Extract from our forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/aacultwatch under thread: “TLM in Alanon UK?”
“Thanks
......., I regard myself as a Christian, like Joe McQ and yourself,
but I also try to be honest enough to admit that what I aspire to be
in my thoughts and religious beliefs doesn’t always match my
behaviour. Chapter Five of the Big Book starts with the matter of
honesty. It gives the reason why some alcoholics fail to achieve
sobriety; they may be constitutionally incapable of being honest with
themselves. It is possible for someone to be a very dishonest
Christian. It is also possible for an honest person to practice
another religion or to be an honest agnostic or atheist. When it
comes to being honest or dishonest it matters little what religion or
philosophy a person aspires to follow. In terms of the alcoholic in
Step Two, (Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions) it describes the alcoholic who is“
full of faith” in his religious belief, but with no real
communication with a power greater than himself; his faith
superficial, or wallowing in emotionalism, mistaking this for true
religious feeling. An atheist or agnostic alcoholic can go through
the process of ego deflation and acquire the humility to be honest
with himself and others, and to understand that there is a power or
powers greater than himself. Conversely, an alcoholic who has his own
idea of faith in God and Jesus can still be an alcoholic with an
inflated ego; unable to comprehend this concept of God as a power
greater than himself; and unable to acquire the humility of being
honest. In such a case the exercise of prayer can simply be the
alcoholic's time spent communicating to himself, rationalising his
own self deceit into the will of God as imagined by him. Honesty,
ego deflation, are the most important things for an alcoholic to
acquire and hold on to in order for him to maintain lasting emotional
sobriety. His religious beliefs become irrelevant without these.
The
Big Book is only the basic text of Alcoholics Anonymous written in
1938, published in 1939; the first A.A. book to be published in what
was a developing program of recovery, based on only four years or so
of experience. It was written at a time when most of the fellowship
was under four year’s sobriety. Dr. Bob and Bill W. counted 40
alcoholics dry in 1937, so the remaining 60 of the first one hundred
members at the time of writing the book in 1938 and publishing it in
1939, were under a year or two in continuous sobriety. Most were in
the honeymoon period, yet to meet the acid test of their sobriety in
living life’s successes and failures. The editor of the Big Book
was drunk by the time it was published and others later fell off the
wagon as well. For a brief period around 1939-1941 the fellowship was
largely under direct leadership from Dr. Bob, Bill W. and the
founding members. However, after large scale publicity such as the
Jack Alexander article in 1941, the New York office mailed out Big
Books all over the USA and new groups started without direct guidance
from the rest of A.A. It was soon found that the Big Book alone was
not enough to sustain an alcoholic’s ego deflation in many cases,
or to sustain unity in the fellowship. Egos ran riot, groups became
dictatorships; local public relations went haywire. There were times
which brought the fellowship close to collapse.
“From
1940 to 1950, we were beset by group problems of every sort,
frightening beyond description. Out of these experiences the Twelve
Traditions of AA were forged - Traditions that now protect us against
ourselves and the world outside. This effort, requiring immense
office correspondence and experience, finally resulted in a whole new
literature dealing with AA's unity and services. Under these
influences we grew solid.” (Bill W. “Guardian of AA: Our General Service Conference” AA Grapevine April 1958.
The Language of the Heart pp 167- 168)
Therefore,
in good time, I hope you don't mind me suggesting that you gently
nudge your husband to read the Twelve Steps in the “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions” as well as the Big Book. They go a little deeper into the understanding of ego
deflation and the ways in which an alcoholic rationalises truth into
deceit than does the Big Book. I also suggest “As Bill Sees It”
and “The Language of the Heart.” There are some good readings for
personal recovery in “The Language of the Heart,” like “This Matter of Honesty” “This Matter of Fear” “What is Acceptance?” “The Next Frontier: Emotional Sobriety” “Take Step Eleven.” You might find he’ll be a much easier person to
live with in the long run, than if he just bobs along with Joe McQ
and the Big Book.
There’s
a good example of how an alcoholic rationalises his own idea of the
truth into deceit on the acknowledgments page of “Carry This
Message” by Joe McQ. Some people might call it dishonest, others
might call it fraud.
“The
author and editors are grateful to the following for their
contributions to this book: …. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services,
Inc., for permission to use the Steps.” (Extract from
Acknowledgements. “Carry This Message” by Joe McQ. published 1990
by August House Inc.)
Extracts
from “Big Book Study Guides Reviewing a Position Paper” (A.A.
