AAA

Well, you knew it was going to be about cars or drinking but not both, cause' cars and drinking don't mix kids. I came across this article a short while back, and I find it intriguing (see below 1). For me it follows a blog post I had stumbled across some time before that, where an atheist was complaining about the spiritual dimension of Alcoholics Anonymous. So, I wasn't surprised to hear that non-religious inclusivity is being discussed within AA, that is, questions of how inclusive the organization can become without losing it's spiritual roots.

I too wonder if AA would be the same without it's spiritual foundation. My understanding is that AA came out it's founders' struggle with addictions, realizing that he couldn't do it on his own (see below 2).  I haven't struggled with substance abuse personally, but I do come from a background of alcohol abuse and I remember a friend saying to me, "you know Marg, it didn't have to be your faith that made the difference, it could have been something else." Personally, I don't think so, because I ask too many questions in short, and so soccer or tea or tiddly winks, would never have been enough for me. I need to know that my faith is grounded in something bigger, something unchanging. But could it be enough for some, whatever that something might be?

I remember a friend of mine who was an atheist or agnostic or something like that, saying that he went into AA with this idea that (I forget what it was, something funny, cupcakes maybe) something would be his higher power and he too came to the conclusion that cupcakes would not be enough to sustain him haha.  Gradually my friend became a theist, or so last I heard, haha, he may have even hinted to me that he'd become a Christian, somewhat to my surprise. But it was very interesting to see the transformation, when he needed something to rely on when the chips were down.

AAA, Alcoholics Anonymous for Agnostics, apparently there are chapters springing up, and I wish them the best. Sincerely, I do. Good friends, good conversations, meaningful existential experiences, however you choose to define them.  I'll be interested in seeing how they do...

Thanks for listening,

M.A. Harvey

1). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/21/alcoholics-anonymous-wrestles-with-its-spiritual-roots_n_2921797.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009&utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

2). http://www.treatmentsolutions.com/the-history-of-alcoholics-anonymous/