Other day in my Al Anon group, somebody said God created us in his image.

[raccoon]

Then one or two other people shared, and it was God, God, God.

I spoke up and said Al Anon is a spiritual program, not religious. And, lo and behold, three other people agreed, one saying she preferred the term "Higher Power" and another saying in her Al Anon group, somebody mentioned Satan, and she was going to being that up at a group conscience meeting, as she found it objectionable.

Seems the groups in my area are bad about mentioning non-Conference Approved Literature, getting into religion, and cross-talking. I've heard other people say that too.

Anybody else run into this in their area?

[Fire Walk With Me]

1. It would be interesting to download the AA Big Book and run a search for "God".

I wonder how many times it appears, along with "Him", etc.

I note that "Christ" appears once, in Bill's Story, but that "God" is named or implied in six of the Twelve steps...however, we are brutally stubborn and rebellious ("rebellion may be fatal", "What an order! I can't go through with it!") and the Big Book is filled with soft sell in order to lead us to the concept of God as the ultimate higher power.

Truly, whatever higher power works for you is exactly right; stick with it because it works. But also consider the last line in "We Agnostics".

http://www.silkworth.net/bb/contents.html

Specifically:

http://www.silkworth.net/bb/weagnostics.html

(This is also interesting because they offer the pre-1939 manuscript; IIRC, Step 7 is a bit different, as are some parts of How It Works.)

[raccoon]

2. Yes, there is a lot of mention of "God" in AA and Al Anon literature, and in meetings as well.

That horse got out of the barn a long time ago. It's one of the things I can't change, IMO.

One thing I CAN try to change is the mention of Christian (or other religions) dogma, such as the aforementioned reference to people being made in God's image. Discussion of how we are supposed to follow Jesus' example. And so on.

[Citizen_Penn]

3. Of course, the Judeo Christians cannot get that not

everyone shares their deity vision.

Their feeble old man god must be crammed down the throat of others, or they feel threatened.

Rant over, sorry, but hell, yeah, and I have left groups over it, too.

Even been told AA and AlAnon are christian (lower case intentional) programs.

Not so, not true, and that type distortion is precisely why Al Anon is SHRINKING AS A WHOLE.

Little god, little program.

[Fire Walk With Me]

4. It's up to each individual and no one else.

:shrug:

As we grow, our understanding of God grows.

[Citizen_Penn]

5. No capital necessary.

not for me.

See, I don't agree that there is a GOD.

Higher power, yes, God, no.

Why does that confuse so many?

It is what it is.

[Fire Walk With Me]

6. And of course, up to each of us. Whatever works for the individual.

[Fire Walk With Me]

8. I believe that it's Step 2 in the 12x12 which states

that the AA may even choose to use the AA groups as a Higher Power. So long as it works.

[david13]

7. Hah. God's a drunk. He's a falling down alcoholic. Where's is

he/she now? In prison?
Ha.
No, it's what works for you, for each individual. Sure we get that god/jeezuz crap all the time. But what it really is is ... higher power. Whatever you see as that. Use the ocean, if you want. To me,
a higher power was/is alcohol. I can't change it, I can't control it, I didn't create it, all I can do is avoid it.
dc

[old mark]

9. I went to a meeting like that years ago - got to the point that I would never be

given the floor to speak no matter who ran the meeting because they didn't want to hear that AA says clearly that the idea of god is subjective and that an higher power that we can accept is just as valid.
Big Book has a section titled "For The Agnostic," to specifically cover this issue - it must have always been a problem, from the start.

Many people I knew used the power of the group, etc, instead of the idea of a "god".
Personally, I used the slogans on the signs on the walls of various meetings - "Easy Does It", etc... I got more help from them than from any other one thing in the program, and I celebrated 21 years last March using those simple ideas.

If I may suggest, use the prejudice of those "religious" assholes to let yourself realize that even someone as crazy as they are can get sober.
Of course, they are still crazy.....

You could always start your own meeting.....
All the best.
mark

[old mark]

10. I attended a meeting where the leader refused to call on me because

I had previously told him I thought their "religious" theme was not good-they were sort of a fundamentalist evangelical AA meeting, if you can imagine that....
I haven't been there in many years, but I hope someone got some good out of it despite the people trying to make it over into something it's not.

mark