A.A. Gets Honest with Clergy about Atheists and Agnostics

A.A. puts out a pamphlet, #25, called Members of the Clergy ask about Alcoholics Anonymous. It makes for some very interesting reading. It appears that A.A. is willing to tell the clergy things that it has a problem saying to the membership in general.

For example, in the Introduction, 3rd paragraph, it states:

• "It would be unrealistic to assume that all A.A. members are spiritually inspired. Many, too, are not committed to a formal body of religious doctrine."

The second sentence is so obvious it's almost a non-starter. But the first sentence is a shocker. To hear that it is "unrealistic" to expect everyone in a God-driven program to be spiritually inspired is like saying "the god of your understanding is not important". Of course, there is no reason except tradition to link a god to "spirituality", since I am a spiritual person without a god. But A.A. doesn't link them together, either, at least not if you say one sentence "necessarily follows" the other, because it doesn't necessarily follow, and A.A. doesn't make it out to be that way.

But the next section of the pamphlet makes it clear that A.A. is indeed "religiously oriented", because they tell the clergy that A.A. is "a nonsectarian, nondenominational ally in their efforts to help alcoholics..." It would not be necessary to disclaim any link to a sect or a denomination if AA was entirely "sectarian".

" Sectarian groups are religious, political or ideological organizations whose services are limited to a particular sect..." So A.A. makes the truthful claim that they do not ally with any sect in particular, but we must assume that they are not secularist or they would plainly say so.  Instead, they claim "non-sectarianism", the same as Universalist-Unitarian churches.

And yet, speaking of the honesty shown to the clergy, A.A. says that "Nonalcoholics attending an A.A. meeting for the first time are often surprised to note...[that] some members recount their drinking experience [in] a decidedly agnostic tone..."

If the GSO already knows this, why don't they tell those yokels down in Georgia who believe in the Christian God alluded to in the A.A. Big Book as though it was the Bible?

And under the heading of "Is Religious Belief Part of the A.A. Program?" the pamphlet specifically states:

"Individual members are free to interpret these values as they think best, or not to think about them at all." [emphasis added] 

And going on, where the Big Book tells us several times in different ways that we will "find a higher power" or "find God", etc., this pamphlet merely says that members "will in time find an answer to this distinctly personal dilemma."

Step Two says we will come to believe in a power greater than ourselves; Step Three says we turn our will over to "the care of God as we understood him"; Step Five says we "Admitted to God"; and on and on. 

But we are guided in the Steps by the Traditions, including Two: "For our purpose there is but one ultimate authority--a loving God..."

Then this little pamphlet tells the clergy that "The Traditions are not formally binding on A.A. groups." Period.

Show that one sentence to any person in A.A., even one who is not necessarily religious but still adheres to A.A. as closely as he can, and he will look at you with open eyed astonishment and say, "But!---then how is A.A. supposed to work? Those are our working guidelines!" I know this happens because I've shown it to people, and most of them are none to happy to see it in print. That makes it official.

There is more out there in our official material than we know about. How many dozen books have I never even laid eyes on, like all those from the Grapevine?

Never let another member tell you there is only one way to do things in A.A. The book "Living Sober" states, "There is no wrong A.A. way and no right A.A. way."

Alcoholics can get sober without god, since there is none. Bill Wilson was wrong about self-will; but we must direct our will toward what keeps us sober. A higher power (HP) is no power at all if it doesn't help us. But as you will read in the page titled Higher Power, Part 2, that HP does not necessarily need to be outside yourself. ©

The Atheist AA, The Atheist AA Blog,
The First Free Church of Atheism
and the Google group Atheist AA

are all © or ^SM of the

Free Assemblage of Metaphysical Naturalists LLC

An Atheist's Steps Two and Three

Someone in the Atheist AA Google Group wrote to say he was beginning his 2nd and 3rd steps. Did anyone have any advice? I replied to him this way:

Step 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

I used to use the "tables", the "fellowship", etc as my higher power. I had a very good, Christian man as my second sponsor and even though he knew I was atheist, he helped me to see that I had my own "understanding" of God as merely the power that rules the universe. No sentient being "created" it; but there are physical laws at work.

Then after 3 years in AA I came to realize that I was my own higher power when I stayed sober. Now that is completely contradictory to the Big Book, which says we must have a power higher than ourselves.

But at a 3rd step meeting full of Christians I explained that when I was drinking I always wondered why I could not do what I knew was right, and why I kept doing the things that always proved themselves to be wrong. Most of the time I even knew they were wrong before I did them.

Why couldn't I do the right things? I tortured myself over this for many years, but never once told myself that alcohol was the beginning of the problem.

Then one day I had a "miracle of my understanding" (obviously not from a sentient deity). But it was immediate and powerful and extremely painful, because I swear I did most of the steps in the span of 1/10 of a second.

1.  In one fell swoop I admitted I was powerless over alcohol, that my life had become unmanaged (not unmanageable).
2. Made a decision to do what I knew at that moment was right, and went to my first AA meeting.
3. I had made a searching but fearsome inventory of myself, or I would not have gone to AA.
4. I admitted to myself only, since there was no one in the car with me, what I knew about my wrongs.
5. I was entirely ready to let AA show me the way out of my problems.
6. I wanted out of my shortcomings, but of course it wasn't god who was going to do it for me; at least not a deity.
7. I was ready at that very 1/10 of a second to make amends for all the wrongs I had done people.
8. I sought the power to accomplish what I needed to do. AA was the right first step. I knew that.
9. I knew that I had had a remarkable spiritual awakening, but as I said it was fearsome. I can completely understand why some old-fashioned Christians thought God was angry and would bring down His wrath. I felt as if I had been hit by a ton of bricks.

So after that 3rd step meeting, a man approached me and said, "What you said about not being able to do the right thing and always doing the wrong thing and not knowing why, is what Paul said in Romans 7." And he thanked me for my insight.

I related this to my own sponsor, also an atheist, and he chuckled. He said, "It is remarkable that we atheists often see religious principles better than some who call themselves religious." It seems to be intuitive with us. We know what we do not agree with and we figure out why, so then we know that the religious people have sometimes only accepted on faith often without ever giving it that second thought that we give it.

So if you have the right sponsor, one who knows you cannot give in to a deity, or be humble enough to get on your knees, you will be able to work it through.

I wish you all the luck, and hope that your sponsor is someone who understands you and can actually show you a good direction to go.

Sincerely,

Curtis C

Alcoholics can get sober without god, since there is none.
Bill Wilson was wrong about self-will; but we must direct our will toward what keeps us sober. A higher power (HP) is no power at all if it doesn't help us. But as you will read in the page titled Higher Power, Part 2, that HP does not necessarily need to be outside yourself. ©

The Atheist AA,
The Atheist AA Blog,
The First Free Church of Atheism

and the Google group
Atheist AA

are all © or ^SM of the

Free Assemblage of Metaphysical Naturalists LLC