|
Quoted from aaprimarypurpose.org
"A.A.’s Singleness of Purpose,
So often in A.A., everything old is new again. Today, for instance, many people suffering a variety of ailments other than alcoholism are steered to A.A., causing confusion among members and the professional community alike. A new problem? Not at all. More than 40 years ago the Fellowship was faced with a similar conflict, and Bill W.’s response cut to the heart of A.A.’s reason for being, its singleness of purpose.
“Sobriety—freedom from alcohol—through the teaching and practice of the Twelve Steps, is the sole purpose of an A.A. group,” he wrote in the February 1958 issue of the A.A. Grapevine. “Groups have repeatedly tried other activities, and they have always failed. It has also been learned that there is no possible way to make nonalcoholics into A.A. members. We have to confine our membership to alcoholics, and we have to confine our A.A. groups to a single purpose. If we don’t stick to these principles, we shall almost certainly collapse. And if we collapse, we cannot help anyone.”
Ed:
You said:
The fact is that AA's responsibility is not to HELP people..If helping people is our priority then that would be all we need to do to stay sober--then there must be something we can do to stay sober now isn't there? Human Power huh?..
Nope. No human power could have relieved our alcholism. This is true. Bill W. and I, obviously have a different interpretation of the word "help" than you do. Page 97 3rd edition of the BB explains my position perfectly. Make no mistake I know what works.
"For alcoholics that's just not the case..Our job as recovered alcoholics is to get the newcomer connected to the Power that WILL help him/her..Let the work in the 12 steps as outlined in the Big Book convince them that they are alcoholics..Now that takes work doesn't it? It would actually mean that people would have to actually SPONSOR to help newcomers get CLEAR on whether they have this disease or not..
My job as a recovered alcoholic is to carry the message. I can not get any newcomer "connected" to God. This is something they must do on their own, and I am certain that God may have a choice in the matter.
I can convince any alcoholic that they are an alcoholic. The book tells me to do it, and tells shows me how. The 12 steps will not convince anyone that they are an alky. Chapter 5 states...."if you want what we have"......this means BEFORE you work the steps you must decide you want what they have. This means you have to figure out what it is that they have that you may want. Sobriety? Spiritual Experience? Woman? Car? Money?
The simple statement: If you loose control over the amount you drink, you are probably alcoholic. Guess what? Normal people don't loose control over the amount they drink. Also, normal people don't find it necessary to drink. AND normal people don't end up in an AA meeting. Strange how that works.
Tricky,
Stop with the insistance that we accept you into an AA meeting. Go to NA. There, now I have HELPED you as much as is required of me.
Wilky
|