Why does the 12-step program have so much religious gobbledygook mixed in?
Question by Heywood Jablowmi: Why does the 12-step plan have so much religious gobbledygook mixed in?
some of the original Twelve Steps as published by Alcoholics Anonymous:
two. Came to think that a Power better than ourselves could restore us to sanity
three. Produced a choice to turn our will and our lives more than to the care of God as we understood Him
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to yet another human becoming the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Had been entirely ready to have God get rid of all these defects of character
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious get in touch with with God as we understood Him, praying only for expertise of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
geez, do men and women actually need to have this nonsense to get clean?
Very best answer:
Answer by by no means trust a hippy
simply because its a cult!
Add your personal answer in the comments!
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- Step 11 of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous ★★★★★
- Can a 12-step program work for anyone who doesn’t believe in God?
Well… it was created by two Catholic men… that might have something to do with it.
And… No, not everyone needs that goobledygook… rational recovery helps those who do not want faith based recovery.
because when one cannot change oneself, believing that someone else can actually helps some folks…
placebo effect, perhaps – but whatever works
First of all, when you talk about “what people need to get clean,” you imply that it should be easy to get clean.
More importantly, though – some people get clean without the 12 steps, by using various other methods. However, the 12 steps has helped many, MANY people (so it’s a proven technique), and has many different positive aspects to it, as well. it’s also been applied to virtually every addiction, and has support groups just about everywhere, i think.
People do not need AA to get sober, in fact 80% of those who get sober do so on their own:
“There is a high rate of recovery among alcoholics and addicts, treated and untreated. According to one estimate, heroin addicts break the habit in an average of 11 years. Another estimate is that at least 50% of alcoholics eventually free themselves although only 10% are ever treated. One recent study found that 80% of all alcoholics who recover for a year or more do so on their own, some after being unsuccessfully treated. When a group of these self-treated alcoholics was interviewed, 57% said they simply decided that alcohol was bad for them. Twenty-nine percent said health problems, frightening experiences, accidents, or blackouts persuaded them to quit. Others used such phrases as “Things were building up” or “I was sick and tired of it.” Support from a husband or wife was important in sustaining the resolution.”
Treatment of Drug Abuse and Addiction — Part III, The Harvard Mental Health Letter, October 1995.
AA has about a 5% success rate, the same as quitting on your own. Since it does not improve on no treatment at all, AA could be considered to have a 0% success rate. And AA has a higher mortality rate, giving AA a negative success rate.
AA came out of the Oxford Group, a Christian sect, of course it’s going to have religious overtones. But Bill W & Dr. Bob were also involved with spiritualism, holding seances, using a Ouija board, attempting to channel spirits, in fact ol’ Bill claimed that the 12 & 12 was channeled through a 15th century monk named Boniface:
http://books.google.com/books?id=laEa_0TiUnYC&pg=RA1-PA205&lpg=RA1-PA205&dq=Bill+Wilson%2BBoniface&source=bl&ots=yAcA4IkdHl&sig=A9PpqcMJYCQ6xafCWDv0EnuWgZM&hl=en&ei=jAkzS7rEBY2Ytgesm5WUCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CA8Q6AEwAjge#v=onepage&q=Bill%20Wilson%2BBoniface&f=false
AA is designed for lapsed Christians, people with faith, people of other faiths, or those with none do not fit in the program well. It’s not Christian, there are warnings against spiritualism in the Bible, they do not believe in Free Will, and would have you believe in a god that cannot cure alcoholism only grant a daily reprieve, a micro-managing deity that supplies miracles on demand. It is a stand alone religion.