God Versus a Random "Higher Power"

To be fair, let me begin by saying that 12-step groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, and Al-Anon, for the friends and family of alcoholics, have helped tons of people and saved many lives. In no way do I mean  to discourage anyone from getting the help they need by attending the meetings of such groups. However, what I want to discuss here are the limitations of these programs and how this relates to family life. I was myself an Al-Anon member for 10 years, so this is an informed opinion.

When you come into AA or Al-Anon, for the program to work you must believe in a "higher power." The program is not religious, they say, but it is spiritual. For atheists or those with bad experiences in organized religion, alternatives to God such as "good orderly direction" or "creator" are designated as suggestions for the higher power. One woman in Al-Anon began with a bar of soap as her higher power until she could sort out who exactly was this power who was greater than herself. So she turned her will and her life over to a bar of soap for the time being.

This is all well and good I suppose, but at some point, this higher power needs to be someone with authority. Someone you can, in reality, turn your will and life over to. Does "good orderly direction" really cut the mustard? Can "good orderly direction" hear one's prayers? Can he answer them? Even if an alcoholic "recovers" and never drinks again, can sobriety, that is, wholeness and emotional and spiritual health, truly be achieved without the one, true God being the one who delivers the alcoholic from the bondage of addiction and his "defects of character"? If the well isn't deep enough, what happens when the bucket comes up dry? It is my opinion that help may be found in these rooms, and a respite from one's troubles, and the comfort of those who have suffered in a similar way. God can, and surely does, work through this program. But I fear that holiness is not intrinsic to what is ultimately a secular "religion" of its own. There is a reason for the relapses and low success rate of people who get sober and stay sober in AA.

At the last Al-Anon meeting I attended, a woman who simply voiced her frustration with, "Why can't my mom just stop drinking?" was verbally attacked by several holier-than-thou people. For the entire meeting, there was cross talk and interruption, and the chair person allowed the meeting to go over the one hour allotment of time. While this was one of the most extreme cases I witnessed of meeting disintegration, it is an unfortunately common pattern. The poor woman seeking validation did not receive words of experience, strength, and hope, but rather, judgment and condemnation. And from my experience with alcoholics, AA is rampant with gossip and abuse of its principles, too. Ah, but the argument goes that we place "principles above personalities" in these groups. So you take what you like and leave the rest.

This brings me to a conversation with a friend regarding the differences between Protestants and Catholics. "But why do you have to choose?" she wondered. "Why can't you just take what you like from each?" Because I have a child is why, and she agreed that yes, when you are teaching a child, you need to be specific and clear. The path must not be rife with trees painted with arrows pointing in all manner of possible directions.  No wishy washy Charlie Browniness in the case of nurturing the spiritual growth of a child. Why should it be different for babes lost in the woods of addiction? In the case of AA and its affiliates, there is "conference approved literature", and there are the steps, traditions, and concepts. And slogans and pat answers to real problems. But who in the heck is really in charge? The God of Soap Bars?!

It's just like churches that each have their own set of beliefs, based on the images of the men who started the churches, and for whom they are named (or from whom those churches descended). These men were all Christians but they interpreted the Bible according to their own ideas, regardless of the clear history of the Church that goes all the way back to Peter, the rock upon whom Jesus said his Church was to be built. Furthermore, the Bible gives clear authority to that Church and its traditions, both oral and written. There is nothing in the Bible that says the written scriptures are the only authority. Like it or not, it is specifically the Catholic Church that can trace its lineage, biblical interpretation, traditions, and hierarchical authority back to Peter, which is to say, straight back to Jesus. It was the Catholic Church, not Luther, who gave us the Bible in the first place. In fact, Luther wanted to remove a few New Testament books that didn't sit well with him. I know, can of worms open. But there can't be umpteen versions of the truth. You may have part of the truth in any religion, and goodness and heavenly light, but what is needed in this broken world is the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth.

In 12 Step groups, the sad fact is that there is not one true God. Also, there appears to be no clear authority defining the exact meaning of these steps and traditions and how they are to be followed. Everyone has his opinion. Take what you want from the buffet and make your own grilled cheese with peanut butter and tabassco sauce sandwich. Top it with syrup and Captain Crunch cereal, as you see fit. I do agree that there is wisdom in not forcing a particular religion on people trying to get sober. They need to clear their heads and learn the program gently, in small pieces at a time. Yes, it is recommended to have a sponsor with experience in the program and long term sobriety to guide you, but this is still just a person. The pertinent question is, ultimately, who is your God?

At the end of every meeting is the chant, "Keep coming back. It works if you work it!" But despite the principles, you still have the personalities, and at the end of the day your meat needs to come off a solid bone, not from a can of spam. If you find yourself alone in the African jungle surrounded by poisonous snakes, your sponsor has been eaten by a lion, and there is no meeting within walking distance, but there is a bar in the next village, who you gonna call? The initial path to God might be found in any of the world's great religious and spiritual traditions, not limited to Christianity. I personally find Native American spirituality to be beautiful. I just wish that the ultimate message of 12 step groups is that the group itself cannot serve as a higher power, as it seems to for many. Those souls searching for help and healing need to be encouraged to search endlessly for the truth of God.