Thursday, April 5, 2012

If We Truly Believe...


By changing my name on these blogs for the purpose of posting them on facebook, I am able to make observations about AA without violating the principle of Anonymity. Because these posts skirt that principle it is prudent to add: These are my opinions and mine alone. They have nothing to do with official AA policy but are intended to address conflicts outsiders might have when trying to grasp what AA is about.

“There is no use in arousing any prejudice… against certain theological terms and conceptions.” Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 93. So often I hear people insisting on proclaiming their Higher Power in open meetings of AA. Just because I have found a particular discipline does not give me the right to impose it on others… especially when there are newcomers who are already suspicious of evangelical efforts on his/her behalf. Personally, it still causes me some consternation because I make every effort to refrain from proclaiming my own deeply felt convictions along these lines. I can do so outside of the aegis of AA all I want but I need to restrain myself in the rooms of AA, lest it drives an alcoholic who needs to hear the message. If we truly believe in what AA’s Twelve Steps can do for us then why don’t we have enough faith to allow the Spirit of Recovery to be revealed through the process?


geo c., 4,663

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