Originally Posted by
keithj 
20 people walk into AA. 10 of them are alcoholics as described in the BB (lost the power of choice in drink). 10 of them qualify as 'hard drinkers' and can stop if they have a strong enough reason to stop. Half of the alcoholic group take the 12 Steps and recover. The other group has no motivation to take the 12 Steps, because they have nothing to recover from. They can choose not to drink. At the end of the day, there are 5 recovered alcoholics and 10 people who choose not to drink. The 5 alcoholics who didn't find a spiritual solution are long since gone.
A spiritual solution requires a direct intervention of an HP or God, and that intervention must also be "welcomed" [for lack of a better word] by the member experiencing the spiritual awakening. Denial will only bring no joy. Without the spiritual intervention there can be no spiritual recovery. There is something not right in your suggesting that a spiritual recovery in AA actually has some linked dependence on what non-alcoholics may say or do or lack thereof.
Spirituality is a force onto itself, imo. I simply do not believe that any person with an open mind and and open heart is *ever* denied at the GateWay and then additionally misled again and again. Spirituality is a choice and never works for the good when forced upon whomever, or even when sold as a better way to live, and I speak from experience.
So, what I'm implying is that those who don't get recovered in AA are not open to being recovered in AA and so of course they move on. If they come back and do the same thing again, so be it.
Ya can't make a horse drink water.