World Services Inc):“In 1977, faced with a rising number of
requests from non-AA sources and some AA members to reprint portions
of the Big Book and other material in study guides, the directors of
AA World Services, Inc. took a hard look at the subject and appointed
a committee to explore the question. Members of the committee
unanimously recommended that the board not grant permission to
outside entities to use excerpts from our literature in study guides,
and that AA itself should not publish study guides… … … … …
… … The AA World Services Board of Directors feels strongly that
permission should not be granted to outside publishers or other
parties to reprint AA literature for the purpose of study guides or
interpretive or explanatory texts, etc. If such interpretive or study
guides are to be prepared, they should be published by AA World
Services, Inc.” (Box 459, Vol. 51, No. 6, December 2005.) (AA Service News 127, Summer
2006)
In
my experience, alcoholic Christians seem to have just as much trouble
in being honest with themselves as do non Christian alcoholics. And
when an alcoholic tries to wear the halo of “Teacher or “Preacher”
it sooner or later works its way down to his ankles. I keep my
Christian religious beliefs out of AA meetings and sponsorship,
because I understand the reasons why Bill W. wrote the following:
“If
we recognize that religion is the province of the clergy and the
practice of medicine is for doctors, then we can helpfully cooperate
with both.” (Extract from Concept 12, warranty five)
“Nothing
however, could be so unfortunate for A.A.’s future as an attempt to
incorporate any of our personal theological views into A.A. teaching,
practice or tradition.” (Bill W. footnote, Alcoholics Anonymous
Comes of Age p 232)
“Beyond
a Higher Power, as each of us may vision him, A.A. must never, as a
society, enter the field of dogma or theology. We can never become a
religion in that sense, lest we kill our usefulness by being bogged
down in theological contention” (Bill W. Letter 1954, As Bill sees
It p 116)
“Our
Traditions are set down on paper. But they were written first in our
hearts. For each of us knows, instinctively I think, that AA is not
ours to do with as we please. We are but caretakers to preserve the
spiritual quality of our fellowship; keep it whole for those who will
come after us and have need of what has so generously been given to
us.” (Bill W. “AA Is Not Big Business” AA Grapevine November 1950 The Language of
the Heart p 124)
Like
you say …., all most newcomers want to do at first, is stay sober,
nothing else; they can't cope with much else until their minds defog
from alcohol. AA needs to be kept dead simple for the sake of the
newcomer. The changes in the fellowship due to the influence of
outside published literature which incorporates the authors’
personal religious beliefs are making it confusing and exclusive to
some newcomers. I hope this newcomer on the AA Grapevine forum makes
it. I have a feeling many just walk away never to return. They are
being denied the traditional and gentle “Easy Does It,” “I
came; I came to; I came to believe.” approach; and therefore denied
their chance to defog from alcohol first before coming to their own
understanding of the steps and a power greater than themselves;
according to their own agnostic, atheist or other religious beliefs.
AA
Grapevine I Say forum: New to AA?: “God, Booze and Food”:
Anonymous, Fri, 2012-04-27 15:57 http://www.aagrapevine.org/forum/331
“I
stopped drinking ten days ago, attended a couple of meetings, and now
I'm feeling depressed and frustrated. I'm attending a meeting
tonight, but at this point, I'm just listening and trying to get my
bearings and the right kind of meeting. I realize that more than one
group can help, but I'm reluctant to embrace a strong religious
approach. I understand the idea of a higher power and I know I'm
powerless over alcohol, but falling on my knees and praying to Jesus
(and I'm sorry if I'm insulting some of you) isn't for me. Any
advice?
And,unfortunately, I've been replacing booze
with food, but that's just adding to my plummeting self esteem.
Please advise and many thanks.”
….....
God
Bless,
…...
P.S.
Since this is not an AA website, I’ll incorporate a few more of my
Christian beliefs into this post. I think these quotes from the Bible
are good ones for any alcoholic Christian in recovery to remember. I
have a sneaky feeling from Christian alcoholics in the fellowship
that I know, that some of them spend about as much time reading the
Bible as they do reading the Twelve Concepts for World Service. As
the saying goes along with being “happy, joyous and free!”
sometimes “Ignorance is bliss.”
“Not
every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom
of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 7:21 (King James version 2003)
“For
in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increases knowledge
increases sorrow.” Ecclesiastes 1:18 (King James version 2003)”
(our
edits)
Cheerio
The
Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)
