So Taz...would you like to have a conversation about how Jesus can help you?
Talk away my friend, we can also speak of good that Buddah, Mohammed, Moses, Etc. have brought into the world. All of which man can totally whack up!!! LOL
One of the best meetings I have ever been to was one where a lady who is a Buddist brought up how after a meeting another lady told her that if she did not follow Christ she would never stay sober amoung many other horrific things!!! She was pretty new to AA and wondered if what this lady had said was part of the AA "Dogma"!!!
Now that meeting was all about HPs, but what it did was to bring out NOT what each persons HP was, but how important it was to have absolute freedom in AA to find an HP no matter what or who it was that one could understand of thier own choosing and concept, not a single person brought up thier own religion or if they had one.
A lot of folks let her know that what this person did was not AA, it was her being a religous zealot. That meeting was over a year ago, she is still sober and still coming and sharing at meetings.
The constant references to God, and the need to turn your "will and life over to Him".
Tyler the above is exactly what I thought also, this is where my sponsor helped me immensely, he had me slowly read the third step out loud and then asked me "Does it say what you think it says?" I read it again, slowly........ focusing on each word....
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.
I bolded the 3 words I was not seeing in my blindness, the italics are as this is written in the BB. "
the care of " was a major difference!!! I was not becoming a Monk or a nun, I was simply letting my Higher Power
CARE for my life and will. You see for me, I had turned my back on my CAREING HP, I ignored Him.
Tyler I encourage you to look up the definition of the word God, read it closely asking your self the whole time you are reading the definition "What religion is there in this definition?" Is there any religion tied to the definition?
The frequent recomendations to "get on your knees and pray" as a method of dealing with issues.
Tyler you don't think the above suggestion might be a way of helping some one gain some humility as well as helping them to be calm and quiet as they seek a way to deal with a problem do you?
You know the word humble or humility was not in my vocabulary when I was out there, I thought I was the know all and see all, as alcohol was kicking my butt, dropping me to my knees I was so full of myself and all of my power that I was right up until the end I had no idea that alcohol had me on my knees, I still clung to the beleif that I was in control, until alcohol proved to me that it was my HP and it was the one controling me.
I had to learn that I needed to be able to humble myself to the fact that I do not have ALL POWER!!!! I am not in charge, I have control over what I do to a point, but I am not the one in charge!!!!
Today I daily make a choice of who I wish to guide me, my HP who cares for me or alcohol whos ultimate goal is to kill me.