When God is a Group of Drunks

BB Kate's picture
Submitted by BB Kate on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 19:35

A Group Of Drunks, the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, or a ‘Home Group’ Meeting are commonly used by members of Alcoholics Anonymous as representations of a Higher Power.

But, for the purposes of the 12 Step Program, this conception of God is insufficient.

Step 4: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Step 11: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

A member who has a Group of Drunks as their conception of God must therefore:
1. Confess the findings of the Fourth Step to the membership of a meeting.
2. Pray to the membership of a meeting, and act in accordance with its will.

Comments

Pennywise's picture

Pennywise

Wed, 05/02/2012 - 19:56

Right. And the Group of Drunks has God as the ultimate authority. This means that the atheist turns his life over to the Group of Drunks, who in turn give their group will to God. Accordingly, by giving his will to the Group of Drunks, the atheist is ultimately giving his will to God. It's like saying I'll never donate to the Republican Party, but I'll give you a thousand dollars so you can donate it to the Republican Party. Either way the result is the same.

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."

BB Kate's picture

BB Kate

Wed, 05/02/2012 - 19:59

I see .... so that's why they encourage newcomers to use the group.

But which God is the group's ultimate authority? The doorknob?

Ripping the Big Book a new one, One Day at a Time

JR Harris's picture

JR Harris

Wed, 05/02/2012 - 20:05

I mean take the case of a Stepper that has an absolutely wonderful group in Myrtle Beach that she uses as a "get out of jail card" and instead of going to jail, only gets probation for three years for a series of DUI's. If said Stepper them moves to El Paso where all of the groups are a bunch of "low life's" that she doesn't like, can she still use the Myrtle Beach group as her higher power?

"Tradition 10 - Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the AA name ought never be drawn into public controversy." Please follow orders from the Interchurch Center if you are an AA member and don't comment.

BB Kate's picture

BB Kate

Wed, 05/02/2012 - 20:17

I think said stepper may need to apply her step knowledge and work on ego deflation (at depth).

She's just a garden variety alcoholic...

Ripping the Big Book a new one, One Day at a Time

avogadno's picture

avogadno

Wed, 05/02/2012 - 20:44

Persephone gives a good point. If she participates in AA, she is part of a group of drunks, and therefore likely being prayed to by single or multiple members of the group that use the G.O.Ds as their HP.

Imagine admitting powerlessness and not being capable of keeping yourself sober, but having the ability of keep others sober?

It's also considered blasphemous, for some, to be regarded as a God. Or to think of and/or portray yourself as a God.

That gives me the freak outs and I'm not comfortable being part of any of that either. No thanks.

Pro Empowerment!
Truth about AA: http://orange-papers.org/menu1.html
Expose AA: http://www.expaa.org/

becket's picture

becket

Thu, 05/03/2012 - 01:36

What if the group is nothing more than a symbol for hope - a goal-oriented belief in a positive outcome? That way the atheist need not turn his will or life over to the care of fallible human beings.

Is this the part where you enter stage left and announce that hope is somehow corrupt or foolish?

“The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks.”
― Christopher Hitchens, Letters to a Young Contrarian

avogadno's picture

avogadno

Thu, 05/03/2012 - 06:57

What if the group is nothing more than a symbol for hope - a goal-oriented belief in a positive outcome?

That sounds much more appropriate.

That out of the way. Play fair becket. Those are apples and oranges. Please don't assume a negative response from me when the scenario has changed and continue with a prediction on how you suspect I would act in conjunction.

What you offered above is a pretty accurate description of what I think it should be like.

Pro Empowerment!
Truth about AA: http://orange-papers.org/menu1.html
Expose AA: http://www.expaa.org/

Clara's picture

Clara

Thu, 05/03/2012 - 08:14

That is what it is for some of us.

Remember Christopher Stevens when you vote.

avogadno's picture

avogadno

Thu, 05/03/2012 - 10:46

And if that was the center of AA, without any of the steps or BB dogma and projections, I'd of probably stuck around and found it helpful. Unfortunately, if you want sobriety (as defined by AA) then you have to take "certain steps" or you don't get support at all.

Darn it, I really thought the idea of 'one alcoholic helping another' was good.

Pro Empowerment!
Truth about AA: http://orange-papers.org/menu1.html
Expose AA: http://www.expaa.org/

Pennywise's picture

Pennywise

Thu, 05/03/2012 - 15:11

Becket: "Is this the part where you enter stage left and announce that hope is somehow corrupt or foolish?"

In reality, hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs the torments of man.

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, Human, All-too-Human

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."

live_free_or_die's picture

live_free_or_die

Wed, 05/02/2012 - 22:15

Please give $5,000 penny

Alcoholics Anonymous: MyNotGodHasItCovered®
http://www.expaa.org/
http://bereanresearch.com/
http://badrecovery.blogspot.com/
NOT AA:
Rational Recovery, SOS, HAMS
http://alcoholabusesolutions.com/

BB Kate's picture

BB Kate

Thu, 05/03/2012 - 17:27

I think in relaity that the G.O.D is used as a symbol by many.

But i'm not sure a symbol is adequate for the 12 steps. Can a symbol provide knowledge of it's will and remove character defects?

Ripping the Big Book a new one, One Day at a Time