Originally Posted by Gottalife
The original thread was to draw out personal experience as to whether those attending meetings found a religious aspect and if they did, what sort of problems might have come from it.
Yes, I did find a religious/spiritual aspect. No problems came of it because I chose a different path.
The idea that one who is truly atheist can readily and easily follow the program because "Look you can be atheist...read chapter 4!!!" is odd to me. Anyone who has studied chapter 4 can clearly see that the expectation is that one
can find a god of their understanding, if they just try hard enough. And that they must if they truly want to recover.
Originally Posted by Chapter 4 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous
But after a while we had to face the fact that we must find a spiritual basis of life - or else.
But cheer up, something like half of us thought we were atheists or agnostics.
We found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express even a willingness to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or comprehend that Power, which is God.
We finally saw that faith in some kind of God was a part of our make-up, just as much as the feeling we have for a friend. Sometimes we had to search fearlessly, but He was there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great Reality deep down within us. In the last analysis it is only there that He may be found. It was so with us.
Not only does the chapter state that some form of reliance on spirituality is the essential to the program, it also goes on to imply that even if you call yourself agnostic or atheist, you really have been a believer all along-you just didn't know it.
Originally Posted by chapter 4 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous
We found, too, that we had been worshippers.
In one form or another we had been living by faith and little else.
The entire chapter reads like "You may
think you're an atheist, but you're just either rebelling against your childhood and are 'angry at god' or you just 'don't know any better. " It goes on to tell the story of a typical "angry atheist type" who came to believe in God, and once he offered himself to his Maker-*poof* alcohol problem solved never to return again! If that doesn't happen for you, then you're just not willing, not open, not seeking him.
When I say that I have been happily free of alcohol for a long time without a belief in a higher power, it seems that I always get a pretty similar response. Something along the lines of "Oh so you believe you are more powerful than anything in the Universe?" Um...no, not even close to what I said. I absolutely believe there are powers greater than myself. To believe otherwise is kind of ridiculous. I cannot make the earth rotate. I am not more powerful than gravity, or electricity. I can't create or stop a natural disaster. I mean seriously that goes without saying. But what's that got to do with my addiction to alcohol?
In relation to me ending my addiction to alcohol, the higher powers that be don't apply.
I hope it goes without saying that all of the above is my opinion, noted here because of the invitation to share experiences. I have many AA friends and many religious friends with whom I get along swimmingly well. We've learned much from each other through respectful discourse.