The Language of the Heart p 333. AA Grapevine July 1965)
“It
is possible for us to grow or not to grow, as we elect. If we fight
shy of entangling alliances, if we avoid getting messed up with
controversial issues (religious or political or wet-dry), if we
maintain unity through our central offices, if we preserve the
simplicity of our program, if we remember that our job is to get
sober and to stay sober and to help our less fortunate brother to do
the same thing, then we shall continue to grow and thrive and
prosper.” (Dr. Bob. Dr. Bob and the Good old Timers p 288)
"On
Cultivating Tolerance” (Dr. Bob. AA Grapevine July 1944)
“During
nine years in A.A. I have observed that those who follow the
Alcoholics Anonymous program with the greatest earnestness and zeal,
not only maintain sobriety, but often acquire finer characteristics
and attitudes as well. One of these is tolerance. Tolerance expresses
itself in a variety of ways: in kindness and consideration toward the
man or woman who is just beginning the march along the spiritual
path; in the understanding of those who perhaps have been less
fortunate in educational advantages, and in sympathy toward those
whose religious ideas may seem to be at great variance with our own.
I am reminded in this connection of the picture of a hub with its
radiating spokes. We all start at the outer circumference and
approach our destination by one of many routes.
To
say that one spoke is much better than all the other spokes is true
only in the sense of its being best suited to you as an individual.
Human nature is such that without some degree of tolerance, each one
of us might be inclined to believe that we have found the best or
perhaps the shortest spoke. Without some tolerance we might tend to
become a bit smug or superior--which of course is not helpful to the
person we are trying to help, and may be quite painful or obnoxious
to others. No one of us wishes to do anything which might act as a
deterrent to the advancement of another--and a patronizing attitude
can readily slow up this process.
Tolerance
furnishes, as a by-product, a greater freedom from the tendency to
cling to preconceived ideas and stubbornly adhered-to opinions. In
other words it often promotes an open-mindedness which is vastly
important--in fact a prerequisite to the successful termination of
any line of search, whether it be scientific or spiritual.
These,
then, are a few of the reasons why an attempt to acquire tolerance
should be made by each one of us.” (Dr. Bob)
“Suppose,
for instance, that, during the last twenty-five years, AA had never
published any standard literature--no books, no pamphlets. We need
little imagination to see that by now our message would be hopelessly
garbled. Our relations with medicine and religion would have become a
shambles. To alcoholics generally we would today be a joke and the
public would have thought us a riddle. Without its literature, AA
would certainly have bogged down in a welter of controversy and
disunity.” (Bill W “A Message From Bill. The Language of the
Heart page 348. AA Grapevine May 1964)
“It
was discovered that all forms of coercion, both direct and indirect,
had to be dropped.” (Bill W. Pass it On p 172)
“We
can never say to anyone (or insinuate) that he must agree to our
formula or be excommunicated. The atheist may stand up in an A.A.
meeting denying God, yet reporting how he has been helped in other
ways.” (Bill W. Pass It On p172)
“In
order to carry the principle of inclusiveness and tolerance still
further, we make no religious requirement of anyone. All people
having an alcohol problem who wish to get rid of it and make a happy
adjustment with the circumstances of their lives, become A.A. members
by simply associating with us. Nothing but sincerity is asked of
anyone. In this atmosphere, the orthodox, the unorthodox, and the
unbeliever mix happily and usefully together, and in nearly every
case great spiritual growth ensues.” (Bill W. Pass it On p 173)
“For
example, The Twelve Steps of our AA program are not crammed down
anybody’s throat. They are not sustained by any human authority.”
(Bill W. “Rules’ Dangerous but Unity vital” The Language of the
Heart p8. AA Grapevine September 1948)
From
Dr. Bob’s article on cultivating tolerance and his comments on
“special interpretations” being unnecessary, I agree with ........
that Dr. Bob might well be vilified and ostracized in some meetings
today; those that practice a certain precise dogmatic primary purpose
Big Book Study/ Big Book sponsorship or Back to Basics classes. These
are the teachings of “special interpretations” in non standard,
outside published literature. Such rigid dogmas are not inclusive to
unorthodox newcomers who may wish to interpret the programme in their
own time and manner, nor are they inclusive to all alcoholics
irrespective of their religious, atheist, agnostic beliefs;
educational, cultural or social backgrounds.”
(our edits)
Comment:
According
to the AA forum administrator:
“This
forum is now locked
As
always at the beginning of Conference this forum is now locked. The
discussion between our trusted servants is in progress and the
results of their deliberations will be presented to the fellowship in
good time.
Many
thanks to all those who have contributed to the debate.”
Note:
The questions and subsequent discussion can still be viewed by going to:
http://www.aa-conference.org.uk/conforum/
You
may, however, continue the debate at:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/aacultwatch
For
the next batch of conference questions we will be including a section
on the aacultwatch forum specifically devoted to these but with
considerably fewer constraints on members' contributions, and with
considerably more licence to cite sources directly in support of
their arguments (currently not possible on the AA website). Moreover
members will be able to to exchange private messages via our forum (a
facility which is currently denied on the AA website). Anyone may
join in the discussion.
Cheers
The
Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)
